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<font face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif">Wow. <br>
This is serious. <br>
Would be helpful to hear ISOC global.<br>
<br>
v.<br>
<br>
</font>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 09/23/13 04:45, Chantra Be wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:CAOmi_Vr2zqirvKcuYcx8wg=2Z16Y6S+h0VoV0L_iSJZPRM3qTQ@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail_default"
style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000066"><span
style="font-family:arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)">Dear Chapter
Representatives,</span></div>
<div class="gmail_default"
style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000066">
<span style="font-family:arial;color:rgb(34,34,34)">Dear ISOC
central and Asia-Pacific leaders and staff,</span></div>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div>
<p> <br>
This mail is written after long considerations in the
Executive Committee of the ISOC Cambodia Chapter,
discussed together with the members of our Advisory Board.<br>
<br>
It is to propose – unless real and practical alternatives
are identified within the following month – to call a
meeting of all members of our Chapter for the purpose of
taking a vote to dissolve the ISOC Cambodia Chapter.<br>
<br>
We are looking forward to responses from all concerned
recipients of this mail.<br>
<br>
The reasons for considering this serious step can be
summarized under the following three headings:<br>
<br>
1. Structural Constraints<br>
2. Experiences<br>
3. Impressions <br>
<br>
<br>
1. Structural Constraints<br>
<br>
The Cambodia Chapter of the Internet Society started
to function in 2010, since 2011 under revised Bylaws -
designed according to advice from ISOC international,
before voted upon by our membership, which say among
others:<br>
<br>
<strong> Article I. - Name<br>
<br>
2. The Chapter shall be established as a non-profit
organization under the laws of Cambodia.</strong><br>
<br>
The Executive Committee of the ISOC Cambodia Chapter
tried to implement the requirement in Number 2 above, by
contacting the relevant section of the Ministry of the
Interior. It turned out that the legal setting up of a
non-profit organization would require to follow specific
regulations in which a physical office (not only a point
of communication) has to be established and operated.<br>
<br>
Our efforts to receive financial assistance from ISOC
international (an organization with a budget
self-described as “In 2011, ISOC projects that total
revenues will exceed $30 million for the first time”) were
turned down, as the priorities set there do not include
institutional support for Chapters. The advice to do
substantive local fund raising would have required in our
situation to be an established organization already.<br>
Without such assistance, we do not see it possible to
set up and operate an office for the ISOC Cambodia Chapter
according to the legal national registration framework.<br>
<br>
2. Experiences (with some quotes from the past)<br>
<br>
When, in August 2012, Ms. Duangthip Chomprang, the
ISOC Manager for Regional Affairs (Asia) from the Asia
Pacific Regional Office, announced to visit Cambodia, we
welcomed this as an opportunity to discuss our situation
with her. Unfortunately, she refused to have a meeting
with our chapter to discuss our problems. In response the
following mail was sent to her and to the other ISOC
regional staff in Singapore, after due deliberations with
our Advisory Board and Executive Committee:<br>
<br>
-------- Original Message --------<br>
Subject Message from our Advisory Board and the
Executive Committee<br>
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2012 15:40:15 +0700<br>
From: President of ISOC Cambodia <<a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:president@isoc-kh.org" target="_blank">president@isoc-kh.org</a>><br>
To: Duangthip Chomprang <<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:chomprang@isoc.org" target="_blank">chomprang@isoc.org</a>>,
Rajnesh Singh <<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:singh@isoc.org" target="_blank">singh@isoc.org</a>><br>
CC: Ong Pisey <<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:treasurer@isoc-kh.org" target="_blank">treasurer@isoc-kh.org</a>><br>
<br>
<strong> Dear Thip,<br>
<br>
After having received your mail, rejecting our
request to serious discuss the crisis for our Chapter,
created as a result of the general situation and legal
requirements in Cambodia in the meeting, and the refusal
to ISOC staff to positively pay attention to our
situation, we do not think it would be appropriate to
cooperate, as a Chapter, with organizing a meeting for
your 1 - 2.5 hours event, for which you would like to
invite the Members of the Cambodia Chapter and other
non-Chapter members. To discuss fundamental problems
within ISOC, affecting the whole membership, only among
officers, as you suggest (which has been tried in vain
by email so far) would not be in line with our history
to promote and practice open communication – high values
regularly lifted up among the goals of the Internet
Society world wide and in its slogan: the Internet is
for everyone.<br>
<br>
The situation and this response has been shared and
discussed with the Members of the Advisory Board of our
Chapter and is unanimously supported.<br>
<br>
Norbert Klein<br>
President, ISOC-KH</strong><br>
<br>
<br>
The five members of our Advisory Board at that time
were (reflecting the stipulation of our Bylaws “The
Advisory Board of five members, from important sections of
the ISOC Cambodia Chapter membership”):<br>
<br>
the Head of the IT in Education Section in the
Ministry of Education<br>
the Editor in Chief of a leading Cambodian daily
newspaper, who is at the same time President of the Club
of Cambodian Journalists<br>
the President and CEO of a major broadband
providing ISP<br>
a senior staff member in the office of the Council
of Ministers of the Government of Cambodia, and<br>
one student.<br>
<br>
<br>
Nevertheless, I and the former president of the ISOC
Cambodia Chapter participated in the meeting which Ms.
