March 30, 2011 - 17:20 AMT
Raffi Hovannisian announces termination of hunger strike

The leader of Heritage opposition party, Armenian parliamentarian Raffi Hovannisian has terminated hunger strike which he started on March 15. As heritage leader noted, he stopped the strike for the sake of citizens who’ve been supporting him and his daughter Shushi who’ll be 18 on March 31.

Hovannisian stated he dedicated the strike to 20th anniversary of Karabakh independence. Still, he stressed, the struggle does not end with termination of the hunger strike.

As Heritage leader said, over the 15 days of strike, he was visited by many of his fellow citizens, including Armenia’s intellectual elite representatives, local and Diaspora politicians.

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.