According to activist media Chinese police severely beat, and then arrested, a lone Tibetan protesters in Serthar on Sunday.
The young man, reportedly 22-years-old and named Kunchen walked up and down the street, threw prayer leaflets and shouted for the long life of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and for his return.
It is estimated that 30 Chinese police and security personnel 'swarmed him', and beat him severely, before taking him away presumably under arrest.The authorities immediately tightened security in Serthar.
Since 2009, as many as 98 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in Tibet protesting China's continued occupation and demanding freedom and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile. November 2012 saw a dramatic increase in the protest action, with at least 25 self-immolations in that month alone. The escalation was an apparent reaction to the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which took place in mid-November.
Chinese police appeared to be cracking down on current dissent in Tibet, with harsher punishments on protesters, and prison sentences for anyone deemed to aid someone in a self-immolation protest, or incite the action.
Human Rights Watch have said that: 'The central government should devote as much energy to addressing the deep-rooted problems facing Tibetans as it is on punishing the families of those who have taken the drastic step of protesting by self-immolating...Instead of stepping up repression and driving people to believe there is no hope of change, Beijing needs to take steps to respond to Tibetans' grievances.'
