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Sunday, Oct 7, 2012 2:45 AM UTC

Tibetan man sets himself on fire to protest China

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Topics: From the Wires,

BEIJING (AP) — A London-based rights group says a Tibetan man has died after setting himself on fire to protest Chinese rule over the Himalayan region.

Free Tibet says 27-year-old Sangye Gyatso, a father of two, called out for freedom of religion and language in Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetans’ exiled spiritual leader, before setting himself on fire Saturday in northwest China.

The group says the incident took place near a monastery outside of Tso city in Gansu province.

A man from the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture propaganda office said he had no information about the reported incident. Calls to the local police rang unanswered.

According to Free Tibet, more than 50 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in China since 2009 to protest Chinese rule.

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  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

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