Two dozen Tibetans have set themselves on fire in western China this month in a dramatic acceleration of the protests against authoritarian Chinese rule, activist groups say.
The surge in self-immolations, along with an increase in large demonstrations, mark a new phase in the Tibetan protests.
At least 86 people have set themselves on fire since the immolations began in 2009. In a change in recent months, most self-immolators now are lay people – some of them acting together – rather than Buddhist monks and nuns who can be more closely watched by the authorities because they live in tightly monitored monasteries.
The protests have also sought to avoid direct attacks on authorities and government property, acts used in past to label them as riots or terrorism, providing an excuse for greater oppression. Despite the altered approach, observers see little short-term possibility of Beijing changing its repressive policies.
“I think the problem will just escalate over time. The government shows no inclination to respond positively to recommendations for reform from the outside or Tibetans,” said Michael Davis, a law professor and expert on Tibet at the University of Hong Kong.
In the latest immolation, 24-year-old Kalsang Kyab doused himself with kerosene and set himself alight on Tuesday in front of local government offices in Kyangtsa in Aba prefecture, a hotbed of unrest, according to London-based Free Tibet and other groups.