[Chapter-delegates] ISOC SERBIA - NEW ccTLD

[Prof. Dr MILE Vasiljevic]

Dear colleagues and friends, 

First of all, I am apologizing to all who have showed interest for the matters regarding new ccTLD for my country - Republic of Serbia, for not taking part in the discussion immediately. I was away on international journey and I have returned to my office just today to continue with my work.

In the same time I wish to express my gratitude to Prof. dr Borka Jerman Blazic, Desiree Miloshevic, Veni, Patrick and others for expressed interest and support to finish this whole process the best way possible. I hope that in this process I will receive useful advices, even greater support from them, support from other national ISOC representatives as well as from Internet Society in whole.

I hope that you will not mind if I give some detailed information about this matter.

Of course, Prof. dr Borka Jerman Blazic is the most meritorious for including of former Yugoslavia in the Internet community, thanks to which people from this territory gained an opportunity, like everywhere in the world, to connect and use all Internet services. This is confirmed in our Internet circles as historical fact. After former Yugoslavia seized to exist, Slovenia and other republics became independent countries. Remaining two republics (Serbia and Montenegro) have continued to use word “Yugoslavia” as foundation of their name for some time and certain M. Tasic has managed to take over ccTLD .yu and to form her own “rules”.Those “rules” are unfortunately still active. Since all work about maintenance of domains is processed by her alone, with maybe few more people she included, unofficially and uselessly for citizens, companies and potential users in our country, in order to minimize and make this job easier for her, she has limited ALL (companies, organizations…) to be able to use only ONE web address based on one Act of Registration. To the large companies (.co.yu) who have more than one product and trademark or different economic programs with huge capacities, it is not allowed that every organizational unit has it’s own appropriate presentation and to satisfy their need, but instead she is ASSIGNING them only one address. The same situation is with other forms of organizing (.org.yu and .edu.yu).

The most incredible is that for private person IT IS NOT POSSIBLE to get personal web address under any circumstances !!! By that she has achieved the highest level of dictatorship, non-democratization and abuse of managing existing ccTLD. Many painters, writers, hobbyists, students and other CAN NOT have their own web domain and to present themselves to the others !!! In order to satisfy their need, will and freedom, they must buy an international domain, which is imposing a question of PURPOSE OF EXISTANCE OF NATIONAL DOMAIN.

Definitely, since any kind of Yugoslavia has seized to exist, and there have also been changes with status of State Union Serbia and Montenegro, by which Republic of Serbia became constituted, further existence of the old top-level domain has became meaningless. The need for change of ccTLD, change of ccTLD manager, as well as principles and rules for using ccTLD, is obvious. 

Scientists and enthusiasts in our country, led by undersigned of these lines, for about half decade are concentrated and intensively working on democratization in our country in general, and specifically in “their” area – Internet democratization. 
First serious steps have been made after arrival of Dr Zoran Djindjic in place of Prime Minister, who have gave us full support. In those years we have contacted Prof. dr Borka Jerman Blazic and she has kindly advised us and recommended us to take first step by starting national chapter of Internet Society. Then came period for creation of conditions, field work and creation of appropriate chapter. So, answer to Patrick, ISOC Serbia is absolutely included in the process and already all necessary conditions are created in order to finish these matters in the best way.
It is good to note (Desiree) that there have been much more than three “WORK” groups. I am familiar with over dozen different “work” groups out of which some consisted of just one person.

For example, one “work group” which used political abuses in order to define itself as “government agency” was led by certain B. Andjelic (who is at this moment in PRISON) and then it turned towards maintenance of web sites for some government and non government organizations. There is no need to enumerate further, it is irrelevant.Generally, Serbia is still burdened with political struggles and confronted interests of political parties. There is a huge struggle for winning influence on citizens and media are among most significant targets. We are witnessing the recent political and physical destruction of one of the most significant media centers, BK TV (Braca Karic Television Network), which certain parties could not control. About those events world public is already informed. So, control of the Internet has become interesting to many powerful politicians. They do not have almost any education and they do not understand even basic principles of the Internet, but here and there you can find an individual with certain informatics knowledge which he wants to put in service to politicians and in return to receive their support and advantage over other “rivals” and to “rule” the Internet.
Leadership of ISOC Serbia has organized meetings with leaders of the strongest political parties and familiarized them with principles of the Internet, with the need of its independence and general and mutual interest of all citizens and therefore all political parties. We have received agreement and guarantee that the Internet in Serbia will be independent, which was confirmed even personally by President of Republic of Serbia Boris Tadic (www.isoc-srbija.org).

Internet Association of Serbia, as the widest Internet community in Republic of Serbia, has already initiated National Internet Registry Center, and it has provided it with necessary funds and equipment (we also already have certain server capacities), as well as appropriate arranged work space and experts needed for maintenance of national top-level domain .rs. NIRC has already achieved status of legal entity (registered in the Republic Registry for Statistics, with TIN, appropriate activity ID code and bank account). According to the rules of the ICANN, resolution is expected to be brought by ISO-3166 about two-letter code for Republic of Serbia, which will be followed by assignation of the national top-level domain. Based on the information from top-level domain registry and communication we had in the past, intention is that the top-level domain for Republic of Serbia will be exactly .rs (as Veni has mentioned earlier).

In several weeks, I am traveling to the USA and I will sign certain Contracts regarding servers and other services, and I am planning to visit Reston also and to have personal conversation with ISOC officials.

We hope that in our process of activating ccTLD .rs, ISOC and it’s leadership and distinguished members will help to solve this matter as regular as possible and in the shortest possible period, and that there will be progress and democratization of the Internet in our country too. Each advice and guideline will be valuable to us and I am thanking you. For direct contacts, you can use my private e-mail address (profmile at gover.us) since the mail from profmile at ptt.yu I can download only when I am in Serbia and it is not reliable because of frequent crashing of that server (that is local .yu server).

I wish all the best to all of you.

Prof. Dr Mile Vasiljevic
National ISOC Director
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