When you are well organized, 24 hours is enough time to travel to the other side of the planet, read a book or learn a new skill. But do you know what 24 hours is enough for? For the "destruction" of a large amount of money that is lost every day in Montenegro through well-organized corruption and bribery. From day to day, for decades, the money that belongs to all the citizens of Montenegro is being destroyed practically before their eyes. That is why the Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative (RAI) decided to, through a 24-hour performance on Independence Square in Podgorica, warn citizens in a symbolical way about the scale of this phenomenon, to show them that they have a central role in fighting corruption, and encourage them to take concrete action, and use of the normative and institutional framework.

During the performance, the destruction of money is shown symbolically, while in reality it is really destroyed through corruption, which is all around us. It happens in front of us, it doesn't take breaks and it doesn't sleep. That is why the performance is placed in a transparent box, showing everyone a visible, but at the same time often untouchable process. Untouchable until the citizens with their actions and raising their voices, change it. This time they did it by actively participating in the performance and choosing to, by pressing a button, "whistle for the end" of corruption, and with their move symbolically save money. Money that can be used to build or reconstruct schools, educational and entertainment centers for young people, institutions for the care of the elderly and debilitated, centers for children with disabilities… Perhaps this move will be the first in a series that will show the willingness of all of us to whistle for the end of corruption.

Whistle for the end! It is part of the educational and information campaign that the Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative is implementing with the financial support of the European Union, within the project "Breaking the Silence: Enhancing the Whistleblowing Policies and Culture in the Western Balkans and Moldova". Under the project, the RAI Secretariat is working to strengthen the legislative and institutional framework for the protection of whistleblowers, in line with the new EU Directive on their protection.

Director Jelena Perović addressed on behalf of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption.

"The impressive performance we are witnessing, on the one hand, symbolically shows the extent of corruption and its destructive nature, and on the other, it indicates our civic responsibility to, as part of the community, raise our voice against illegal and unethical actions that threaten the public interest."

Recalling that with the adoption of the Law on Prevention of Corruption on January 1, 2016, Montenegro has joined a small number of European countries where the legislative framework systematically regulates the treatment of whistleblowers, the Agency for Prevention of Corruption encourages citizens to be part of a change, to contribute to a better and fairer society.

Since the establishment of the Agency, 460 reports have been submitted to its Section for acting on reports of whistleblowers and whistleblower protection, of which 40 in the first quarter of 2021, which is four times more than in the same period last year.

At the same time, already in the first quarter, the number of proceedings on applications was exceeded, in which the existence of endangering the public interest was determined in relation to the complete 2016, 2017 and 2020, and it is at the same level as in 2018 and 2019.

These data indicate an increase in citizens' trust in our work, but also the development of civic awareness in the direction of understanding the complexity and size of the problem, and the need for concrete action to solve it.

With a deep understanding of the importance and delicacy of the role of whistleblowers in upgrading the rule of law environment, the Agency will continue to provide them with full institutional protection. Our message to the citizens is to press the button and by their actions stand in the way of corruption. "

On behalf of the Delegation of the European Commission to Montenegro, Aquila Normantiene, Political Affairs Officer, addressed the media.

"Appropriate legislation is the first step to ensure that reporting corruption is recognized as something that must be legally rooted. Law enforcement is what in practice shows whether this serves the purpose for which it exists. On the other hand, the social and political system determines whether a person will report corruption at all. To this end, it is important not only to establish functional mechanisms for reporting illegal activities and to ensure the protection of whistleblowers, but also to confirm that the whistleblower institute is an effective mechanism for maintaining justice. "

"With the street performance, we wanted to draw attention to the damage that corruption causes to our society and to the significant role that each person has in the fight against corruption," said Aneta Arnaudovska, Senior Anti-Corruption Advisor at RAI.

"Fellow citizens were by pressing the button 'whistled for the end!' and thus symbolically stopped corruption and further destruction of their money. With this gesture, we clearly indicate the amount of money that together we can save from destruction, when we do not accept to participate in corruption. In this way, we also sent the message that we are with whistleblowers - people who make a courageous and selfless decision by reporting corruption, putting themselves in the service of the public interest. "

The Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative (RAI) is the only intergovernmental organization exclusively dedicated to the fight against corruption in Southeast Europe. The RAI Secretariat works to enhance regional cooperation and anti-corruption efforts by providing a common platform for dialogue, knowledge sharing and best anti-corruption practices in South East Europe.