Hundreds of Tibetans have been taken into police custody in Tibetan capital Lhasa after two men set themselves on fire in the Tibetan regional capital, as a young mother became the latest Tibetan to immolate herself last sunday.

Lhasa-Tibet, China / NationalTurk – Radio Free Asia stated Chinese security forces had blockaded hundreds of Tibetan residents and pilgrims in the wake of Sunday’s incident, the first significant protest in heavily-guarded Lhasa since deadly anti-Chinese government riots taken place in 2008.

Tibetan sovereignty debate gets heated

A young Buddhist monk stands near prayer’s wheels at Jokhang Temple in Barkhor in Lhasa, Tibet, far west of China is sight not welcomed by China.

Recent reports from China-oppressed Tibet indicate that about 600 Tibetans had been taken into police custody and those from outside the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) had been expelled.

Tibet Autonomous Region : China oppression or rights

Foreign journalists are not allowed into the Tibetan Autonomous Region without special permission and the report could not be independently confirmed. A security official in Lhasa stated by telephone that she did not know anything about the reported detentions of Tibetan residents.

China does not allow any other country to have diplomatic representation in Lhasa.

On Wednesday, a Tibetan mother of three self-immolated in front of a monastery in southwestern Sichuan province’s Aba county, where many of the protests have taken place, Free Tibet and Radio Free Asia reported.

Free Tibet groups issue reports incidents

Free Tibet, a London-based campaign group, reported the woman was in her mid-30s and died at the scene of the incident her charred body remained at the scene.

More than 30 people have set themselves on fire in Tibetan-inhabited areas of China since the start of March 2011 in protest at what they say is religious and cultural repression by the Chinese authorities.

Sunday’s protest took place as Lhasa was filled with Tibetan Buddhist pilgrims who had travelled to the city to celebrate Saga Dawa — the anniversary of Buddha’s birth.

China Tibet Conflict : Tibetan burn themselves

The two Tibetan men, who were both from outside the TAR, set themselves on fire in front of the famed Jokhang Temple, a popular pilgrimage destination in the centre of the city.

Police immediately put out the flames and one of the two men survived, according to state news agency Xinhua. His current whereabouts are not known.

Sunday’s incident was the first of its kind in the Tibetan capital, which has been under tight security since the 2008 riots.

Tibetans have long chafed under China’s rule over the vast Tibetan plateau, claiming that Beijing government has curbed religious freedoms and their culture is being eroded by an influx of Han Chinese, China’s main ethnic group.

China Tibet Conflict : China insists Tibetan live their religion freely, China’s flourishing economy helps them too

Beijing administration insists that Tibetans enjoy religious freedom and have benefited from improved living standards brought on by China’s economic boom.

The state-run Tibet Daily reported yesterday that a senior Communist Party official had ordered Chinese authorities to crack down on ‘criminal activities’ in Tibet capital Lhasa and on rumours spread via mobile phone and the Internet.

Residents of Lhasa claim the city was under even tighter Chinese security than usual following Sunday’s protest, with police and paramilitary officers out in force, although the streets remained calm.

Tibet’s government-in-exile expressed earlier this week it was ‘ seriously concerned ‘ by recent developments adding that the situation in Lhasa remaines as tense as it ever was.

Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader Dalai Lama declared in 2011 that he was giving up his political role and would focus on spiritual duties.

Nonetheless, China has repeatedly accused Dalai Lama of trying to split Tibet from the rest of China and encouraging Tibetan protesters in the vast Himalayan region to immolate themselves. China’s accusations have been denied by Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader Dalai Lama.

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