YEREVAN. – The hunger strike of [Armenia’s opposition] Heritage Party leader [former FM] Raffi Hovannisian [who is declared runner-up to the winner, incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan, as a result of the presidential election that was conducted on February 18, but who claims to be the real winner in the vote] is unacceptable for me. Ruling Republican Party (RPA) National Assembly (NA) Faction leader, RPA Vice Chairman Galust Sahakyan stated this on Monday.   

In his words, any fighting politician chooses the path of his own battle.   

“But a hunger strike is unacceptable for me. For me, it is unacceptable that a politician allows himself to call Karabakh a province, searches for Turks among the Armenian society; this is the [Azerbaijani president Ilham] Aliyev style. It is unacceptable to direct the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process toward another course. It is illogical for such figure to lead the people,” the RPA NA Faction leader noted.         

Reflecting on Hovannisian’s statements that Sargsyan will take an oath of office solely upon Hovannisian’s corpse, Sahakyan said RPA is never a supporter of sacrifice.

“We are against our losses, and Raffi Hovannisian, just as each Armenian citizen, is ours. We are not enemies; we are competitors,” he stated.   

To the query as to whether Sargsyan could visit Hovannisian, who on Sunday declared a hunger strike at capital city Yerevan’s Liberty Square, Sahakyan responded that this could be a good PR move.

“[But] I don’t think such thing will happen, albeit the President is kind and tolerant. [But] if the people want very much, the President could meet the people’s wishes,” Galust Sahakyan added.