A 52-year-old man, identified by activists as Lobga Rangzen, died on Thursday after setting himself on fire outside the United Nations headquarters in New York City. The incident occurred around 7 p.m. near East 43rd Street and First Avenue. Surveillance footage showed Rangzen, wearing what appeared to be monastic robes, placing a Tibetan flag on the sidewalk before igniting himself. He was transported to Bellevue Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Police officers and security personnel quickly responded, extinguishing the flames within 15 seconds. Authorities collected leaflets from the scene, including one with the slogan "China Out of Tibet," a message associated with the Tibetan independence movement. A UN spokesperson confirmed the incident happened after all scheduled meetings for the day were finished, and no UN business was affected. While police did not immediately release the man's name or a motive, activists identified him and linked his act to an appeal for Tibetan independence.
According to the International Campaign for Tibet, there have been over 150 self-immolations by Tibetans between 2009 and 2022, with 10 of these occurring among exiles. China has governed the Himalayan region since 1951, but many Tibetans contend they were largely independent for most of their history and protest Beijing's policies, especially highlighting concerns about a new ethnic unity law that went into effect recently. Rangzen, an Uber driver, was reportedly enraged by restrictions placed on his countrymen by the Chinese government, according to a fellow Uber driver and friend.
