Unemployed man tried to set himself on fire in front of Turkish parliament

An unemployed man attempted to set himself on fire on May 17 in front of the parliamentary building in the capital city of Ankara
Friday, 18 May 2018 06:18

35-year-old Oktay Alkaya appeared in front of the parliament on Thursday, shouting that he would fire himself since he suffered from unemployment and hunger. As the police were trying to dissuade the citizen from immolation attempt, he said that he had been imprisoned for 15 years but could not find any job after he was released.

As many other citizens were trying to appease the unemployed man, Özkan Yalım, a lawmaker from the parliamentary main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), appeared at the scene. After Yalım promised Alkaya that he would find a job for him, the citizen gave up setting himself on fire.

“He is living in Antalya’s Manavgat district. We have called our friends there and promised him that we would find a job for him at a municipality. Thus I could take the lighter in his hand,” Yalım told the reporters.

Those incidents have increased around Turkey in recent years. Earlier on January 29, an unemployed man, Muhterem Birgül, tried to set himself on fire in the western province of Balıkesir. These attempts often arise from unemployment or financial problems around the country.

His attempt came after his numerous job applications that remained inconclusive. 

Yet another unemployed man tried to set himself on fire on January 13 near the Turkish parliament building for protesting his financial difficulties. The 39-year-old construction worker poured gasoline from his head and flicked the lighter as the police intervened and extinguished the fire on the worker’s clothes.