Samir Sultanov News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

In places where existing trade unions fail to organise workers, new unions will often emerge to fill the gap. And those new unions will sometimes be the subject of state repression as a result. This is what appears to be happening today in Azerbaijan. The existing trade unions in the oil-rich former Soviet republic are strongly tied to the regime. The news on their website consists primarily of support for whatever the regime wants and says, and opposition to Azerbaijan’s traditional enemy, Armenia.

In places where existing trade unions fail to organise workers, new unions will often emerge to fill the gap. And those new unions will sometimes be the subject of state repression as a result. This is what appears to be happening today in Azerbaijan. The existing trade unions in the oil-rich former Soviet republic are strongly tied to the regime. The news on their website consists primarily of support for whatever the regime wants and says, and opposition to Azerbaijan’s traditional enemy, Armenia.

Ahmad Mammadli, chair of an Azerbaijani pro-democracy group, has been sentenced to 30 days in prison following public criticism of the regime.