Duangthip Chomprang organized to present her PowerPoint
slides about the Internet Society. There was even one with
a headline related to human rights concerns – but the rest
of this page of this slide was blank, and she quickly
explained that such issues are not dealt with here,
because they are new for ISOC.<br>
<br>
Our Chapter never received any sign that Mr. Rajnesh
Singh, the ISOC Regional Bureau Director for Asia-Pacific
– nor other ISOC personnel - were concerned how to find a
solution for the dilemma we were facing. Actually, during
the years of our existence as a Chapter, we never received
any mail whatsoever from the ISOC Regional Bureau Director
Asia-Pacific, except for circular announcements.<br>
<br>
Subsequently, mail to the ISOC Manager for Regional
Affairs (Asia) did not receive any response.<br>
<br>
This attitude of ISOC Regional Staff, refusing to
discuss with us our problems, resulted already in the
September 2012 Annual General Meeting in disappointment
and restricted expectations towards the ISOC international
setup.<br>
<br>
When ISOC staff is discussing "standard performance"
of Chapters, how is "standard performance" defined and
measured? Only for Chapters? Is it standard performance
that a Regional Officer announces and brings non-members
to a "Meet and greet" (who say that two hours ago they did
not know what the Internet Society is), but the Regional
Officer encourages them to become members - OK - and to
stand as candidate two weeks later for Chapter leadership?
- Is it standard procedure that I learn from a mailing
list that the Regional Office is "working within the
government to provide more support and knowledge" – we do
not know until now what this is. Who is monitoring
performance over what?<br>
<br>
When the Cambodian government mandated internet cafe
owners to set up surveillance cameras in their shops and
register the names of all customers - <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://thediplomat.com/asean-beat/2012/12/27/cambodias-war-on-internet-cafes"
target="_blank">http://thediplomat.com/asean-beat/2012/12/27/cambodias-war-on-internet-cafes</a>
– in 2012, and later declared almost all Internet cafes in
the capital city to be illegal as they were closer than
500 m to any school </p>
<p> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5062&Itemid=207"
target="_blank">http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5062&Itemid=207</a></p>
<p> and</p>
<p> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Penh+%22500+meter%22+internet+cafe+school&lr=&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=DHktUsr4M4fRkgXZt4CgBQ&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=564#facrc=_&imgrc=vHrInVRwY-NCdM%3A%3BB07fhLsihMLmKM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Flivinginpp.files.wordpress.com%252F2012%252F12%252F874-map-internetbuffer_zoom-1.jpg%253Fw%253D459%2526h%253D600%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Falfredmeier.me%252F2012%252F12%25"
target="_blank">https://www.google.com/search?q=Penh+%22500+meter%22+internet+cafe+school&lr=&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=DHktUsr4M4fRkgXZt4CgBQ&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=564#facrc=_&imgrc=vHrInVRwY-NCdM%3A%3BB07fhLsihMLmKM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Flivinginpp.files.wordpress.com%252F2012%252F12%252F874-map-internetbuffer_zoom-1.jpg%253Fw%253D459%2526h%253D600%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Falfredmeier.me%252F2012%252F12%25</a>
2F15%252Fcomplete-ban-on-internet-cafes-in-central-phnom-penh%252F%3B459%3B600</p>
<p> - a number of legally established NGOs raised their
voices together, addressing such actions of the
authorities; the ISOC Cambodia Chapter was not part of it,
as we are – legally speaking – a non entity. And surely
this would also not have helped the “local fundraising”
which ISOC staff outside of our situation had recommended<br>
<br>
3. Impressions (again with some quotes from the past
from the Chapter-Delegates List)<br>
<br>
During the following months a process of discussion
for a revision of the bylaws of ISOC international was
going on, reflected also on the Chapter Delegates List.
