NEW DELHI, March 28 (Reuters) – A Tibetan man died on
Wednesday after setting himself on fire earlier this week in New
Delhi to protest Chinese rule of the Himalayan region, activists
said, hours before Chinese President Hu Jintao was due to arrive
in India for a summit of emerging market nations.
Thirty Tibetans, mostly Buddhist monks and nuns, have set
themselves on fire, mostly in southwestern China, in the past
year, according to Tibetan rights groups. At least 20 have died.
Jamphel Yeshi, 27, set himself ablaze on Monday at a protest
criticizing President Hu’s visit. He died in a local hospital
from his injuries, the general secretary of the Tibetan Youth
Congress said in a statement.
“The fact that Tibetan people are setting themselves on fire
in this 21st century is to let the world know about their
suffering,” Yeshi wrote in a handwritten statement found in his
room.
Pictures taken by a Reuters photographer showed the activist
running down a street enveloped in flames on Monday. He suffered
burn injuries across 98 percent of his body.
Born in Tibet but living in exile in India, Yeshi was an
activist with the youth organization, which seeks independence
for the Himalayan region, under Chinese rule for more than six
decades.
Hu is due to arrive in Delhi on Wednesday afternoon to take
part in a one day summit between Brazil, Russia, India, China
and South Africa — known collectively as BRICS.
Indian police have arrested a number of Tibetans in recent
days, activists say, in an apparent bid to prevent protests
marring Hu’s visit.
India hosts large community of Tibetans – including exiled
spiritual leader the Dalai Lama – one of the main sources of
friction with neighbouring China, which accuses the Dalai Lama
of stirring unrest.
(Reporting by Annie Banerji; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and
Ed Lane)
