I often hear people saying ‘our government is corrupt’ or ‘our officials are corrupt’. I do not fully agree with such statements.

Corruption is dishonest behavior by those in positions of power, such as managers or government officials, according to Investopedia. Transparency International, in its definition of corruption, starts by mentioning public servants, politicians and corporations. Later, members of the public are mentioned.

When it comes to corruption, it is usually government officials who are blamed. I have not heard anyone say ‘our people are corrupt’.

Aren’t the persons giving money equally responsible?

If the public stop giving, corruption will reduce.

If officials and politicians stopped receiving, corruption will reduce.

Both government officials and the public should be blamed equally.

I remember once I was staying in a hotel in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Corruption in Kyrgyzstan was being discussed on the radio. A guest said this was so embarrassing. Our officials are so corrupt. What will Europeans think of Kyrgyzstan? I mentioned that is it not just government officials, the giver is also responsible. She then shared stories of how she was involved in ‘corrupt’ activities. But it never crossed her mind that the giver is equally responsible. It is always easy to blame someone else, instead of taking responsibility themselves.

An analogy, unrelated to corruption. I remember once looking out of my hotel room in Japan at around 3 in the morning. The streets were empty. A cyclist went by. It was red light at the traffic intersection. The cyclist stopped, even though there was no traffic or other people. Rule of law is strong is Japan because people respect rule of law. Japan is also very clean and orderly. Because people are clean and orderly themselves. A country or government is not a living thing, it cannot make decisions on its own. Decisions are made through its people. A government cannot be clean, orderly and law abiding. It is the people who are. In a similar manner, governments are not really corrupt. It is the people, both the givers and the receivers, who are corrupt.

In our Trilight case, when problems started, we tried discussions and negotiations. It did not work. We asked Financial Police and its successor, State Service for Combating Economic Crimes (GSPEB), for assistance. They opened and closed investigations 4 times, sometimes without justification. Why? We then managed to get a criminal case opened. The case was suspended. Why? We wrote to the President of Kyrgyzstan and got the suspension lifted.

I was told many times that the state officials are corrupt, hence the reason the case kept getting closed. But no one mentioned that the giver, the public, is corrupt. The blame always falls on government officials.

Note: A criminal case is currently open. These are two most recent letters I received from the prosecutor.

уведомление

Opening of Criminal Case March 2018

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