Tibetan man dies after setting himself on fire near UN headquarters in NY
New York police reported on Thursday (2) that a man died from severe burns near the UN headquarters (United Nations).
Activists and a media outlet for the Tibetan community in exile identified him as a Tibetan who set himself on fire in a call for Tibetan independence.
A spokesperson for the New York Police Department said officers responding to an emergency incident at around 6:30 p.m. local time (7:30 p.m. Brasília time) found the man with severe burns.
He was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where his death was confirmed, police said, adding that the investigation remains ongoing. The man's identity has not been released by authorities.
Voice of Tibet, a media outlet for the Tibetan community in exile, stated that Tibetan activist Logba Rangzen "set himself on fire in front of the UN headquarters in New York, after making a live appeal for the independence and unity of Tibet."
According to local website amNewYork, Rangzen worked as an Uber driver and went to the scene carrying a Tibetan flag. The portal cited another Uber driver, Lobsang Paljor, who said he knew Rangzen through the Tibetan community. Paljor told the website that Rangzen "was outraged by the restrictions that the Chinese government has imposed on its people."
Ethnic unity law comes into effect
The United States and the European Union have expressed concern about China's new ethnic unity law, which came into force this week and gives Beijing a legal basis to take action against people outside the country's borders.
The legislation seeks to create a "shared" national identity among China's 55 ethnic minority groups, including Tibetans and Uighurs, some of whom demonstrate dissatisfaction with the Chinese government. Tibetans in different parts of the world oppose the new law.
Over the years, Tibetans have also resorted to self-immolation as a form of protest against Beijing's policies in Tibet and neighboring regions with large Tibetan populations.
China took control of Tibet in 1950 in what it describes as a "peaceful liberation" from a feudal system of serfdom.
International human rights groups and Tibetans in exile, however, repeatedly condemn what they classify as China's oppressive rule over Tibetan areas. Beijing rejects these accusations.
Issues relating to ethnic minorities are highly sensitive in China. Tibetans and other minority groups are subjected to intense surveillance for any signs of supposed "separatism". Since Xi Jinping assumed the country's presidency in 2012, Beijing has expanded institutional control over Tibet.
Tencho Gyatso, president of the International Campaign for Tibet, described Rangzen as "a tireless defender of Tibet" and said she was "deeply saddened" by his death.
According to the International Campaign for Tibet, there have been more than 150 cases of self-immolation by Tibetans between 2009 and 2022. According to the organization, 10 of these self-immolations occurred while those involved were living in exile.
Source: CNN