Davit Petrosyan, who heads the For the Development of Science movement, which has spearheaded recent demonstrations in the Armenian capital, is one of the hunger strikers.
Hundreds of university students took to the streets in Yerevan today to protest a government bill that would effectively do away with most draft deferments. Leaving from Yerevan State University, the students then marched to the State Medical University and the State Engineering University, calling on their counterparts to join them.
Yerevan university students protesting the lifting of military draft deferments continued to demonstrate today, even though the government sponsored bill was approved in parliamentary committee.
Davit Petrosyan, a member of the “In the Name of the Development of Science” initiative, told Hetq he and others left yesterday’s meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan disenchanted.
Today, boycott participants started off from the Yerevan State University (YSU) Central Building and marched to other faculties, chanting "a free, independent lecturer", and "a free, independent student."
Scores of students continue to boycott classes at Yerevan State University, and are marching to protest recent legislation to end college military draft deferments.