Sebastián Acevedo Becerra (20 January 1933 – 11 November 1983) was a Chilean worker who, in protest at the arrest of his children by the

secret police image:Putin-Stasi-Ausweis.png, 300px, Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German Stasi while he was working as a Soviet KGB liaison officer from 1985 to 1989. Both organizations used similar forms of repression. Secre ...

of the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship, self-immolated in front of the Cathedral of the Most Holy Conception, in the town of Concepción. On 9 November 1983, Galo and María Candelaria Acevedo, two of Sebastián's children, were arrested by armed civilians who did not identify themselves. He searched for them in different precincts, suspecting that they were being held by the National Information Center. Two days later, on 11 November, after he was unable to establish their whereabouts, he sprayed

gasoline Gasoline ( North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When for ...

and

kerosene Kerosene, or paraffin, is a combustibility, combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in Aviation fuel, aviation as well as households. Its name derives from the Greek (''kērós'') meaning " ...

on his clothes at the Plaza de Armas in Concepción as a sign of protest to pressure the authorities. When a rifleman tried to stop him, he set fire to his clothes. He died a few hours later as a result of the burns. Before he died, he received the

last rites The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. The Commendation of the Dying is practiced in liturgical Chri ...

from Enrique Moreno who recorded his last words on a tape recorder: "I want the CNI to return my children... Lord, forgive them and also forgive me for this sacrifice". Acevedo's daughter María Candelaria Acevedo was elected to the

Chamber of Deputies of Chile The Chamber of Deputies () is the lower house of Chile's Bicameralism, bicameral National Congress of Chile, Congress. Its organisation and its powers and duties are defined in articles 42 to 59 of Chile's current Chilean Constitution of 1980, ...

in the 2021 general election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acevedo, Sebastián 1931 births 1983 deaths Suicides by self-immolation Suicides in Chile Chilean communists Military dictatorship of Chile (1973–1990) 20th-century Chilean people People from Concepción, Chile