Exiled Tibetans observe candlelight vigil in Dharamsala

Dharamsala, Mar 1 (ANI): Hundreds of exiled Tibetans in Dharamsala participated in a candlelight march on Saturday to pay homage to a martyr of the Tibetan freedom struggle who had self-immolated himself during a prayer festival in China.

The monk was shot dead by the Chinese police.

Exiled Tibetans said they were concerned about the incident.

"A monk in Kirti monastery self-immolated and the greater concern for us is, that even though he was in flames, he was shot at by Chinese army people. So we are not sure whether we succeeded to shots or burns but, things in Tibet are getting really tense and unbearable for Tibetans living here," said B. Tsering, president of the Tibetan Women's Association.

Matt Whitticase, a spokesman for the Free Tibet Campaign, said, "The monk immolated himself after walking out of a monastery in Aba County, an ethnic Tibetan area in Sichuan province. He was carrying a Tibetan flag with a picture of the Dalai Lama."

The month of March marks the 50th anniversary of the exile of the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan spiritual leader had to flee Lhasa in 1959 after a failed insurrection against China. (ANI)