BEIJING, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- Two young Tibetan monks in China resorted to self immolation Monday in the latest such protest against Chinese policies, an advocacy group said.
In the incident at a monastery in Kirti, in Sichuan Province, southwestern China, the two monks, believed to be in their teens, set themselves on fire to press their demands for religious freedom in the Communist country, said the advocacy group Free Tibet, based in Britain. The group said the two demanded religious freedom and raised banners bearing the slogans "Long live the Dalai Lama" before setting themselves on fire.
The Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in neighboring India, is the spiritual head of the Tibetan Buddhists.
The New York Times, quoting Free Tibet, said the two, identified as Lobsang Kalsang and Lobsang Konchok, were apparently taken to a hospital, but their condition was not known.
Some Tibetans said they believed one of the two monks died but Chinese media reported both had suffered only minor burns and that they were in stable condition. The Financial Times, quoting Tibetan exiles in India, said immediately after the incident, police put out the fire and took the two away.
Lobsang Kalsang was identified as the brother of Phuntsog, 21, from the same monastery, who killed himself in a self-immolation in March on the third anniversary of the 2008 Tibetan uprising in Lhasa which Chinese authorities put down, The New York Times reported.
The immolation represents "an unprecedented trend, underlining the growing desperation among some young Tibetans," said Free Tibet Director Stephanie Brigden, the Financial Times reported. "It is impossible to confirm what prompted this act of protest, but it is believed to be in response to mounting pressure on the monastic community at Kirti monastery and Phuntsog's family members."
There have been two other recent self-immolations at the monastery.
Chinese authorities last month sentenced three monks to jail terms for "instigating and assisting" Phuntsog when he burned himself to death, the Voice of America said.
