Frida Wrap-up: truck drivers, Freedom House and Ukraine
Published: 25 February 2022 19:15
The week of February 21-25 saw a truck drivers’ strike, Azerbaijan on the list of “non-free” countries and reactions to the conflict in Ukraine.
Truck drivers block Heydar Aliyev Avenue in Baku
A group of truck drivers organized a strike and blocked the Heydar Aliyev Avenue, one of the most busy roads of the Azerbaijani capital. The slogan “Goods are spoiled because permits are not issued” was written on the trucks.
They were protesting against the head of the State Motor Transport Service Anar Rzayev, and the slow bureaucracy process to get licensing for transporting goods. According to the truck drivers, the permit’s rules have change since Rzayev took office. They accuse him of favoring his brother’s transport company by giving it a high number of licenses, which are limited.
As a response to the action, the drivers were detained. Two of them were sentenced to 30 days of administrative detention, and one was sentenced to two months in prison
Freedom House: Azerbaijan is classified as a “non-free” country
International organization Freedom House has released its report “Freedom in the World 2022”, assessing fundamental freedoms around the globe.
Together with Azerbaijan, there are 56 other countries in the category of “non-free”. Moreover, Azerbaijan has one of the worst marks on political rights and civil liberties, and an overall score of 9/100 together with Libya, China and Yemen. Neighboring countries from the Caucasus, Armenia and Georgia, felt into the category of “partially free” countries.
The report also draw attention to the situation of journalists, LGBTQI+ individuals, and opposition parties’ supporters who are said to be facing increasing threats and violence in Azerbaijan.
Conflict in Ukraine and the Azerbaijani response
Russia started an operation against Ukraine on February 24. The country and Azerbaijan share a common past, since both were republics of the former Soviet Union.
As a consequence of the conflict, Azerbaijan’s low-budget airline Buta Airways has canceled Baku-Kiev and Baku-Astrakhan flights and Ukrainian Airlines landed the Baku-Kiev flight in Chisinau.
Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry appealed to Azerbaijani citizens in Ukraine to not leave the house if necessary, and stay away from military facilities. He added that they should not travel to areas where military forces are concentrated due to elevated risks.
In Baku, a group of people held a protest in front of the Russian embassy against the invasion of the Ukrainian territory. Police intervened and prevented the protesters from submitting a statement to the embassy. Some of the participants were forcibly removed from the area.