Man with Tibetan flag dies after setting himself on fire in front of UN’s New York headquarters

By CNN Staff

(CNN) — A man holding a Tibetan flag has died after setting himself on fire outside the United Nations headquarters in New York on Thursday in a highly rare self-immolation on US soil.

Law enforcement responded to a 911 call at around 6:30 p.m. and observed a 52-year-old male with severe burns across his body, a New York City Police Department spokesperson told CNN.

The man was taken to hospital and later pronounced dead, the spokesperson said.

The department was not able to comment on why the man set himself on fire, and said the investigation is ongoing. The identity of the deceased has yet to be announced by authorities.

A video live-streamed from a Facebook account shows a man holding a Tibetan flag stopping along First Avenue opposite the UN headquarters and then being engulfed in flames. He collapses to the ground as cars pass by, with flames eventually put out by two men with fire extinguishers.

A separate video posted to the same Facebook account around the same time as the live stream shows a man calling for Tibetans to work together for “the independence of Tibet” and to “never forget” their heritage and identity.

He also accused the Chinese government of creating policies “aimed at destroying the Tibetan identity, culture and language.”

Dozens of self-immolations have been connected with protests against China’s rule over Tibet in recent decades, according to the government-in-exile of Tibet.

However, it is highly unusual for a Tibetan activist to self-immolate in the US.

A crowd of supporters and protestors gathered outside the UN headquarters on Thursday night after the incident, video posted to social media showed.

In one video, posted by New York-based Tibetan activist groups, prominent Tibetan writer Jamyang Norbu described the man who self-immolated as an independence activist and community leader, who went into exile from Tibet in the 1980s and worked as a cab driver after moving to New York.

China’s ruling Communist Party has governed Tibet since 1951, with Beijing insisting Tibet has been part of Chinese territory for centuries.

Many Tibetans have long challenged Beijing’s rule and protested what they see as China’s tightening restrictions on religious and cultural practices and language, accusations that Beijing rejects.

China on July 1 enacted an ethnic unity law that expands mandates over the use of Chinese language in schools and governments in ethnic minority regions and calls for the further “Sinicization” of religion.

Tibetan activists have voiced alarm over the sweeping new law, which they fear will further deepen the cultural erasure of ethnic minorities across China.

Protests are common outside the UN’s headquarters in New York, which has a heavy security presence.

A UN spokesperson said the incident happened after all scheduled meetings were finished for the day and no UN business was affected, the Associated Press reported.

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Tenzin Dharpo contributed to this report.