BEIJING (AP) — A prominent writer under house arrest in Beijing has pleaded with her fellow Tibetans to stop setting themselves on fire to protest Chinese rule. She says such self-destructive measures are doing nothing for the cause of Tibetan rights.

Tsering Woeser said in online appeal posted Thursday that she was “grief-stricken” by the recent string of more than two dozen self-immolations and called on influential Tibetans, including monks and intellectuals, to help stop them.

Woeser said Tibetans can challenge oppression only by staying alive.

China says supporters of the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama have encouraged the self-immolations. The Dalai Lama says he does not encourage the practice.