California man finishes 55-day fast protesting Armenian genocide


On Thursday, a Southern California man ended his 55-day fast protesting the Armenian genocide that took place 100 years ago.
Agasi Vartanyan of Glendale began his fast on April 3, and spent the last 55 days inside a glass box outside of a Burbank church, only consuming bottled water. Vartanyan went on the hunger strike to bring attention to the 100th anniversary of the genocide of about 1.2 million Armenians in their homeland in 1915, and conducted a similar protest in Russia in 2006. A nonprofit group set up a livestream of his protest, and it drew almost 20 million viewers. "What makes what I'm doing worthwhile is when I see young people remembering their roots and their heritage," he told the Los Angeles Times through a translator.
The number 55 was important to Vartanyan, as he'll be turning 55 this year and he wanted to end his fast on May 28, the day Armenians celebrate their independence. It took him a year to prepare, both physically and mentally, and dropped 56 pounds over the 55 days. He would like to see the Turkish government recognize the massacre as genocide, and believes it deserves the same recognition as the Holocaust. "I've done these things for the memory of the victims," he told supporters who came to watch him finish the fast. "You never get anywhere without fighting for it."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Thai fish pie with crispy turmeric potatoes recipe
The Week Recommends Tasty twist on the Lancashire hot pot is given a golden glow
-
Palestine Action: protesters or terrorists?
Talking Point Damaging RAF equipment at Brize Norton blurs line between activism and sabotage, but proscription is a drastic step
-
Trump's strikes on Iran: a 'spectacular success'?
In Depth Military humiliations 'expose the brittleness' of Tehran's ageing regime, but risk reinforcing its commitment to its nuclear program
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from