On April 2, the Heritage party member Larisa Alaverdyan, ethnographer Hranush Haratyan and the scholar Anahit Tonoyan started a silent protest in Liberty Square in Yerevan. Determined not to utter a single word they refused to answer any of Armenian News-NEWS.am’s questions. A certain Susanna Barkhudaryan, a Board member, Heritage party, said the reason for the protest is intellectuals’ disagreement with the ways of dealing with existing problems.

The participants will change one another from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. every day. “They will remain silent during the action, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow – all the following days - whoever comes,” Barkhudaryan said.

Stepan Safaryan, a member of the Heritage parliamentary faction, told Armenian News-NEWS.am he came to express his support to the protesters.

As to whether the intellectuals’ action is a follow-up to Raffi Hovhannisyan’s hunger-strike, Safaryan said: “I would not like to say the action is a follow-up to Raffi Hovhannisyan’s hunger-strike, but the party leader’s action gave rise to a new form of protest. Intellectuals are protesting on their own behalf and on behalf of others. Everybody is aware that Raffi Hovhannisyan and these persons have far fewer problems than others. But, no matter how gravely people’s right to protest is violated, the intellectuals had the courage to protest instead of the people that are not allowed to,” Safaryan said.

Heritage party Chairman Raffi Hovhannisyan was on a hunger-strike March 14 to 30.