Respect the dignity of the police!

An unprecedented, unfair and, to put it mildly, strange campaign has been launched against the Ministry of Interior (MI) recently. The word "police brutality" has become a topical issue for known and unknown analysts. It is great when someone expresses his views openly and this is one of the greatest achievements of democracy. But it is wrong when this is done one-sidedly and tendentiously, just as we have seen the police activity to be debated recently. The law enforcement bodies are among the pillars of statehood worldwide. Our country is no exception. It is is hardly a coincidence that one of the first institutions established in the newly liberated Bulgaria in 1879 was precisely the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

There are two sides to every coin

Policemen in our country are surely not infallible and have their weaknesses. But because of few exceptions to blame the whole system, which employs many worthy Bulgarian men and women, is neither moral, nor sound. It is even more shameful when the attacks against the MI come from colleague journalists, because exactly morality and true facts are the foundation of our occupation. Thus, in order to be completely honest, our colleagues from the journalist guild should recognize that the coin has two sides.

Let us assume that the so-called "police brutality" is the one side. The opposite side, however, is much more versatile and it is sad that no one in the media has thought of it over the recent days. The fact is that thousands of Bulgarian police officers risk their lives daily in order to fight crime. If we compare them with their counterparts from Europe, however, we will see that they do it for smaller remunerations and in extremely poor working conditions. Why none of the critics of the MI does not dare to write or say that most of the policemen take care of the used equipment on their own? What about the fact that policemen are expected to be wherever there is a problem at any time of the day, in old cars on 400-500, 000 km mileages and with a narrow limit of fuel? It is not fair to forget that the "abusers" from the police never know in what situation they will come upon and, unfortunately, the large number of police officers killed while performing their duties is the most undeniable proof of this. 

Biased criticisms does not help

Yes, it is true that the Ministry of Interior has to be reformed. We should not spare our criticism when there is a reason for it. But biased criticism against a government administration is entirely unacceptable. Is it not a secret that the opposition in our country traditionally blames the police in order to draw dividends for itself, regardless who is in power. But nobody seems to remember what this same opposition did for the MI, while it ran the country.

We, therefore,would like to appeal to our colleagues: when telling a dramatic story for the use of force against any prisoner, please remember the dead policemen. When you criticize the police for an undetected crime, remember the numerous successful investigations as well.

The discovery of the group for kidnapping is a quite serious achievement. Another issue is that each Bulgarian citizen may rightfully rely on the police in a difficult situation.

Moreover, our Euro-Atlantic partners have also noted several times that the country has achieved effective results in terms of this particular component - the fight against corruption and crime. Responsible people at the highest levels have mentioned it. The policy makers in the EU and the USA are not particularly interested in who is the minister in charge of police in the country, nor in protecting the Bulgarian policemen. They only report the efficiency of the police which is their main concern.

Finally, let us not forget something very important. Worldwide, there are two institutions that are synonymous with statehood. These are the police and the army. If we do not respect these institutions, this can only have a negative impact on the country and on all of us. In this case, the responsibility of the media is twice as serious.

Whether we want to develop a civil society with open eyes - both for the good and for the bad - or we want to have nihilistic and disillusioned people, is now a matter of a moral choice.

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