[ncdnhc-discuss] Board conflict of interest on .org

[Norbert Klein]

Greetings from Cambodia.

Today is election day in our neighboring country of Vietnam. Normally, all
candidates that can be elected have been selected from among trusted party
members by those already in power. This year there is a new element added, which
is supposed to show that there is new openness: a number of candidates have
been selected to stand for elections from special groups in society; these
candidates too have not become candidates by nominations by the groups which
they supposedly represent, but also by appointment from above.

This procedure of selecting candidates assures that nobody can be elected
who would be not welcome by the aleady existing governing structures.

During the ICANN meetings in Ghana, I discussed such models of elections,
well known from “people's democracies” whose name pretends that a bottom-up
structure is in place by having elections, with you, Alejandro. And I mentioned
that, for example in former East Germany, there were even the different
functional mass organizations – women, youth, farmers, labor unions –  part of the
system of finding candidates supposedly representing the large membership of
these groups in society, which were state organizations. They were used to
identify "qualified" candidates for national elections. But the candidates
were again selected and authorized from above.

You remember, Alejandro, what you said when I referred to these functional
mass organizations which were not self-organized? I think you said they were
fake.

A long time ago you told me you observe that I do not post frequently to
this list, but when I do – well, you said some nice words. You may have observed
that I did not post anything since Ghana. I continue to read almost
everything, but I could not see how ICANN came to where we are now from where we
started in 1998.

The blocked discussion about a possible conflict of interest (for which we
have COI rules), denounced as character assassination, in spite of the COI 
regulations quoted in detail, and then the allegation that no fair hearing is
possible after questions have been raised – why call them “a juicy piece of
gossip”?  -  made me finally come back to write. But I do so in despair, as I
almost lost the hope that communication is possible.

Norbert


 

-- 
Norbert Klein
Open Forum of Cambodia