Self Immolation

from The Voice of America

Two more Tibetans have set themselves afire to protest Chinese policies in Tibet, raising the total of self-immolation protests to six in the past two days.

Word of the new protests came as China opened its 18th Party Congress in Beijing for a once-in-a-decade leadership transition.

On Thursday 18-year-old Kalsang Jinpa died after setting himself on fire in Rongwo town in Rebkong, eastern Tibet (called Qinghai Province in Chinese).

Witnesses say the former monk raised a white banner calling for the Dalai Lama’s return to Tibet. They also say the protest drew a large crowd and the situation there remains tense.

Rebkong has now seen five self-immolation protests since March, including Wednesday's fatal protest by a 23-year-old single mother, Tamding Tso.

Tibetan exiles also confirmed Thursday that another man set himself on fire a day earlier in Driru, in Nagchu Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

On Wednesday, three teenage monks from the Ngoshul Monastery in Goman Township set themselves afire. One of them died on the scene.

The new self-immolations bring the total number to at least 69 since February of 2009. In 54 cases, the protesters have died.