A young monk burned himself to death in Luchu (Chinese: Luqu) county of Kanlho (Gannan) prefecture, Gansu province, on March 26—the third Tibetan to torch himself and die in as many days, taking the total reported toll since February 2009 to 114. Konchog Tenzin, 28, torched himself at a major road intersection near his Mori monastery. Local Tibetans quickly moved the scorched remains of the monk’s body to the monastery for prayer services, as Chinese security forces moved in after the incident. Troops have been deployed to the towns near Mori monastery, with restrictions on freedom of movement imposed on the local Tibetans. (Tibetan Review, March 29)
On Mach 28, hundreds of Tibetans and supporters gathered at the Tsuglagkhang temple in Dharamsala, India, for a special service for the self-immolation martyrs, attended by Lobsang Sangay, political leader of the Tibetan exile administration. One of the recent self-immolations was of a 30-year-old woman, Kal Kyi, who set herself ablaze near Jonang monastery in Zamthang (Ngaba prefecture, Sichuan province) on March 24. All the recent self-immolations were named as taking place in “Eastern Tibet” (presumably the regions of Amdo, in Qinghai and Gansu provinces, and Kham, in Sichuan). (Phayul, March 28)
