Representatives of Armenian radical opposition declared sit-down strike

PanARMENIAN.Net - Leader of "Impeachment" opposition block, editor-in-chief of "Haykakan Zhamanak" newspaper Nikol Pashinyan launched a sit-down strike on the Liberty Square May 16 in Yerevan. Pashinyan protests against "falsification of elections and the current situation in the country". He said, the sit-down strike "is not a desperate move, but a move against despair, which forced a man, a citizen who has the right to rule and who has given in that right to a pair of criminals". "It is also an action of hope and prove of the fact that we will not submit the existing situation and will do our best to leave a country to our children, which we dream of," he stressed. Pashinyan underlined he had declared a sit-down strike not as a representative of a political force, but as a citizen, whose rights are being violated.



Pashinyan took up position under the monument to famous Armenian writer Hovhannes Tumanyan in the Liberty Square. Currently about 50 posters have been stuck on the monuments with a "+1" inscription. This inscription symbolizes the "1+1+1+" formula created by Pashinyan, which supposes gradual unification of people to the idea of disobedience to the existing regime.



Leader of "Republic" party Aram Sargsyan, representatives of People's Party of Armenia and ordinary citizens have already joined the action.



Besides, World Boxing Champion and candidate to the National Assembly Israel Hakobkokhyan has also gone on termless hunger-strike near the Central Electoral Commission of Armenia. Hakobkokhyan demands to declare invalid voting results of the 11th constituency, where he had nominated. He said, a number of violations have been fixed during the voting day in the 11 TEC (Territorial Electoral Commission), and those violations had serious influence on the final result of elections. He is going to continue the hunger-strike until the result of voting is not declared invalid or "until he is taken away feet ahead of head", IA Regnum reports.



The Republican Party of Armenia led by Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan, Prosperous Armenia party led by entrepreneur Gagik Tsarukyan, ARF Dashnaktsutyun, Orinats Yerkir party led by former RA NA Speaker Artur Baghdassaryan and Heritage party led by Armenia's first Foreign Minister Raffi Hovannisian garnered over 5% of votes in the May 12 parliamentary election.