Senior Sichuan officials say a recent wave of self-immolations in Tibetan-populated parts of the province was instigated by separatist forces headed by the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, and have labelled some monks who burned themselves as criminals and social outcasts.
More than two dozen monks, nuns, former monks and ethnic Tibetan laymen have set themselves on fire in Tibetan-inhabited parts of the mainland since 2009, with most cases occurring in Sichuan's Aba and Ganzi prefectures.
The most recent immolations in Aba occurred just days ago. A 32-year-old mother of four set herself ablaze and died in Aba on Saturday and an 18-year-old man died after self-immolating on Monday. The area is now in virtual lockdown, with journalists banned from getting in.
The head of Aba's county government, ethnic Tibetan Wu Zegang, said in Beijing yesterday there were several common characteristics among those who had set themselves on fire.
Firstly, they shouted slogans demanding Tibetan independence before they self-immolated, Wu said. Secondly, they sent their photos to overseas Tibetan separatist groups before they self-immolated, so that in many incidents overseas separatist groups could put photos of the incident online immediately alongside photos of the Tibetan who self-immolated, 'making up stories recklessly'. Thirdly, some overseas groups even offered compensation to encourage self-immolations.
Wu said that showed the self-immolations were a premeditated political strategy and that making heroes of Tibetans who set fire to themselves was tempting, encouraging and supporting acts of self-immolation.