The corruption malady

What if the media had been pressured to silence, how the public opinion would have learned and question about the corruptions!

The corruption claims about the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, top official Şaban Dişli and about the opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, official Mehmet Sevigen were revealed by the media, or even better, almost the same newspapers announced them!

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had accused the newspapers for degrading his party by publishing articles on Dişli. He had said that this is a "campaign" against the AKP.

We have learned through the article of the Milliyet daily’s Fikret Bila published the other day that the CHP leader Deniz Baykal also considers the articles against Sevigen part of a campaign to wear him out.

Handling honey!
Not only attitudes but also "mechanisms" are interestingly similar. The claim of having more benefits in exchange for allowing the construction of multi-story buildings.

We have two examples before us in order to analyze this widespread social and political malady called "corruption."

We have an old saying that goes like, "One who handles honey, licks his fingers," meaning somebody in charge of handling money or resources, get to keep or enjoy some benefits for himself.

This is a very widespread proverb frequently used in Turkey. So, isn’t it the best proof of corruptions? In the urbanization process in particular, lots are inevitably getting more valuable. In this case the zoning decisions from the municipality councils are worth billions!

In Turkey and similar countries that are going through economic development and urbanization, municipality councils have more power in having access to unearned money than that of in London and Paris! As this power is being spread, there are always those who handle the honey jar so to speak! The thing is that there is almost a bloody struggle going on in all political parties for having a seat in city councils!

Even if candidates are so very idealistic at the beginning they begin to think over time that, "Maybe this is not that ethical but everyone does it!" So, Lord John Dalberg Acton’s principle, "power tends to corrupt," comes into play!

Since political power holders in developing countries have so many "honey jars" in hand we always face the problem of "licking the finger"! Can the city council easily change the building permit for a 12-story building to a 23-story building in London!?

The effect of peasantry
For this reason, let’s watch out! Corruptions in developing countries and in Turkey are always more serious.

There is no magical solution! First, the media should crack down on the serious corruption claims. This is important. The Turkish media is already doing so.

Not to give into the mindset of "Ours are clean, others are racketeers," to increase inter-party controls and develop democracy are importantÉ

The transparency of official institutions, administrative controls and legal investigations also bare importance.

But let’s not forget that city councils are transparent; they are open! And the decisions made in town councils can be announced! We don’t pay attention to this but even if we realize this, we continue as if nothing happened!

At this point, we all are responsible! We don’t have a civilian society auditing. We are still struggling with the peasantry!

Can we complain about the illegal construction by one of our neighbors?! I mean can we all together protest the giant concretion going on around us?! Can we go to the city administration to bring them to account?!

But in this day and age supervision of the civilian society has gained more importance in order for neighbors, counterparts, environmentalists, city planners and associations get together, raise their voice and protest what they see but politicians, media and controllers do not see!

Since our social side is "underdeveloped," limitation of immunities and other measures such as bringing "ethic behavior rules" into play as part of the European Union membership requirement are needed urgently!



Taha Akyol is a columnist for the daily Milliyet in which this piece appeared yesterday. It was translated into English by the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review's staff