11:28, 9 July 2019

Resident of Stepanakert goes on hunger strike demanding to solve social problems

Karen Grigoryan, a resident of Stepanakert, has gone on a hunger strike. July 8, 2019. Photo by Alvard Grigoryan for the "Caucasian Knot"

Karen Grigoryan, a 35-year-old unemployed resident of Stepanakert and a father of two children, has gone on an endless hunger strike, demanding a meeting with Bako Saakyan, the President of Nagorno-Karabakh. He called the solution of social problems as the aim of his action.

"People can't find work; and I am among them. There are people with serious health problems, but they have cut their pensions. Families of perished and wounded soldiers and refugees are trying to get land plots, but community administration demands for a starting price of 500,000 drams (1050 US dollars). They can't buy housing through mortgages, even under the state programme – they have to show 500,000 drams of salary for a family with three children, but nobody has such an income. I myself have experienced all this and I think that the state should be attentive to the needs of ordinary citizens," Mr Grigoryan has stated, noting that he will hold his hunger strike "as long as the health permits."

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 8, 2019 at 10:57 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Alvard Grigoryan

Source: CK correspondent