“The fact that V. Gasparian kneels before his bench is already victory”

“Raffi Hovannisian’s image as a devout political figure is undermined by his hunger strike. I viewed his fast two years ago in Liberty Square as an original move, but I don’t consider his current hunger strike original,” Azat Arshakian, who was a deputy of Armenia’s Supreme Council of the first convocation, stated at a meeting with journalists today.

In his opinion, the work done by previous opposition figures is underestimated, even though Raffi Hovannisian has taken advantage of the situation they have created.

“Either R. Hovannisian will cooperate with the authorities and allow his party members to make political careers, or the parties which have left the political field will return and his position will weaken,” Azat Arshakian noted.

Another speaker at the press conference, Chairman of Union of Political Scientists Hmayak Hovhannisian said Raffi Hovannisian went on hunger strike because he considered other forms of struggle exhausted.

“The fact that Vladimir Gasparian comes and kneels before his bench is already a victory. Raffi Hovannisian’s steps made the authorities reconsider their line of action,” Hmayak Hovhannisian said.