Another Tibetan sets himself on fire in China

BEIJING — Another Tibetan has set himself on fire in western China to protest government policies while thousands marched in another part of China to show support for their exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, a report said.

The London-based International Campaign for Tibet and Free Tibet groups said the Tibetan who set himself on fire on Wednesday in Sichuan province's Aba prefecture was a 19-year-old former monk from the local Kirti monastery, which has been the scene of protests over recent months.

Both groups said the monk had been taken to hospital.

U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia said the man was taken away by soldiers and police. It said he shouted slogans before setting himself ablaze, citing a statement from Losang Yeshe and Kanyag Tsering, exiled Tibetan monks in India.

If confirmed, the incident would bring to at least 17 the number of monks, nuns and lay Tibetans believed to have set themselves on fire over the last year, mostly in traditionally Tibetan areas of Sichuan province. There were reports of three other self-immolations on Friday but the government has denied them and there are doubts within the exile community.

Most of those who have set themselves on fire have chanted for Tibetan freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama, who fled to India amid an abortive uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.

Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama and his supporters of encouraging the immolations.

Radio Free Asia also said Tibetan protests erupted Wednesday in two counties in Qinghai province in northwest China, with about 1,000 people marching in each. Citing local sources and exiles with contacts in the region, it said security surrounded protesters but no violence occurred.

The broadcaster said protesters shouted slogans and carried banners calling for a "free Tibet," the release of all Tibetan political prisoners, and the return of the Dalai Lama.

A police officer reached Thursday by telephone in Nangqian, where one of the protests allegedly occurred, said he had no reports of any protests. Like many Chinese officials, he refused to give his name.