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| Iraq |
| Iraq's National Integrity Day suggests new era after years of corruption |
| 2005-12-10 |
| After decades of being forced to celebrate a deeply corrupt regime, national officials have declared a new national observance: National Integrity Day. As the name suggests, the holiday, set for Dec. 9, celebrates integrity but also the achievements of the Iraq Commission on Public Integrity, an independent government organization that seeks out and investigates government corruption. National officials ushered in the new holiday Thursday with a lively celebration at the Baghdad Convention Center, a place once off-limits to all but Saddam Hussein’s closest cronies. The commissioner, Judge Radhi Hamza Al-Radhi, said the organization has investigated about 2,000 cases of corruption, big and small, since its inception in mid-2004. One ministry was found to have misused $1.3 billion in funds, he said. A slew of elected officials have been found to have taken bribes, and 600 such cases have been referred to the Central Criminal Court of Iraq for prosecution, Radhi said. The commission also educates schoolchildren on integrity, requires government employees to sign a code of conduct, and works in conjunction with two other Iraqi government entities to investigate and audit government departments. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #3 Where's Tom Lehrer when you need him. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2005-12-10 23:09 |
| #2 Good for them! If the Middle East is ever really going to change, this is one of the customs that absolutely must be inculcated into the new government. Successful governments have honest civil services and the rule of law. Unsuccessful ones don't. It's that simple. |
| Posted by: mac 2005-12-10 22:29 |
| #1 A damn fine idea! |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2005-12-10 21:06 |