At about 5:00 PM on Thursday, the 2nd of July 2026, Lobsang Palden, also known as Rangzen Lobga, a patriotic hero, was reported to have planted a Tibetan national flag he was carrying on a crossroad in front of the United Nations Headquarters in New York City and then set himself on fire in protest against the numerous types of policies being implemented by the Chinese government aimed at the wholesale destruction of Tibet. The flames were so intense that within moments he collapsed to the ground. Shortly afterward, an emergency rescue team arrived on the scene. He was then taken to the Bellevue Hospital. But the burns were so severe that he died a little past seven in the evening of that same day.

A resident of New York City, The late Rangzen Lobga was born on 1 June 1974 to his father, Sonam Dargye (Soega), and his mother, Dorje Lhamo, in the Kardze region of Dokham in eastern Tibet. He was ordained at a young age in a monastery in his homeland. He came to India in the 1990s and enrolled at the Gaden Jangtse Monastery in south India. Afterwards he later moved to the United States where he regularly organized vigorous campaign actions for freedom and independence for Tibet.

Unrestrained by any quirk of conscience, China has been unrelenting in carrying out the destruction of Tibet and its people ever since it forcefully occupied the country. In particular, it has been pursuing a hardline policy of destroying the religion, culture, language, and so forth of Tibet. It was in the course of pursuing this destructive agenda that on 1 July 2026, China brought into force its so-called Law for Promoting Ethnic unity and Progress. It was on the day after the implementation of this law that this Tibetan martyr sacrificed his life by the non-violent means of committing self-immolation. Before martyring himself, Rangzen Lobga left a message, in which he said: “The communist government of China has been continuing to carry out measures to implement various policies designed to bring about the destruction of Tibet and its people.” He also said, “I have absolutely nothing adverse to say regarding the Tibetan people in Tibet, to speak the truth wholeheartedly. The public spirited sincerity with which they are carrying out the promotion or otherwise revival of our spoken language and written script, as well as our religion and culture, are seen to be truly admirable. For this reason, I wish to express my thanks to them.” He further said: “I wish to express some words of suggestions regarding my fellow Tibetans living in exile. And we need to be sincere in expressing our views. Nothing can be achieved from doing nothing at the fundamental level when it comes to struggling to pursue the cause of a people. Hence, I wish to make it clear that we the Tibetan people living in exile need to work harder. We sincerely owe it enormously to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, for having granted us a truly democratic system of government. Likewise, even though His Holiness the Dalai Lama has granted us democracy without we having to make any human and material expenses for this purpose. Nevertheless, we have kept on rejecting it and asking him to take it back. Undaunted, His Holiness has stood by his commitment to the implementation of a wholesome democracy in Tibetan society. As regards the reason why His Holiness has granted us democracy, it is not at all in order that we fight among ourselves. Rather, it is with a hope to bring about progress to the Tibetans as a people, and for the sake of the Tibetan nation. In particular, it is worth remembering what His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said in the past, namely, ‘if those of you living in Europe and the United States of America feel and rest satisfied with the fact that you have a house and a car and that nothing else matters, be informed that this is utterly disgraceful. I want you all to know that you are all spokespersons for the people of Tibet. You are spokespersons for the people of Tibet. Hence, you should devote yourself to working for what is good for the people of Tibet. You have to make efforts for the people of Tibet.’ Hence, what I wish to tell you as regards what you should do henceforth, is this: The Chinese Communist government has not, and does not at all make any distinction among the Tibetan people. Whether as Tibetans of each of the three provinces or as

