Tibetan in Delhi Sets Self Alight to Protest Chinese Leader’s Visit

A protest march in New Delhi took a dramatic turn after a Tibetan exile self-immolated Monday afternoon.
“From head to toe, he was full of fire,” said Dorjee Tseten, the national director of Students for a Free Tibet, who   witnessed the act.

The exile, Jampa Yeshi, who is believed to be 26 years old, set himself on fire at Jantar Mantar, the site of frequent protests, at 12:25 p.m., shortly after a Tibetan rally made its way back from Ramlila Maidan, another popular ground for political demonstrations in New Delhi. The protesters were agitating against the India visit of Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, for the BRICS Summit, an economic meeting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, later this week.
Leaders of Tibetan groups said Mr. Yeshi had not told anyone he planned to set himself on fire. “It’s not planned by any organization,” said Tenzin Norsang, joint secretary of the Tibetan Youth Congress, who was leading the protest. But, he said, “we appreciate his courage.”
Mr. Yeshi was rushed to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital minutes after setting himself ablaze. Witnesses said that he was severely burned and that his scorched flesh was peeling off. Mr. Yeshi set himself afire behind one of the gates at Jantar Mantar and then streaked past the podium in a ball of fire and crumpled under a tree on the road in front of the protesters, they said. The police and Tibetan activists then rushed forward with clothes and water to douse the flames.
“He was shouting. I was in shock. There were women crying,” Mr. Tseten said. “It was very emotional. I don’t know what it would lead to in the coming days.”
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