The Voice of America interviewed Steven Gaforp, an Anti-Corruption Policy Expert, about the current fight against and advocacy against in Armenia.

Question: You have recently returned from Armenia. Your impressions about the ongoing anti-corruption campaign and the fight against corruption by the new authorities.

PS: I think it’s a very exciting period. People are full of determination. Non-governmental organizations are advocating anti-corruption innovative approaches. They cooperate with the government and present their recommendations. Nikol Pashinyan’s election as a Prime Minister has opened a window of opportunity for them. This is a good opportunity to carry out anti-corruption reforms and a serious progress in the fight against corruption has been made in Armenia.

Let me recall that at this moment we can state the cooperation between the civil society and the authorities. For example, the “Young Lawyers” organization (he actually means the Armenian Lawyers Association – Iravaban.net) has made about a hundred anti-corruption proposals, and the government now considers some of them to be admitted. This is just one exampleof cooperation. Besides, in order to succeed in the anti-corruption policy in Armenia, it is necessary to fight against the phenomenon of local patronage. This is not an easy task. Here, success can only be achieved if the civil society and the government cooperate. It is impossible to expect the government to regulate this problem on its own. To make changes, you need to pay attention to these issues.

Continuation in source