Tibetan people as such, its repression has been alike, without any distinction. I want you to know that it has simply suppressed us alike. Suppressed us to no end without any feeling of remorse. It has not differentiated us on the basis of whether we belong to Dotoe, or Dhomey, or U-Tsang. Rather, it has simply suppressed us all alike. For this reason we are all one as Tibetans. We need to work for the Tibetan national cause. We need to work for the cause of the Tibetan people as such. Presently, we are all alike in being deprived of our human rights. We have no freedom of speech and expression. We have no freedom to put up any picture of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. When we say all that, the question is, why do we lack any freedom. The simple fact is that we have lost it all because we have lost our independence. Since this is the reason, we all should make a commitment that from today onwards, whether it is the Tibetan government, or the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, or the Tibetan public, everyone should unite as one, and make it clear that we will all unite and work together for the sake of the Tibetan nation and people. I see this as extremely important. For this reason, I wish to make it clear that from today onwards, the situation should be such that the Tibetan people belonging to all the Three provinces of Tibet say, ‘I am Tibetan’, without having to squabble on the basis of their provincial and religious parochial affiliations.” He has emphasized, “It is not that independence does not exist; it does. The fact is, we have simply lost it. And we need to wrest it back, with all of us acting in togetherness. Hence, we all should unite as one and act on that basis to campaign for the independence of Tibet. On the matter of campaigning for the independence of Tibet, what I wish to plead, with my two hands held up folded together, is that every Tibetan living in exile involve themselves actively. This is one thing I wish to say. Secondly, if today I carry out a particularly strong campaign action, it might affect our cultural activities. For example, in the coming days, commemorations will be held to celebrate the 91st birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.” And he goes on, “In keeping with our tradition, the birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama should be held with a greater amount of vigour, and in a wholesome manner. It should be ensured being marked as a grand event. Likewise, I want everyone who sing and dance and so forth on the occasion to do so on that day. There is no need to stop these celebrations of the event. There is no need to hold mournings. As regards what then needs to be done, my wish is that while being engaged in doing these performances, they should ask themselves as Tibetans what they can do for the sake of Tibetans as a people, and the Tibetan nation. What efforts they should make. It is important that they think in such terms. Hence, please, I beg to appeal to everyone to be a bit more vigorous in making such efforts. The reason why I am saying all this is that in case I carry out a terrifying act of protest, questions may be asked why I did it. Well, it will not be because I was not getting anything to eat, or anything to wear, or because it was an act of giving vent to a feeling of bitterness on my part. Rather, it will be for the sake of nothing less than our national cause; for the sake of the Tibetan national cause. And when it comes to the Tibetan national cause, everyone should do whatever they can without any stoppage.” He further went on, “Everything we lack, whatever it may be, is all because we do not have independence. This is the one big question. Let it be understood that it is all because we have lost our national independence. If we win our national independence, we will have everything we seek. And so, if the question is, what do we need, the answer, obviously, is that we need national independence. What then should we do to win our national independence? Well, everyone should make efforts. So, I call on everyone to be non-stop in making efforts towards the achievement of this goal. Victory to Independence for Tibet! Victory to Tibet! Victory to Independence for Tibet!”

As stated by him in his final testament, the fact that the late Rangzen Lobga gave up his precious life for Tibet and for the cause of Tibet is a great deed of valour that will forever remain indelible in the history of Tibet. Besides, it bears noting that since 2009, till date, a total of well over 150 Tibetans in Tibet and in exile have carried out self-immolations in an unending series of protest actions. This remains not only the longest series of non-violent protest actions by means of self-immolation but also the largest number of protests by such means in the history of the world. In view of this fact, the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile wishes to appeal to the international community, especially governments, parliaments, and relevant offices of the United Nations, to carry out a legal

review of the so-called Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress of the People’s Republic of China as a matter of urgency and take whatever steps may be required to prevent a crime of ethnic genocide from taking place. We also wish to appeal to the international community to carry out a thorough investigation and hold legally accountable those responsible for perpetrating this crime of genocide, ensuing that they do not get away without paying for their crimes with punishment commensurate with their crimes.

Over the past 77 years, following the invasion and illegal annexation of Tibet carried out by the Communist Chinese government, Tibetans both in Tibet and in exile have made great many sacrifices in carrying out numerous peaceful campaigns of protest. In particular, since the year 2009, Tibetans have continued to carry out an unbroken chain of peaceful protests by means of setting themselves on fire. We accordingly wish to reiterate our call on the leaders of the central government of China to carry out a thorough investigation of those self-immolation cases as a basis to bring to an immediate end to their policies of violent repression and brutality in Tibet. We also reiterate our call on them to commence meaningful dialogue without delay to resolve the Sino-Tibetan conflict.

Issued by the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile

3 July 2026

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* In case of any discrepancy between this English translation and its Tibetan original, the latter should be considered as authoritative and final for all purposes.