Build don't burn: Monk

A senior Tibetan monk in exile is urging the people of Tibet to look for constructive alternatives to press their cause rather than self-immolation.

"Since March this year 11 brave Tibetans have set themselves on fire while calling for freedom in Tibet and the return of his holiness the Dalai Lama to his homeland," the Karmapa Lama said.

"We Tibetans are few in number, so every Tibetan life is of value to the cause of Tibet," the leader of the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism said.

The Karmapa is considered the most important Tibetan religious figure after the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama.

He said self-immolation was a desperate act against injustice and repression.

The Chinese government should review its policies towards Tibetans and other minorities and listen to their demands, the Karmapa said. "A ruthless response will only make things worse."

Both the Dalai Lama and the Karmapa live in India along with an estimated 140,000 Tibetan exiles.