Friday, September 19, 2008

Macedonia: Fighting Corruption with Online Video

In order to aid the fight against corruption, and for increasing transparency and accountability of the government, the Macedonian blogs Komunikacii and Panta Rei published several video-clips used by citizens to document abuse of power in the municipality of Centar, а constituent part of the Macedonian capital Skopje.

The clips posted on YouTube contain fragments of conversations with the municipal officials and public servants who allegedly refrained from removal of illegal buildings under their jurisdiction. This online video aspect of the "Platina" case—named after the building company—was first revealed by the Nova Makedonija daily, and was also reported by the portal Taratur.