MAN DIES AFTER SELF-IMMOLATION
By Irina Hovannisian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Feb 27 2007

A man from a village in southern Armenia died after burning himself
near the main government building in Yerevan under uncertain
circumstances on Tuesday.

Eyewitnesses said the man, identified as Jivan Hakobian, poured petrol
all over his body and set himself ablaze before being rushed to a
hospital early in the afternoon. A senior doctor there told RFE/RL
that he died of severe injuries about eight hours later.

The doctor, Hovannes Aslanian, said earlier in the day that Hakobian’s
chances of survival are slim. "His condition is extremely grave and,
I would say, incompatible with life," he said. "Eighty percent of
his body surface is covered by deep burns. On top of that, he has
respiratory burns."

Hakobian was said to have chanted anti-government slogans moments
before the self-immolation. "Some people tried to put out the fire,
but he got totally burned," said one witness.

It was not immediately clear what prompted the 44-year-old father of
four to take the extreme and desperate action. His wife and other
relatives declined a comment as they arrived at the Yerevan clinic
specializing in treatment of burns.

Hakobian and his family reside in the village of Dalarik in the
southern Armavir region. He reportedly worked in Russia for several
years before returning to Armenia recently.

The Dalarik mayor, Pargev Saghatelian, said Hakobian has never
approached him with any complaints or grievances. "He never lodged
any complaints," Saghatelian told RFE/RL. "He just said once that he
wants to borrow a loan."

Prime Minister Andranik Markarian’s office, meanwhile, revealed that
it received a letter from Hakobian on February 20 demanding that the
government grant him a 10-year interest-free loan in compensation for
his bank savings that had been wiped out by the hyperinflation of the
early 1990s. According to a government spokeswoman, he complained that
his similar letters to President Robert Kocharian and the National
Assembly remained unanswered.

The official said Hakobian also asked the government to help him get
an audience with business tycoon Gagik Tsarukian or opposition leader
Stepan Demirchian. He was informed by phone that the government can
not deal with such matters, she added.

This is the second case of public self-immolation registered in Armenia
in less than three months. An elderly woman and her three grandsons
set themselves on fire outside Kocharian’s official residence in early
December, in protest against an alleged cover-up of the killing of
a family member. All of them stayed alive after hospitalization.