Who needs ethics in politics?
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 19, 2009 00:00
At the Daily News, we try to reflect the dimensions, complexity and stormy controversy of Turkish political life in as detached, fair and evenhanded a way as possible. We also seek to carry this principle to reporting on corruption allegations against politicians.
The basic principle of law that "a person is innocent until proven guilty" is at the core of our values. Hence we cover stories on corruption claims against prominent politicians or mayors aggressively, but also with great sensitivity. Beyond this basic responsibility, we also endeavor to provide context. Our ear is always to the ground to pick up the rumblings of domestic or international calls on members of Parliament to adopt a code of ethics to make Turkish politics more transparent, more accountable and more contemporary.
It is thus a good time to recall the European Union’s assessment of the current situation in its most recent Progress Report that we covered in detail last autumn: "Limited progress can be reported on anti-corruption. The government has continued to implement its initiatives. However, there is no legislation in place that would guarantee transparency of election campaign financing. There has been no progress on the immunity of Members of Parliament. Codes of ethics and/or conduct for Members of Parliament and other groups of public officials are lacking and an anti-corruption strategy and action plan need to be developed and to receive the political support necessary for implementation."And so we attach a great importance to Tuesday’s parliamentary debate on establishing "a political ethics committee" under the roof of Parliament. Deputies and foreign experts widely discussed the ongoing problems in Turkey and suggested ways to confront the issue.
John Williams, the president of Global Organization of Parliamentarians against Corruption, or GOPAC, rightly touched on the necessity of ethical values that will keep the elected officials to serve the public's interests. "There should be rules on unacceptable behavior and an investigation when a change in revenue, assets, liabilities and net values occurs," he stated. Introducing such rules into the extremely polarized politics of Turkey will not only increase the credibility of the politicians and politics as an institution but it will also help improve the country’s vis-?-vis the fight against corruption. According to Transparency International, an international organization to fight against corruption, Turkey ranks 58th in the global corruption index, much behind all EU countries. To increase the quality of politic life, and confront the scourge of corruption, a great portion of responsibility lies on the shoulders of the leaders of the political parties represented in Parliament. Then much more effort from the civil society and the media should be exerted to increase their voices to push the government to take action. It will improve life for each and every citizen of the country.
It is thus a good time to recall the European Union’s assessment of the current situation in its most recent Progress Report that we covered in detail last autumn: "Limited progress can be reported on anti-corruption. The government has continued to implement its initiatives. However, there is no legislation in place that would guarantee transparency of election campaign financing. There has been no progress on the immunity of Members of Parliament. Codes of ethics and/or conduct for Members of Parliament and other groups of public officials are lacking and an anti-corruption strategy and action plan need to be developed and to receive the political support necessary for implementation."And so we attach a great importance to Tuesday’s parliamentary debate on establishing "a political ethics committee" under the roof of Parliament. Deputies and foreign experts widely discussed the ongoing problems in Turkey and suggested ways to confront the issue.
John Williams, the president of Global Organization of Parliamentarians against Corruption, or GOPAC, rightly touched on the necessity of ethical values that will keep the elected officials to serve the public's interests. "There should be rules on unacceptable behavior and an investigation when a change in revenue, assets, liabilities and net values occurs," he stated. Introducing such rules into the extremely polarized politics of Turkey will not only increase the credibility of the politicians and politics as an institution but it will also help improve the country’s vis-?-vis the fight against corruption. According to Transparency International, an international organization to fight against corruption, Turkey ranks 58th in the global corruption index, much behind all EU countries. To increase the quality of politic life, and confront the scourge of corruption, a great portion of responsibility lies on the shoulders of the leaders of the political parties represented in Parliament. Then much more effort from the civil society and the media should be exerted to increase their voices to push the government to take action. It will improve life for each and every citizen of the country.