Self-immolation

Hundreds gathered in China's southwest Monday to hold a vigil for a teenage Tibetan Buddhist monk who died after setting himself on fire.

The 18-year-old, who was identified as Nangdrol, was the latest of two dozen monks, nuns and lay Tibetans in recent months to use self-immolation as a form of protest.

The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) said that he had shouted "Freedom for Tibet" and "May the Dalai Lama live 10,000 years." His body was taken to a local monastery in Ngaba in Sichuan province although the police had requested it be handed over.

Some thousand other monks and lay Tibetans reportedly prevented the police from seizing the body.

Last Friday, a 38-year-old official at a monastery in Tianjun county also died by self-immolation. He had been angered by a growing security presence at the monastery and restrictions that had been imposed on a traditional religious festival, exiled monks explained.

Tibetans have long accused the Chinese government of unrelenting religious oppression and of diluting their culture through increasing immigration to Tibet by China’s majority ethnic Han group.

Beijing for it part says increasing conflicts between Tibetan protesters and security forces are incited by overseas groups. Beijing insists that Tibetans enjoy religious freedom and China's economic expansion has improved their living standards.

The Chinese government has branded the immolators as "terrorists" and has accused exiled Tibetans of stoking the protests, which could potentially destabilize Beijing's policies towards minority groups.

Advocacy groups for Tibetan rights fear there will be more self-immolations ahead of the Tibetan traditional New Year, which begins on Feb. 22.

There is an increased security presence in Tibet and other Tibetan areas of China at present, with local residents often forced to stay at home by paramilitary police. Road blocks have cut off some communications, making it almost impossible for foreign journalists to verify conflicting accounts.

When China's leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping arrived in Washington DC last week, dozens of pro-Tibet activists camped outside the White House, waving flags in protest. They called for autonomy and respect for human rights in the region.

In response to a rare question about self-immolation after a summit with European leaders last week, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao refused to acknowledge the problem.

"We respect and protect Tibet's ecological environment and traditional culture and Tibet's religious freedom," he said, adding that Tibet was an "inseparable part" of China, which the government had taken great efforts to develop.

"Our Tibetan countrymen are an important part of China's family of ethnic groups. They are our brothers," he said.

mw / act (AFP, AP, dpa)