Tibetans in China to mark new year in tense climate

Monks gather outside a temple during Tibetan New Year celebrations in Langmusixiang, Sichuan Province on Feb 22, 2012. A teenage Tibetan Buddhist monk has set himself on fire and died in south-western China, a rights group said, in the latest reported self-immolation by a monk denouncing Chinese policies in Tibet and demanding the return of the Dalai Lama. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

BEIJING (AFP) - Tibetan new year is usually a time for festivities in China's ethnically Tibetan areas, but this year some are choosing not to celebrate after deadly unrest and a huge security clampdown.

Chinese authorities have implemented what some experts say are unprecedented measures of control on vast swathes of ethnically Tibetan regions following a wave of self-immolations by Buddhist monks and nuns.

Last month, police shot and killed at least two Tibetans in the south-western province of Sichuan - which borders the Tibet autonomous region (TAR) and has a large population of ethnic Tibetans.

Tibet's exiled government has called on Tibetans not to celebrate their new year - or Losar - which begins on Wednesday, and instead observe traditional and spiritual rituals for those who have died.

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