Dalai Lama’s nephew killed during Free Tibet walk

The movement to free Tibet from Chinese occupation was dealt a blow yesterday when the Dalai Lama's nephew, Jigme Norbu, was killed in a road accident in Florida.
 
Norbu, 45, was walking 300 miles across the state to spread the "message of world peace, human rights, and the Tibetan struggle for independence".

He was close to finishing the first leg of his walk when he was hit by an SUV at around 7.30pm local time. The Florida Highway Patrol said he had died by the time the emergency services arrived at the scene.
 
Norbu was the son of a prominent US-based Tibetan activist, Taktser Rinpoche, who died aged 86 in September 2008. A Tibetan Lama himself, Rinpoche was the Dalai Lama's brother, and they fled into exile together after the 1959 Tibetan uprising.
 
While Rinpoche, however, insisted on full independence for Tibet - even through violent means - the Dalai Lama has always espoused a "meaningful autonomy" and the seeking of a peaceful "middle path".
 
Norbu, although less prolific than his father and uncle, was highly active as a campaigner for the Tibetan cause. Through charity walks and bike rides, he had covered over 7,800 miles in order to spread awareness and raise funds.

On a walk in October last year, Norbu said: "This is not just a Tibet issue, it's a global issue. What keeps me going is the six million Tibetans, inside Tibet today, that have been suppressed for over six decades by a Communist regime."

Since invading in 1950, China has claimed Tibet as a legitimate part of its territory. It is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, but Tibetans say that Chinese rule is repressive and deprives them of various rights, especially freedom of worship. The current Dalai Lama lives in India, where he has established a government in exile. ·