Forum of Intellectuals: create a new agency to fight corruption

The Forum of Intellectuals of Azerbaijan (FIA) called on the authorities to begin, finally, a real fight against corruption, and not to simulate activities in this area. The statement of the FIA, adopted on 29 June at the public hearing, reads:

    "For the first time in the history of the three republics of Azerbaijan the ruling elite of the country has appeared in the center of corruption scandals that have received unprecedented international dimension."

    In particular, the investigation of local and foreign media has identified business activities of higher state officials who, in violation of the law, accumulated huge financial and material resources in all sectors of the economy.

    They own property in the country and abroad in hundreds of millions of dollars, control TV channels and financial flows, including the state budget.

    "In fact, the ruling elite has transferred to its ownership or control almost everything that is available in the Azerbaijani land and on its surface, subjecting the economy of the country to its own financial interests," the statement reads. 

    Established several years ago, the State Commission against Corruption has completely discredited itself by becoming an integral part of the most corrupt system, the authors claim.

     The country needs a fundamentally new anti-corruption body, outside the bureaucratic control, with broad representation of public and exclusive authority.

     "This decision will be taken as evidence of political realism and will of the Head of State, without which it is impossible to achieve radical change in the fight against social and political disease that threatens the future of the nation," the statement says. -06D-