During this process, a number of other ISOC Chapter
representatives were hoping for a revision which would
give a clearer position to the Chapters – as “members” of
ISOC with a substantial representation on the ISOC Board
of Trustees - so that members concerns would have an
institutional voice in ISOC decision making (former voices
from the Chapters List: “...the Board does not yet
understand that the primary role of many Chapters locally
and in other contexts is as participants in Civil Society.
From that point of view a 50:50 representation on the
Board of Chapters on the one hand and the industry on the
other hand would be more appropriate - and would I believe
be applauded internationally”). – “There is still no
overarching statement... as to the objectives of the ISOC.
This would be useful, particularly if it clearly specified
the civil society dimension of the work of the Internet
Society” - that such a hope was considered to be not
important for formalistic reasons by ISOC central staff
shows exactly the reason, why there is such a wide
discrepancy to the expectations of Chapters in certain
societies.<br>
<br>
The greetings on the ISOC Portal: “Join - Join today
and help shape the future of the internet” create
assumptions which are not substantiated in the ISOC
structures.<br>
<br>
The results of the ISOC bylaws revision show again a
top down structure, where the Chapters of ISOC are not
Members of ISOC, but are under the oversight of ISOC
international, and ISOC international continues to
regulate chapter affairs (a possible area of tension or
conflict “...might be good to point out that in some
countries such a document might as well go against
national laws, in the best case, or be considered as an
attempt to spread foreign influence in the country {which,
again in some cases, might be illegal}”), including the
possibility to suspend a Chapter, while ISOC international
does not seem to have a similar procedure of suspending an
Organizational Members from industry, in case their
position might be in conflict with fundamental values of
the Internet Society.<br>
<br>
In spite of the ISOC slogan “The Internet is for
everyone” it's setup does not show this orientation
clearly. When a member enters the Member Login on the ISOC
portal here:<br>
<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://portal.isoc.org/EBusiness/Home.aspx"
target="_blank">https://portal.isoc.org/EBusiness/Home.aspx</a><br>
<br>
(is it for “business” that one enters?) one is greeted
with<br>
<br>
“Make a Contribution”<br>
“Contributions are fully tax-deductible!”<br>
“Donate”<br>
<br>
In how many of the countries where there are ISOC
members is this true – contributions to ISOC are
tax-deductible?<br>
<br>
That there is a wide difference of opinions about the
nature of ISOC became obvious time and again on the
Chapter-Delegates list; I quote just some examples:<br>
<br>
Some ISOC old time members took “strong exception to
an infographic” or said “my jaw dropped when I saw this”
infographic, originating from the World Economic Forum
about “The Future of the Internet,” which had been
recommended for distribution and wide use by ISOC
leadership. - The problem is not that there are different
opinions; the problem is that it seems that such
fundamental differences of opinion do not have an
appropriate platform for discussion towards a broader or
even common understanding.<br>
<br>
Who is ISOC when the Chapters are not Members?
“...there are NOT two parties. There is one: the Internet
Society.” - “But what we have got.... is an exceedingly
one-sided dispute resolution policy! In this context, who
is ISOC? Clearly, the employed staff have no mandate or
authorization to exercise powers over Chapters. So, who is
going to do these things: 'place ... in a probationary
state', etc.”<br>
<br>
At a former time it was stated on the
Chapter-delegates List: “So as the paper is today: why
should any chapter want to sign it? Would you sign a
contract that only holds obligations but rather no
benefits? Even not if you would be willing to fulfill the
obligations! Or is the benefit in being a chapter as such?
