KIEV (Sputnik) – Independent trade unions in Ukraine have accused the country’s security forces of repressions and have issued a statement asking Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to take measures to stop the persecution of trade union leaders.
"Independent trade unions of Ukraine believe that the President of Ukraine, as a guarantor of the Constitution of Ukraine, should stop immediately the unconstitutional actions related to harassment on the part of security forces," the statement, published on the website of the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine (KVPU) on Wednesday, said.
According to the trade unions, the "legal incompetence" and "irresponsibility" of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), evident in the persecution of KVPU and other trade union leaders, "shows signs of the formation of a totalitarian state [in Ukraine]."
The trade unions appealed to foreign governments, asking them to hold Ukrainian authorities accountable for a lack of compliance with international law and standards.
Ukraine has seen over a year of political turmoil after major protests in Kiev resulted in the overthrow of former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich in February 2014.
