The Fire in the Monastery
The grim spectacle of young monks, nuns, and lay people setting themselves on fire is a stark reminder of the despair that now prevails on the Tibetan Plateau. These self-immolations – at least 36 since March 2011 – have now spread to Lhasa, the capital, possibly heralding renewed turmoil in Tibet.
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PRAGUE – The grim spectacle of young monks, nuns, and lay people setting themselves on fire to protest conditions in their homeland is a stark reminder of the gloom and despair that now prevails on the Tibetan Plateau. These acts of self-immolation – at least 36 since March 2011 – have been staged to protest the increasingly heavy controls that China’s government in Beijing has imposed on Buddhist religious practices. At the end of May, a self-immolation occurred for the first time, in Lhasa, the capital, which may be a powerful portent of new turmoil in Tibet.