Opposition activists, who have been refusing food in Azerbaijan’s autonomous republic of Nakhchivan since June 21, called off the hunger-strike on Wednesday, Baku’s Russian-language daily newspaper Zerkalo reported. (8 july 2004)
Asaf Guliyev, head of the Center for Democratic Development (CDD), a union of local branches of several opposition parties in Nakhchivan, said the hunger-strikers decided to stop the action because it has reached its goal of attracting international attention to the plight of the opposition in the autonomous republic.
The goal
The hunger strike, first launched by four CDD members and later joined by six more opposition members, was an act of protest against what they called arbitrary behavior of police and the local authorities’ cracking down on democratic forces.
The call off came on the second day of the US ambassador Reno Harnish’s visit to the autonomous republic. Harnish said “it is time for opening of democratic institutions in Nakhchivan,” Turan reported.
Waving struggle
Guliyev of CDD said the Nakhchivani opposition would continue fighting for their rights.
“We have stopped the hunger-strike. But this does not mean that we will stop our activities. We are trying to use our opportunities maximally to make sure that our voice is heard and our demands are met,” Zerkalo quoted Guyliyev as saying
