Two more people joined Mane Tandilyan’s hunger strike
Mane Tandilyan, the leader of the Country of Living party, has launched a huger strike at Yerevan’s central Liberty Square to express support for Armenian humanitarian Ruben Vardanyan jailed in Azerbaijan. Her full statement is provided below.
“It has been twelve days since Ruben Vardanyan initiated his hunger strike.
With each passing day, this strike leaves an irreversible impact on his health, posing a grave threat to his life.
It is difficult to imagine what Ruben is going through, but one thing is clear—his decision to take this step signals that all other means have been exhausted.
This is a desperate measure to draw international attention to the sham trials being conducted against Armenian prisoners held in Baku’s prisons. Ruben and our other captives are fighting for the dignity of Armenia and the Armenian people, enduring unimaginable hardships while remaining spiritually and morally stronger than many of us.
I feel shame to acknowledge that you are still in Baku’s prisons and that no effort has been effective enough to prevent you from resorting to such extreme measures.
But I want you to know—our homeland is waiting for you. Please return to Armenia, healthy and unharmed.
Fully supporting the demands underlying Ruben Vardanyan’s hunger strike, I am starting my own hunger strike at Liberty Square from this moment, as a plea for Ruben to end this life-threatening protest.
Ruben, noble son of Armenia, your nation urgently needs you and we wait for your safe return…”
On March 2, Armenian citizens Vardan Avagyan and Artavazd Lalayan also joined the hunger strike of “Living Yerkir” party. “I joined the hunger strike to ask Ruben Vardanyan to stop hunger strike, because he is already facing irreversible health problems,” said Avagyan.
Tandilyan’s friend, Dr. Karen Matosyan, said that before the hunger strike, the three hunger strikers had undergone a medical examination. He stressed that they are concerned about Mrs. Tandilyan’s health and have warned about possible dangers, but this is his conscious decision.