Tibetan exile sets self on fire in Indian capital

Friday, November 04, 2011

By ASHOK SHARMA | Associated Press

A lone protester screams as he is dragged away by Indian police moments after he tried to set himself on fire in front of the Chinese embassy in New Delhi on November 4, 2011. Several protests by Tibetan demonstrators have taken place in front of the Chinese embassy in the last two weeks as they voice their opposition to China's policies in Tibet. The protestor who doused himself with gasoline and set himself alight briefly was arrested and taken away into police custody. (Getty Images)

NEW DELHI (AP) -- Police overpowered a young Tibetan exile who set himself on fire outside the Chinese Embassy in the Indian capital Friday in solidarity with Tibetans who self-immolated in China recently.

Indian policemen try to extinguish fire on Sherab Tsedor, a Tibetan resident of New Delhi, outside the Chinese Embassy, New Delhi, November 4, 2011.

Police grabbed 25-year-old Sherab TseDor and put out the fire engulfing his trousers. He shouted "Free Tibet, Stop Killing in Tibet," as officers took him in a jeep to a hospital.

The man suffered minor burns, according to a police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

At least 11 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in China in recent months protesting Chinese restrictions on the Tibetan religion and culture. At least six died and the conditions of the others are unknown.

Although there is no tradition of self-immolation as a form of protest in Tibetan society, the suicides are seen as a sign of growing desperation in the ethnically Tibetan region, where tensions have been high since massive anti-government protests in 2008.