[Community-Discuss] Breach of the Code of Conduct by Mr Ronald Guilmette

[Eddy Kayihura]

[Français disponible au bas]

 

Dear Colleagues,  

 

I wish to reiterate that we don't take lightly such a decision, and it was
not the easiest to make. Having said that, I am grateful that I can see from
the email exchanges that the community understands the reasoning behind the
decision and does not judge us based on the decision itself.

 

Mr. Guilmette, I appreciate your email and the evident sincerity in your
words.

 

I would like to take the opportunity to repeat the invitation to the
community to join us for our upcoming webinar on 4 March 2021.
(https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwpduquqjkvE9Zjjv74MC33wGJHRcea2n
RV)

 

During the webinar, we will be discussing collectively as a community how to
foster a welcoming, all-inclusive environment that engages in constructive
dialogues where people exercise their right to freely and openly express
their thoughts and critics while respecting their colleagues and their right
not to be publicly attacked or insulted.

 

We will not take any action regarding the archives until after the webinar,
where we can agree collectively on the best way forward.

 

We are working on ensuring that live interpretation services (French/
English) will be made available for this session so that the community can
express their thoughts in the language that they feel most comfortable
using.

 

Kind regards,

 

Eddy 

 

###############

 

Chers Collègues,

 

Je souhaite réitérer que nous ne prenons pas a la légère une telle décision
et elle n’a pas été la plus facile a prendre. Cependant, je suis ravi de
voir au travers les différents échanges, que la communauté comprend le
cheminement qui nous y a conduit et ne nous juges pas seulement sur base de
notre décision.

 

Mr. Guilmette, j’apprécie votre email ainsi que la sincérité évidente de vos
propos.

 

Je souhaite aussi répéter l’invitation lancée a toute la communauté a notre
webinar du 4 Mars 2021 (
<https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwpduquqjkvE9Zjjv74MC33wGJHRcea2n
RV>
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwpduquqjkvE9Zjjv74MC33wGJHRcea2nR
V). 

 

Pendant ce webinar, nous allons discuter, comme une communauté, sur comment
créer un environnement accueillant, inclusif qui est engagé dans un dialogue
constructif où les participants jouissent de leur droit de s’exprimer
librement même pour critiquer tout en respectant les autres ainsi que leur
droit de ne pas se voir attaquer ou insulter publiquement.

 

Contrairement à ce qui a été annoncé auparavant, nous n’allons pas
immédiatement appliquer la mesure concernant les archives. Il est plus
judicieux que nous en discutions ensemble pendant cette réunion alors que
nous nous accordons sur la meilleure marche à suivre pour le futur.

 

Pour cette session, nous comptons rendre disponible un service
d’interprétariat simultané (Français/Anglais)  pour permettre a tous de bien
s’exprimer dans la langue de leur choix.

 

Meilleures salutations,

 

Eddy

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Ronald F. Guilmette <rfg at tristatelogic.com> 
Sent: Thursday, 25 February 2021 01:44
To: community-discuss at afrinic.net
Subject: Re: [Community-Discuss] Breach of the Code of Conduct by Mr Ronald
Guilmette

 

In message < <mailto:1526AB54-5720-4D1E-87E2-534844E239B4 at consulintel.es>
1526AB54-5720-4D1E-87E2-534844E239B4 at consulintel.es>,

JORDI PALET MARTINEZ < <mailto:jordi.palet at consulintel.es>
jordi.palet at consulintel.es> wrote:

 


>Moreover, removing any posting from the mailing list archives is a 



>clear attack to this community. This is called censorship. If AFRINIC, 



>as an organization, is providing the service, it must be an open and 



>transparent service, and that includes not making any kind of censorship.


 

I thank both Jordi and Mike Silber for their kind and constructive comments.

 

I wish to say also that I personally am OK with having my prior posting here
scrubbed from the mailing list archives.  I understand that there is some
concern, well placed or not, within AFRINIC that some of my comments may
reflect badly on the organization itself and might possibly have some effect
on either the already ongoing litigation or on potential future
litigation... and I most certainly would not desire anything that I have
said, as a private citizen, to have any negative effect upon AFRINIC's legal
position.

 

After being duly informed that further contributions from me would be
moderated for a period of 30 days, I did some reading on this topic of this
legal offense known as "Scandalizing the Court".  I had to educate myself
about that, because we quite certainly have nothing even remotely like that
here in the U.S.

 

What I learned, among other things, is that such an offense continued to
exist, in England, Whales, and Scotland, until really quite recently, i.e.
the 2012-2013 time frame, but that since that time it has been abolished in
those judicial systems.  I also learned that this offense continues to exist
within many Commonwealth countries, apparently including Mauritius.

 

It is not for me to opine on the question of whether my prior comments do or
do not satisfy all of the various legal elements of the crime of
"Scandalizing the Court", specifically as that crime is defined within the
legal system of Mauritius.  That question is most certainly not within my
area of expertise.  I would only offer the suggestion that my prior comments
may possibly not rise to the level of satisfying the legal definition of
that crime, and that even if they did, I would most certainly plead for some
mitigation and leniency at my sentencing, based upon my ignorance of local
law in this instance.  (And in any event, as should be obvious, I cannot say
that I am particularly worried that Mauritian authorities would seek to have
me extradited from the U.S. to Mauritius, to face Mauritian justice for this
particular crime, and even if that remote possibility suddenly became
probable, I might simply choose to relocate myself to some national
jurisdiction that appears to be immune, at present, to such inter-national
extradition proceedings, e.g. someplace that appears on maps just to the
left of

Kenya.)

 

With regards to my prior comments about individuals, I do apologize to the
community if any of these might have any effect on AFRINIC's legal position.
It is my hope and belief that they should not and will not.

I speak only for myself.  Furthermore, I am quite certainly subject to
potential legal proceedings (e.g. for defamation) here in the United States
of America... by far the most litigious country on earth...  and I am thus
cautious in what I say and how I say it.  I have said no more about
individuals than I believe could be justified in open court, based upon
persuasive and abundant available hard evidence, much of which I have
already shared here.

 

Nontheless, I ask forgiveness from the community for my often intemperate
manner of speech, forgiveness which I hope will be forthcoming, given the
totality of the context.

 

I have sought, for well more than a year and a half now, simply to know the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, at least with respect to
the corruption of the WHOIS data base.  Given this clear and abiding quest,
who among you can still be entirely unsympathetic to the frustration that I
feel, to still not know, even at this late date, either how the data base
came to be corrupted, or any of the particulars about the one bit of actual
litigation that has arisen from those still- mysterious events.  My cup
runneth over with a lack of information, and after such an extended period
of time in this state, I ask to be excused for my more than ordinary lack of
both temperance and patience.

 

That having been said, I accept without reservation the actions taken in
response to my recent comments, including both the removal of inflamatory
(and perhaps prejuduicial) postings of mine from the archives as well as a
30-day moderation period.  I take no personal offense at these actions, and
they seem to me to be commensurate and proportional responses.  I say this
knowing, as I do, that as a citizen of the United States, I am generally
free to be more vocal in my defense of AFRINIC and its interests, against
both foreign interlopers and any possible lethargy on the part of the local
judiciary than AFRINIC itself could prudently be.  I only hope that my
unconstrained opinions will be properly attributed to me alone.  If AFRINIC
finds it either necessary or convenient to take actions to further clarify
the crisp dividing line between itself and me, then I am perfectly OK with
that.

 

Regards,

rfg

 

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