The report below was published in The Australian today. Please note that the incident took place in Ngaba and not in Golog.

17 January, Michael Sainsbury, China correspondent - The Australian

Australia’s Tibet Council has urged the Gillard government to step up its condemnation of China after troops fired into a crowd of Tibetans in the Himalayas at the weekend, killing at least one person.

The shooting occurred as people gathered in Dari, in the Golog prefecture of Sichuan province, to collect the body of the 16th monk to have set himself on fire since March last year.

The string of self-immolations began in protest at China’s suppression of Tibetan culture and religion. After drinking and soaking themselves in kerosene, the monks set themselves alight, chanting demands for freedom and calling for the return of the Dalai Lama.

A spokeswoman for Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, a longtime critic of China’s actions in Tibet, said he was “deeply concerned.” “The government reminds the Chinese authorities that economic development should be complemented by protection of the unique linguistic, cultural and religious identities of China’s minorities,” he said.