(AP) -- A London-based rights group said the funeral Saturday turned into a protest march, with thousands calling for freedom and the return to Tibet of the Dalai Lama, their exiled spiritual leader. The incident, as with most reported unrest in Tibetan areas, could not be independently verified.Nearly 30 Tibetans have set themselves on fire over the past year to protest the suppression of their religion and culture and to call for the return the Dalai Lama, who fled the Himalayan region in 1959 during a failed uprising against Chinese rule and is reviled by Beijing.
The Communist government has accused supporters of the Dalai Lama of encouraging the self-immolations.
U.S. broadcaster Radio Free Asia said in a statement that Sonam Thargyal, a 44-year-old farmer, fastened cotton padding to his body and doused himself with kerosene before setting himself on fire Saturday in Tongren, a monastery town in western China's Qinghai province. He also drank kerosene, the broadcaster said. Read More
