A 52-year-old Tibetan man self-immolated outside of the United Nations Thursday evening in protest of the Chinese occupation of Tibet and newly imposed restrictions in the country, sources and those who knew him said.
Photo by Dean Moses
A 52-year-old Tibetan man self-immolated outside of the United Nations Thursday evening in protest of the Chinese occupation of Tibet and newly imposed restrictions in the country, sources and those who knew him said.
Lobga Rangzen was an Uber driver and had been in the country for about two decades when, at around 6:32 p.m, he arrived at 42nd Street and 1st Avenue with a Tibetan flag. He placed the flag into a traffic barrier and left his belongings on a nearby monument, sources say. He then went live on Facebook.
Police say Rangzen dosed himself in an accelerant and set himself ablaze. He stood motionless for several seconds before staggering and falling to the ground. When officers from the 17th Precinct and Firefighters arrived, they found him badly burned. He was rushed to Bellevue Hospital but could not be saved.
Sources say fliers denouncing China’s occupation of Tibet were discovered nearby.
Fellow Uber driver Lobsang Paljor said he knew Rangzen from gatherings in the Tibetan community, and he was enraged by the restrictions the Chinese government had placed on his countrymen, including the language they could learn.
“They have to speak the Mandarin language; they must learn Chinese. They must read that literature; they cannot learn anything else. That’s the main thing he was worried about,” Paljor told amNewYork. “I am emotionally so sad. He should not have done that.”
Paljor added that Rangzen was not married and was very active on social media.
The investigation remains ongoing.
