A Tibetan protester filmed himself as he fatally set himself on fire outside the United Nations building in New York City on Thursday.
Palden Lobsang, 52, shared the video, capturing him dressed in full monastic garb as he walked to the corner of 42nd Street and First Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, carrying a Tibetan flag and casually self-immolating, sources told the Daily Mail.
He then stood in the middle of the intersection, throwing flyers that read ‘China out of Tibet’ and ‘Free Tibet’ before cars passed him by.
After about a minute, Lobsang could be seen collapsing to the ground still on fire, and soon two security officers could be seen rushing to the intersection to extinguish the fire.
Meanwhile, a woman who stumbled onto the scene appeared to have called 911.
Officers from the 17th Precinct arrived about five minutes after the video began, with a fire truck arriving roughly two minutes later.
The first responders found Lobsang badly burned and attempted life saving measures before rushing him to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7.04pm, sources said.
The video ended with officers taking the device he was filming on into custody.
But the Tibetan flag he had planted into the ground remained there for about an hour as officers investigated the scene, the New York Post reports.
Palden Lobsang, 52, filmed himself as he set himself on fire outside the United Nations building in New York City on Thursday
Lobsang, who has lived in the United States for about 20 years, had earlier shared pictures of himself sitting outside the Cipriani event venue carrying New York City tourism bags
Lobsang, an Uber driver has lived in the United States for about 20 years, had earlier shared pictures of himself sitting outside the Cipriani event venue carrying New York City tourism bags.
He also shared online the flyers he would later throw into the busy intersection.
A fellow Uber driver said he knew Lobsang from gatherings in New York City’s Tibetan community, and noted that his friend was enraged by the restrictions the Chinese government placed on his people.
‘They have to speak the Mandarin language; they must learn Chinese. They must read that literature; they cannot learn anything else,’ the friend told AMNY. ‘That’s the main thing he was worried about.
‘I am emotionally so sad,’ he added. ‘He should not have done that.’
The ‘Free Tibet’ movement challenges China’s sovereignty over the region.
Tibet had functioned with de facto autonomy and maintained its own distinct administration prior to the Chinese Community Party’s rise to power.
But when the People’s Liberation Army moved into the region, China took control of the region under the Seventeen Point Agreement in May 1951 – an accord that sought to establish a peaceful transition.
Lobsang threw flyers reading ‘Free Tibet’ while he was on fire
The ‘Free Tibet’ movement challenges China’s sovereignty over the region
The ‘Free Tibet’ movement’s goal is now to recapture sovereignty for the Tibet Autonomous Region, marked by the restoration of power to the Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism.
‘Many of the protesters have shouted slogans while on fire, including calling for the Dalai Lama’s long life and his return to Tibet, for the Panchen Lama to be freed and for human rights and freedom in Tibet,’ the movement’s official website notes.
‘Severe punishments are handed out to those accused of assisting or encouraging the protesters or sharing information abroad.’
Yet the movement gained international visibility in the 1990s through the Tibetan Freedom Concerts in the US, which featured prominent bands like U2, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against the Machine.
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