A man died after setting himself on fire in front of the United Nations headquarters in New York City, USA. Police have not disclosed the motive, while Tibetan advocacy groups and exiled Tibetan media identified the deceased as a Tibetan activist who acted to demand independence and protest China's policies toward Tibet.
The New York Police Department reported receiving an emergency call at approximately 18:32 on 2 July about a man who set himself on fire at the intersection of 2nd Avenue and 42nd Street near the United Nations headquarters. Officers rushed him to the hospital, but he later died due to severe burn injuries. The police are still investigating and have not officially released the victim's name or motive.
However, media from the exiled Tibetan group Voice of Tibet and human rights activists identified the deceased as Mr. Lobsang Rangzen, a Tibetan campaigner who worked as an Uber driver in New York City. Reports say he arrived at the site carrying the Tibetan national flag and livestreamed his protest calling for Tibetan independence and unity before setting himself on fire.
Tenzing Gyatso, president of the International Campaign for Tibet, issued a statement expressing deep condolences and praised Mr. Rangzen as a tireless activist devoted to raising peaceful awareness of the human rights crisis in Tibet.
Activists revealed that Mr. Rangzen's decision was driven by anger toward China's stringent regulations, especially a new "Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress" enacted this week. This law legally empowers the Chinese government to act against individuals outside its borders.
China claims this law aims to build a "shared identity" among the country’s 55 ethnic minorities, including Tibetans and Uyghurs. However, activists abroad, as well as officials in the United States and European Union, have voiced concern that the law is a tool to suppress human rights and erode the traditional culture and identity of ethnic groups under Chinese rule.
China has controlled Tibet since 1950, which the Chinese government calls a "peaceful liberation" from feudalism. Yet human rights groups and exiled Tibetans denounce it as oppressive rule. The Dalai Lama, Tibet's 90-year-old spiritual leader, fled to India in 1959 after Chinese troops crushed an uprising in Lhasa.
Ethnic issues are highly sensitive in China. Since President Xi Jinping took office in 2012, the Chinese government has increased institutional control and security measures in Tibet, maintaining close surveillance for any signs of "separatism."
According to the International Campaign for Tibet, from 2009 to 2022, more than 150 Tibetans have self-immolated in protest against Chinese policies, including 10 incidents by Tibetans in exile abroad. The United Nations has not yet commented on this recent incident at its headquarters.
/sourceReuters/ AFP