OIL AND gas discoveries in Cyprus’ offshore territory may prove more a curse than a blessing for the island as the exploitation of natural resources is often accompanied by corruption, associate professor Craig Webster, said. “A casual look at the countries in the world would suggest that those with easily exploitable natural resources, such as oil, seem to have a problem developing strong democratic institutions,” Webster, who teaches international relations at the University of Nicosia, told the Sunday Mail.
“It is a paradox that some of the richest countries in the world are those that have almost no natural resources. Denmark and Japan are good examples of wealthy countries that have virtually no natural resources to exploit. This stands in contrast to countries with virtually unlimited natural resources but with serious problems developing economically and democratically,” he added.
According to Transparency International, a Berlin-based non-governmental organisation involved worldwide in fighting corruption, Denmark ranked second best in the Corruption Perception Index in 2009, right behind New Zealand. Japan ranked 17th. Transparency International defines corruption as the “abuse of entrusted power for private gain”. This abuse “hurts everyone whose life, livelihood or happiness depends on the integrity of people in a position of authority”.
Oil producing countries such as Nigeria, Russia, Venezuela and Iran appear deeply mired in corruption, according to the NGO’s 2009 list, which scrutinised 180 countries. Nigeria ranked 130th, Russia 146th, Venezuela and Iran 168th.
At the same time, many other oil rich countries such as many countries in the Gulf and North Africa, are governed by autocratic regimes that show little respect for human rights.
If oil is discovered in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone it will not mean an automatic increase in corruption as there are also exceptions to this rule, according Webster. “Norway, Canada and some other countries seem to be exceptions, but most of these had strong democratic institutions before beginning to exploit oil,” he said.
But relying on an existing legislative framework alone to prevent corruption may not be enough, lawyer Michalis Papapetrou said. “It takes politicians with high moral standards and integrity,” he said.
“Cyprus has its legislative framework but the question is how and whether it is applied. It requires willingness and diligence from those who are assigned with the task. This is the question in every country,” said Papapetrou, a former MP and government spokesman.
For Nicosia-based lawyer Michalis Paraskeva, there is little doubt that legislation is not applied in Cyprus, as even Supreme Court rulings do not appear to mean much to the authorities, while there is also a lack of accountability.
“The Supreme Court ruled, in case number 152/2010, on January 18 2011 that the detention of a certain individual was illegal and that he had to be released,” Paraskeva said. “Still, this man remains jailed until today, while neither he nor his lawyer received any explanation about the grounds of his detention,” he added.
It is obvious that “laws are like a spider’s web. It can catch tiny insects and allows the bigger ones to cut through,” he said.
