Man holding Tibetan flag dies after setting himself on fire outside UN
Al Jazeera • • nation
Key Points:
- A 52-year-old man died after setting himself on fire while holding a Tibetan flag outside the United Nations headquarters in New York; police found him with severe burns and he was pronounced dead at a hospital.
- The man, identified by the International Campaign for Tibet as Lobga Rangzen, was a pro-Tibet advocate who opposed China's new law on ethnic unity, which critics say threatens the rights of ethnic minorities like Tibetans and Uighurs.
- The UN Secretary-General’s office expressed condolences, while police investigations into the incident are ongoing, with no official confirmation of the man's motives.
- Tibetans have staged more than 150 self-immolations between 2009 and 2022 as a form of protest against Chinese rule, which Beijing claims is legitimate and denies accusations of oppression.
- The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader in exile since 1959, continues to advocate for Tibetan autonomy through non-violent dialogue, but China has not engaged with his representatives since 2010.
