Dalai Lama's nephew killed in US accident

MIAMI: Jigme Norbu, the nephew of the Dalai Lama, died late Monday after being struck by a car while taking part in a pro-Tibet march on a Florida highway, officials said.

The Florida Highway Patrol said in a brief statement Tuesday that Norbu was walking on the edge of a local highway in north-eastern Florida when he was hit by an SUV at 7:26 pm Monday (0026 GMT Tuesday), and "was determined to be deceased upon the arrival of emergency services."

The Florida Times Union newspaper reported that Norbu, a resident of Bloomington, Indiana, was struck by a 31-year old motorist from Palm Beach, and said there were two children in the vehicle at the time of the accident.

At the time of his death, Norbu, 45, was walking as part of a "Walk for Tibet," a 300-mile march from St. Augustine to West Palm Beach, according to the Ambassadors for World Peace website.

Reports said that at the time he was struck, Norbu was walking close to the white line separating the part of the highway used for vehicular traffic from the roadway's emergency shoulder.

A spokesman told AFP in India that the Dalai Lama was "saddened" to hear of his nephew's death and will remember him in his prayers on Tuesday.

"We got the message today," the Dalai Lama's personal secretary Chhime Rigzing told AFP by telephone. "He asked about how this had happened. He was saddened by the news.

"We have requested His Holiness to remember Mr Jigme (Norbu) in his prayers today."

The February 14-26 "Walk for Tibet" was to cover 300 miles between the Florida coastal cities of St. Augustine and West Palm Beach, according to www.ambassadorsforworldpeace.org.

The walk was to include "many opportunities to share our message of world peace, human rights, and the Tibetan struggle for independence," the site said.

Norbu completed earlier similar walks, most recently a 300 mile march in Taiwan in December.

Norbu was the son of Takster Rinpoche, the Dalai Lama's eldest brother. He was on the Valentine's Day march with a small group of activists to raise awareness of human rights abuses in Tibet, according to an activist website.

Norbu's father Takster Rinpoche, who advocated independence for Tibet, died in Indiana in 2008 at the age of 86.

The Dalai Lama champions a "middle path" policy that espouses "meaningful autonomy" for Tibet, rather than the full independence.

The Dalai Lama fled into exile in India in 1959 following a failed uprising in Tibet against Chinese rule.