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Two monks in Tibet set themselves on fire, says report Two monks in Tibet set themselves on fire, says report
(40 minutes later)
Two young Tibetan monks protesting against Chinese rule of Tibet have set themselves on fire in front of a prominent Buddhist temple in Lhasa, according to a US broadcaster. Two men have set themselves on fire outside a temple that is a popular tourist site in Lhasa, marking the first time a recent wave of self-immolations to protest Chinese rule has reached the tightly guarded Tibetan capital, a US broadcaster has reported.
Radio Free Asia said in a statement that the monks were were taken away by authorities in the Tibetan capital minutes after setting themselves on fire on Sunday outside the Jokhang Temple, a spiritual site and popular tourist attraction. Radio Free Asia said in a statement that the men were taken away by authorities within minutes of setting themselves on fire outside the Jokhang Temple on Sunday. They were believed to be monks but their identities and personal details were not immediately available.
The broadcaster cited a Tibetan living in exile as saying he had heard from others inside Tibet that flames engulfed the two monks and they were believed to be seriously hurt or dead. At least 34 such protests since March 2011 have drawn attention to China's restrictions on Buddhism and fuelled the call for the return from exile of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. Most self-immolations have taken place in heavily Tibetan areas of China. Only one had occurred in Tibet itself and none in the capital.
A woman with the Lhasa city police denied the story. If true, it is significant because the protest took place inside Tibet proper, whereas recent self-immolations have been by Tibetans living in areas of China outside Tibet. Protests have become rare in remote Tibet and Lhasa in particular because of tight police security since anti-government riots erupted in Lhasa in 2008.
Radio Free Asia cited a Tibetan living in exile as saying he had heard from others inside Tibet that flames had engulfed the two men and that they were believed to be seriously hurt or dead.
A woman with the Lhasa city police denied any immolation attempts had occurred. Like many Chinese bureaucrats she refused to give her name.
Fu Jun, an official with the propaganda department of the Tibetan regional Communist party office, said he was unaware of any immolations. Lhasa city police denied any such incident.
Chinese authorities have confirmed some of the self-immolations over the past year but not all.
Radio Free Asia said Lhasa was under heavy police and paramilitary guard and that the situation was very tense.