March 29, 2011 - 15:50 AMT
Hovannisian may stop hunger strike if Catholicos requests him to do so

Member of Heritage parliamentary group Armen Martirosyan did not rule out the possibility of Raffi Hovannisian’s stopping his hunger strike in case the Catholicos of All Armenians, His Holiness Karekin II requests him to do so.

As Martirosyan noted, the health state of Heritage leader is currently satisfactory and Hovannisian is regularly examined by doctors.

The representative of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Manvel Badeyan called on Hovannisian to stop the hunger strike and return to the parliament. He characterized the strike as a political action, urging to refrain from searching for ulterior motifs or giving insulting comments.

During the extraordinary congress of Heritage on March 15, Raffi Hovannisian urged Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan to resign and thus to ensure fair and independent elections in the country. He also announced the start of “Hungry for Change: Freedom and Justice in Armenia” hunger strike and promised to coordinate his future steps with the party members.