In using the name 'Internet Society' (as the Internet
Society of China does)? Rather not - we are membership
organization and any subgroup of members can probably
organize themselves as e.g. 'Open ISOC Members Circle,
Miami West' or so. - So if ISOC expects a commitment from
its chapters it should commit something in turn.”<br>
<br>
Conclusion<br>
<br>
Given this situation of not having a “listening ear”
in ISOC and responses from ISOC international or regional
for our concerns, we suggest to our members to start the
dissolution of the ISOC Cambodia Chapter – and to do it in
an ordinary way according to the Bylaws:<br>
<br>
<strong> Article XII. - Dissolution of the Chapter<br>
1. Dissolution of this Chapter by consent of the
members shall consist of unanimous agreement of all its
officers together with a majority vote at a meeting
which has been publicized in advance to all members of
the Chapter for the purpose of taking this vote.<br>
</strong><br>
We would therefore call for such a meeting to discuss
the dissolution of our Chapter, or not to do so in case
practical and timely ways would show up within one months
from sending out this mail. Such a meeting shall be
convened as follows:<br>
<br>
Location: #8, St. 352, BKK1, Phnom Penh (Open
Institute new office)<br>
Date and Time: October 26, 2013 at 2:00PM<br>
<br>
We regret to see no other way but to suggest these
steps.<br>
<br>
At the same time I would like to state that the use of
the Internet in our country has bee increasing
considerably, and in all of these, members of our Chapter
are involved:<br>
<br>
There are over 1,100,000 Facebook users,<br>
BarCamps - <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://barcamp.org/w/page/405173/TheRulesOfBarCamp"
target="_blank">http://barcamp.org/w/page/405173/TheRulesOfBarCamp</a>
- have not only been held annually since 2008 in the
capital city of Phnom Penh with hundreds of participants
every time, but also in six provincial centers during the
last and the present years,<br>
a self-organized Hackerspace center - <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://hackerspaces.org/wiki" target="_blank">http://hackerspaces.org/wiki</a>
- is in operation since some years providing a space for
hard- and software learning and exchange,<br>
Last year, our Chapter invited the top leadership
of all ISPs and all Mobile Phone Providers in Cambodia, in
response to communications with the Asia Pacific Network
Information Center -<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.apnic.net" target="_blank">http://www.apnic.net</a>
- to a meeting with the APNIC Director on IPv6. Recently,
the Director General of the Ministry of Post informed us
that subsequent discussions with APNIC will lead to
establish IPv6 systems in Cambodia in 2014.<br>
Recently, after informal operations for two years
with local enthusiasm and international support towards
its establishment, “Open Development Cambodia” - <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.opendevelopmentcambodia.net"
target="_blank">www.opendevelopmentcambodia.net</a> - an
online hub compiling freely available data to help
consolidate access to up-to-date information and maps
about land usage, land concessions and other critically
important information related to the economic and
political developments of the country. It was established
as a non-profit organization under the laws of Cambodia.
Both I and our former Chapter president were involved in
these efforts, and we were now invited to be on their
Board of Directors.<br>
<br>
I mention these examples to indicate that the
communication society in Cambodia is very active. No
coordinating body exists in the country for questions of
human rights and communication freedom. We regret that our
efforts to establish an ISOC Chapter did not receive the
necessary institutional support.<br>
</p>
<p>Be Chantra<br>
Secretary, ISOC Cambodia Chapter<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:chantra.be@gmail.com" target="_blank">chantra.be@gmail.com</a></p>
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<pre wrap="">_______________________________________________
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to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society
Chapter Portal (AMS): <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://portal.isoc.org">https://portal.isoc.org</a></pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Best,
Veni Markovski
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.veni.com">http://www.veni.com</a>
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The opinions expressed above are those of the
author, not of any organizations, associated
with or related to him in any given way. </pre>
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