By Asbarez | Wednesday, 30 March 2011
By eating a symbolic piece of bread, Hovannisian ends his hunger strike
YEREVAN—With a prayer from a priest and a traditional blessing of the bread ceremony, Heritage Party founder and leader Raffi Hovannisian ended his 15-day hunger strike at Liberty Square Wednesday.
In a brief speech, Hovannisian thanked those who expressed their support by visiting him during the fortnight and vowed to continue his struggle and advance his message.
On March 15, Hovannisian, who was the first foreign minister of Armenia after its independence in 1991, began the hunger strike calling for snap elections.
In the presence of relatives, supporters and the media, Hovannisian symbolically ate a piece of bread offered by the priest, ending his strike. He cited his perception of an increased awareness among the public as one of the reasons for his decision. ad.
“In this struggle there will be no leaders, no outsiders. All must be part of the way that will lead to a free, fair and dignified Armenia, a future Armenia. We must make that future today,” said Hovannisian.
On Wednesday, the Heritage party press office sent a note to the media announcing the end of Hovannisian’s strike and a list of 127 people who visited him in the past two weeks.
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