Artin Penik (1921 – August 15, 1982) was a Turkish-Armenian who committed suicide by

self-immolation The term self-immolation broadly refers to acts of altruistic suicide, otherwise the giving up of one's body in an act of sacrifice. However, it most often refers specifically to autocremation, the act of sacrificing oneself by setting oneself o ...

in protest of the Esenboga airport attack by the

Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) was a militant organization active between 1975 and the 1990s whose stated goal was "to compel the Turkish Government to acknowledge publicly its responsibility for the Armenian genocide ...

(ASALA, also known as Third October) on August 10, 1982. Penik, a 61-year-old, self-employed

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

, set himself on fire in Taksim plaza, the main square of

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, after leaving a suicide note in which he wrote "I can no longer bear the grief over slayings of innocent people." In the attack which led to Penik's suicide protest, ASALA directly targeted civilians for the first time, opening fire in a crowded passenger waiting room at the Ankara airport. While in hospital, he was visited by the Armenian Patriarch Shnork Kaloustian who described him as "a symbol of Armenian discontent with these brutal murders." Penik was interviewed for television in the hospital two days before his death, during which he called for all world governments to unite against terrorism, declaring that those countries which tolerated terror would one day find themselves facing it directed towards them and wished that God give patience to the Turkish people. He further stated that his original plan had been to self-immolate in front of the French general consulate, but he changed his mind at the last moment, and decided to die in the " presence of Atatürk" in Taksim. Penik died in the emergency ward of the Istanbul Cerrahpaşa Hospital five days after his attempted suicide. His funeral, held at the

Surp Asdvadzadzin Patriarchal Church Surp Asdvadzadzin Patriarchal Church, also known as the Holy Mother of God Patriarchal Church, ( hy, Սուրբ Աստուածածին Աթոռանիստ Մայր Տաճար, tr, Aziz Meryem Ana Patriklik Kilisesi) is an Armenian Apostolic Chur ...

was attended by Armenians and Turks as well as by government officials and the funeral procession filled the streets of the Kumkapı district.

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* (Graphic) {{DEFAULTSORT:Penik, Artin Turkish people of Armenian descent Suicides by self-immolation 1921 births 1982 suicides Suicides in Turkey Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia 1982 deaths