DHARAMSHALA, March 1: A flash mob highlighting the ongoing wave of self-immolation protests inside Tibet was held Wednesday at the Union Square in New York city.

Over a hundred Tibetans and supporters held a photo each of a self-immolator and one by one recited the name, age, and their decision to torch themselves.

Organisers of the event, global students group, Students for a Free Tibet, they wanted to amplify “Tibet's voices of fire” to the rest of the world and remind the world to take action through the use of art and political theater.

“107 Tibetans are here to highlight the staggering number of self-immolations,” Pema Yoko, Students for a Free Tibet’s International Grassroots Director. “This flash mob is an attempt at humanising the self-immolators and to show the world that they were people like us with the same aspirations for freedom and human rights.”

Leading the action, Tenzin Dolkar, SFT’s Deputy Director called on Xi Jinping, China’s incoming President, to address the crisis in Tibet. “We ask the global community to urge their leaders to engage in a multilateral action to pressure Xi Jinping to end the crackdown in Tibet,” she said.

Since 2009, as many as 107 known Tibetans living under China’s rule have set themselves on fire protesting China’s occupation and demanding freedom and the return of exile Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

The exile Tibetan administration has blamed China’s repressive policies for the crisis and called for a peaceful resolution of the situation through dialogue.