Free Tibet is extremely concerned about the welfare and whereabouts of a young monk from the restive area of Ngaba county in Eastern Tibet, who was detained after setting himself alight as a means of protest in February 2009.
Tabe's dramatic protest was reportedly ended when chinese armed police approached. Free Tibet's eyewitnesses said that they heard shots, and when they turned back, Tabe was on the ground. They said he was then bundled into a van and taken away. He has not been heard from since.
There have been reports that Tabe was told that he would have to have a leg and arm amputated after the incident, and some unverified claims that he had refused as it was possible the amputations were demanded to cover up bullet wounds.
Free Tibet's eyewitness sources said that Tabe, in his 20s and from Kirti monastery, walked into Ngaba town shouting slogans and holding a hand-drawn Tibetan national flag. They said that when he arrived in the town, he poured petrol over himself and set himself alight. He was immediately surrounded by several armed chinese police, who pointed guns at Tabe.The eyewitnesses turned away from this unnerving scene at this point, but said they heard three separate gunshots. They could not verify for sure whether Tabe had been hit, but turned back to see that he had collapsed on the ground. The said that the police then extinguished the flames and brought Tabe into a nearby van which immediately left for an unknown location. The eyewitnesses could not tell whether he was dead or alive
