Protester with Tibetan flag sets self on fire outside UN headquarters.
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An apparent protester set himself on fire outside New York City’s United Nations headquarters. (Photo: X/RT
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A man protesting China’s rule over Tibet reportedly died Thursday evening after setting himself on fire outside the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan.
The man was identified by a friend as Lobsang Rangzen, who had lived in the US for about 20 years and worked as an Uber driver, Reuters reported.
The incident took place around 7 p.m. near East 42nd Street and First Avenue. Surveillance footage showed Rangzen placing a Tibetan flag on the sidewalk before setting himself on fire. First responders reached him within roughly 15 seconds and put out the flames using fire extinguishers.
He was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, police said.
A witness at the scene, a 37-year-old man from New Jersey, said he saw smoke rising before the flames became visible. He credited nearby UN officers with reaching Rangzen quickly, though he said the injuries were already severe by the time help arrived.
Who was Lobsang Rangzen?
Lobsang Paljor, a friend and fellow Uber driver, told the New York Post he knew Rangzen through their local Tibetan community. Paljor said Rangzen was committed to nonviolent activism and had long supported the goal of a free Tibet.
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Voice of Tibet, a media outlet of exiled Tibetans, said Tibetan activist Logba Rangzen “self-immolated outside the UN headquarters in New York after a live appeal for Tibetan independence and unity.”
Papers scattered at the scene read “China Out of Tibet,” a phrase tied to the Tibetan independence movement.
Why do Tibetan activists use this form of protest?
Since March 2009, more than 150 people are believed to have set themselves on fire in Tibet as protests against Chinese rule, according to the advocacy group Free Tibet. The group says protesters have often called for the Dalai Lama’s return and for greater rights and freedom in the region.
The Tibetan flag involved in Thursday’s protest is linked to a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese control, after which a Tibetan government-in-exile was formed in northern India, according to Anadolu Agency. China does not recognize that government and maintains that Tibet has been part of the country since the 13th century, while the Dalai Lama has said Tibet was independent when Chinese forces entered in 1951.
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China took control of the region in 1951, describing the move at the time as a “peaceful liberation.”
Police have opened an investigation into the incident.
(With inputs from agencies)
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