The New Nation - Internet Edition

Special Correspondent

Outstanding individuals fighting corruption internationally and in Bangladesh, Morocco, Haiti and Vietnam are the finalists for the 2007 Transparency International (TI) Integrity Awards, says a message received from Berlin.

"These finalists have taken on petty and grand corruption in different circumstances. The ordeals they faced exemplify the complexity of corruption and the many ways it should be tackled", said Sion Assidon, Chair of the Integrity Awards Committee and member of TI's Board of Directors.

"The finalists underscore that courageous and creative work can overcome embedded corruption in both developed and developing countries. Fighting corruption means challenging people and institutions that often wield enormous power and should be recognised", added Assidon.

Each year the Integrity Awards Committee receives a substantial number of nominations for candidates who have challenged corruption and taken serious risks in the name of justice, human rights, transparency and integrity. But only seldom does their work win the public acknowledgement that it deserves.

The 2007 finalists are: Claudy Gassant is chief prosecutor of corruption-ridden Haiti, Le Hien Duc, a Vietnamese school-teacher, has become a resourceful anti-corruption fighter by filing complaints and helping others to challenge petty bribing and large-scale graft, Abdelatif Kanjae, Lhibib Lhaji and Khalid Bouhail are Moroccan lawyers who denounced widespread corruption in the country's legal system, Mark Pieth, a criminal law and criminology professor at the University of Basel in his native Switzerland, who has provided outstanding leadership in fighting corruption on an international scale, and Prothom Alo, a leading daily newspaper in Bangladesh.

Since his return from a four-year exile, Claudy Gassant has taken up the determined fight against corruption in his country. Unimpressed by the power or wealth of the suspects, Gassant holds up the rule of law and the independence necessary for justice. Through his integrity and unremitting stance, he encourages public action against corruption and against those who support it.

Le Hien Duc's respect for authority ends where corruption begins. Ms. Duc has tracked down high and low-level officials through different means, at home or in the office, to ensure that they cannot ignore the victims of corruption claiming their rights. In spite of many threats, she provides hope and encouragement for stopping acceptance of corruption.

In an open letter published in the press, a group of lawyers demanded investigation of corrupt practices in one of Morocco's regional courts, known as the "case of Tetouan" and the legal system in general. Despite subsequent repression and being stripped of their professional credentials, these lawyers - Abdelatif Kanjae, Lhibib Lhaji and Khalid Bouhail - gained sympathisers and became a symbol of resistance to corruption. They helped to create public awareness about the importance of an independent and impartial justice system.

Prof. Mark Pieth has countered corruption not only as a co-founder of the Basel Institute on Governance but as chair of the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions and as a member of the Independent Inquiry Committee into the Iraq Oil-for-Food Programme of the United Nations. His willingness to publicly criticise governments that fail to implement the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and those that did not provide enough support to identify companies that paid kickbacks in the oil-for-food scandal.

Prothom Alo has consistently exposed major corruption at the highest levels of government during the last decade, the message says.

Now in its sixth year, the Integrity Awards have honoured individuals and organisations from Asia and Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. These have included journalists and public prosecutors, accountants and government officials along with leaders of civil society.

The 2007 Integrity Awards winners will be honoured at a ceremony to be held on 10 December 2007.