In a breaking report from Phayul.com, a Tibetan monk has burnt himself in front of their spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama portrait in Tibet. This report comes at a time of heightened crackdown on religious freedom in Tibet. The Tibetan monk’s courageous act of protest has been carried out against the widespread crackdown on Tibetan religious institutions in Gansu province.
“An unidentified Tibetan monk has reportedly self-immolated in front of a portrait of the exiled leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama to protest the widespread crackdown of Tibetan Buddhist institutions in the so-called Kanlho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu province, which is in the traditional Amdo region.” said the report by Choekyi Lhamo for Phayul.com on Saturday.
As per the report, the Governor and Deputy party secretary of Kanlho prefecture, Yang Wu is very proactive in tightening control over the Tibetan monasteries and restrictions on the spiritual practices of monks in retreat. The Dharamshala-based Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy has reported that the monk was in retreat at his residence in Khagya Township, which comes under the jurisdiction of the prefectural capital of Tsoe City. It has also been learned that the authorities have taken the deceased monk’s family to Tsoe city where they were detained at an undisclosed location.
Earlier this year, Tibetan Journal reported that Chinese police surveillance team is working inside Buddhist monasteries for the first time, as part of a fresh crackdown on Tibetan Buddhist religious institutions. Surveillance cameras were put outside the monastery, and officers inside kept an eye on the monks around the clock. Some young monks were pressured to attend Chinese government-run schools.
The death of the unidentified Tibetan monk brings the total number of Tibetans who have set themselves on fire since 2009 to 161, almost all in protest against Chinese authority in the Tibetan Autonomous Region and historically Tibetan parts of Sichuan and Qinghai provinces. Almost every protester called for the return of their spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet. Earlier this year in February, Tsewang Norbu, a popular modern musician, yelled slogans and set himself on fire in front of the landmark Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet’s regional capital.