Dalai Lama's representative's properties set ablaze at night, person escapes blaze

A night-time firebomb attack targeting the Dalai Lama's representative in South Africa has left his home and office extensively damaged. The attack targeted the property in Centurion on October 14, Dalai Lama's representative, Dundup Gapalo, was woken up by the sound of shattering glass only to find his home filled with smoke. He then broke his bedroom window and managed to escape the blaze. The fire gutted the property, rendering it unlivable. Official documents and office furniture were also destroyed in the blaze. An unexploded petrol bomb was later found hanging from a window. Details regarding the suspects involved and the motive behind the attack remain unclear. The incident comes against the backdrop of South Africa's long-standing diplomatic tensions with the Dalai Lama. Pretoria has denied the Tibetan spiritual leader entry visas in 2009, 2011 and 2014 amid concerns over straining ties with China, one of South Africa's largest trading partners. Beijing views the Dalai Lama as a separatist, while the Tibetan spiritual leader says he seeks genuine autonomy for Tibet within China. This is what remains of the office of the Tibetan center in South Africa. just 45 to 50 kilometers from central Johannesburg, following two suspected petrol bomb attacks. Rooms inside the building have been reduced to ashes, while officials say they barely escaped with their lives. A representative of the office has told Weon that the attack was politically motivated and intended to intimidate the office of the Tibet here in South Africa. Now the focus turns to investigators to establish who is behind these attacks why the office was targeted and whether there is a wider political agenda at play. This is Karla Nomo from Centurion, South Africa for We On, World is One.