Three more Tibetans self-immolate

Three livestock herders in Tibet set themselves on fire in protest against political and religious repression by Chinese authorities, The New York Times reported. A total of 19 ethnic Tibetans have self-immolated in the past year, but this is the first instance of lay people; previous protests were committed by current or former members of the clergy. The self-immolations took place on Friday in a remote area of Seda County, with one man reported dead and two severely injured. Protesters clashed with police last month in Seda, with as many as 11 reported killed. Chinese authorities claim police were acting in self-defense when protesters stormed a police station. “There is a lot of frustration in the Tibetan areas,” said Tibet expert Robert Barnett. “People are saying they aren’t being listened to; the government didn’t respond constructively to the protests in 2008 and didn’t respond constructively to the whole year we’ve seen of self-immolations.”