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Associated Press out of Beijing reports that a human rights group says that a former monk is in the hospital after attempting to set himself on fire in Tibet, the last in a series of what seems to be self-immolation protests against Chinese rule. 

The International Campaign for Tibet which is based in Washington released a statement reporting that Tibetan exiles in India said that Tenzin Phuntsog, a former monk approximately 40 years old, set himself on fire Thursday and has since been hospitalized.  The self-immolation attempt reportedly happened near the Karma monastery in Tibet’s Chamdo region. 

There have been at least 12 monks, former monks and nuns who have set themselves on fire this year in what are seen as desperate acts in the face of Chinese tightening controls over the Tibetan culture and way of life.  All but the latest have occurred in heavily Tibetan areas of China’s Sichuan province.

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