Tibetan Activist Sets Self on Fire Outside U.N. in Protest Against China

2 weeks ago

A Tibetan activist lit himself on fire and outside of the United Nations headquarters in New York on Thursday to protest China’s control over his homeland, declaring in a video before his self-immolation that Beijing’s policies were “destroying the Tibetan people.” He later died.

Friends of the activist identified him as Lobsang Palden, known as Lobga Rangzen, a 52-year-old resident of Queens. Originally from eastern Tibet, Lobga Rangzen had been an advocate of Tibetan independence for more than a decade.

The police said that around 6:30 p.m. on Thursday they responded to a call for help at East 42nd Street and 1st Avenue, next to the U.N. headquarters, where they found a man with severe burns throughout his body. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

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