Tibetan man dies after setting himself on fire outside UN in New York, activists say
Police in New York said a man has died from severe burns near the United Nations headquarters, and activists and a media outlet of exiled Tibetans identified him as a Tibetan who set himself on fire in an appeal for independence.
A New York City police department spokesperson said police found the man badly burned after responding to an emergency call made at about 6.30pm ET .
He was taken to Bellevue hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said, adding they were still investigating the death. Police did not name the man and did not provide any potential motive for his action.
Voice of Tibet, a media outlet of exiled Tibetans, said Tibetan activist Lobga Rangzen “self-immolated outside the UN headquarters in New York after a live appeal for Tibetan independence and unity”.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/03/tibet-china-man-tibetan-flag-set-himself-on-fire-dies-un-united-nations-new-yorkOpen linkView original on lemmy.world
4 replies
With all due respect, this is incredibly bad timing on his part.
Americans love to (appear as though they) fight for good causes, but when we're fighting for our own survival, we don't have enough room on our plate for Tibet.
You want to set yourself on fire when there's nothing else to talk about. We still remember that one guy the did it on the 80s! But with Trump around, there's somehow going to be something even more shocking by the end of the day.
Does anyone remember those two people who set themselves on fire during Trump's trial? The one guy set himself ablaze right outside the courthouse during the Stormy Daniels trial.
Please tell me I'm not the only one who remembers two human beings setting themselves on fire to get people to pay attention to how evil this bastard is. And then the judge finding him guilty and giving him NO CONSEQUENCES.
Tbf, he did it outside the UN headquarters, which just happens to be in NY. Presumably he wanted the world's attention - not just the US's. And there tend to be a lot of things going on in the world all the time, so there is probably never the "right" time
Plus there's no fame in being second.