Protest

According to the witnesses on Tuesday police cut Internet services and blocked roads near a Tibetan Buddhist monastery where two monks set themselves on fire in a call for religious freedom. Mobile phones networks were also down.

The two young monks cried "long live the Dalai Lama" as they set themselves on fire on Monday at the Kirti monastery. This is a common scene of repeated protests against religious repression, rights groups said.

A witness told AFP that the roads to Aba county had been sealed off and police officers were to be seen everyone on the streets. Another Tibetan said that no tourists had been allowed to enter the county since Monday afternoon.

London based Free Tibet director Stephanie Brigden said the latest protest underlined "the growing desperation among some young Tibetans."

Brigden added that it was impossible to confirm what prompted this act of protest but it is believed to be in response to mounting pressure on the monastic community and Phuntsog's family members.

Ongoing repression

The two monks were identified as Lobsang Kelsang aged 18 and Lobsang Kunchok aged 19. One of the monks was believed to be the brother of Phuntsog, a young Kirti monk who burned himself to death in March. Phuntsog's death kicked off a swift crackdown, with security forces detaining about 300 Tibetan monks for a month.

According to Free Tibet and the India-based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, one of the monks was believed to have died while the other suffered critical burns. But the Chinese state media Xinhua reported that the two monks "suffered slight burns and were in stable condition." The Chinese authorities are believed to be investigating the incident.

International protest

Mary Beth Markey from The International Campaign for Tibet, a rights group, claims that since the death of the young monk in March, Kirti monks have 'disappeared' and returned broken by torture.

Free Tibet's Brigden called on the international community to put pressure on China to accept invitations to resume talks for a negotiated solution to the crisis in Tibet.

The latest protest by the two monks followed the death of 29-year-old Tsewang Norbu, who set himself on fire and called for freedom at another Sichuan monastery last month.

Beijing has repeatedly accused the Nobel Peace Prize winner Dalai Lama of being a separatist who supports violence.

The Tibetan government in exile, based in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala, said it was "deeply saddened" by the incident which highlighted the "desperation of the Tibetan people."

Author: Marina Joarder (Reuters, dpa, AFP)
Editor: Grahame Lucas