[governance] Fwd: The US factor in the WSIS needs highlighting as much as the Tunisian factor

[Vittorio Bertola]

Hello,

this was posted a few hours ago to the plenary list. I disagree with the 
overall approach and with putting special emphasis on criticism against 
the US, but I though it useful to forward the message, for those of us 
who do not follow the Plenary list to get an idea of other points of 
view. I think they might even be widely shared in the broader WSIS civil 
society circles.


-------- Messaggio Originale --------
Oggetto: 	[WSIS CS-Plenary] The US factor in the WSIS needs highlighting
as much as the Tunisian factor
Data: 	Tue, 1 Nov 2005 14:24:46 +0530
Da: 	Parminder <Parminder at ITforChange.net>
Rispondi-A: 	plenary at wsis-cs.org
A: 	<plenary at wsis-cs.org>


Dear all,

> > United States Says No U.N. Body Should Control Internet. US 
Ambassador David Gross will be conducting an
online chat about WSIS on November 2………...>>>>


There is something very basically funny in the US attitude to change in
the IG regime.


US says that when it - its executive authority and its territorial law-
exercises oversight control over ICANN it doesn’t amount to exercising
control.


But when the same arrangement goes to a UN body (let us assume the
minimalist change in the IG regime where nothing changes except that
ICANN plugs into the UN, and UN exercises the same level of oversight as
US does today, and ICANN even if physically located in the US, gets UN
immunities) *the UN is said to be exercising control. *



And the problem is that many in the CS falls for this argument. They are
fixated so much on certain fears about Internet getting 'controlled'
that they entirely forget other issues which are as important. And most
of this CS constituency comes from the North. It is the issues of
sovereignty, legitimacy, and fairness and equity in global governance.
They may trust US more than they do UN, we in the South do not. In
debates over IG, countries like Iran, China and S Arabia are held up as
self-descriptive symbols of certain things – but please do not forget
that US is also held as an strong symbol of many uncomplimentary things
for the South.



We know the problems of bringing old political and bureaucratic
governance frameworks - and what UN or ITU can do - to the free spirit
of the Internet. And the world community has to deal with this issue,
very vigilantly. But that comes second, first of all, US must give up
its control. And if it doesn’t we must treat this *control as
illegitimate and see US as a usurper. *



For us in the South with colonial experience, it is the most blatant
form of imperialism – stay on my side, and you will gain, what if you do
not have self-rule.  We prefer legitimacy of rule to other goodies
promised to us.



A US senator recently justified continued control by US of the Internet
by saying that --- "The United States is uniquely positioned in the
world to protect the fundamental principles of free press and free
speech, upon which the Internet has thrived,"



The same argument can as effectively be used to take over UN bodies, or
to bypass them, in global governance by the US. And this no doubt is
increasingly sought to be done by the US. The North led by US will quote
financial constraints in setting up any new ‘global policy body for IS
issues’ but will readily spend many times more in taking up these issues
in other forums which either have less political legitimacy or admit of
greater US lordship.



The US led blocking of effective WSIS implementation/follow-up was
presented in terms which, at the bottom of it, challenge the very logic
of WSIS itself – and certainly its Tunis phase.



And in prepcom 2 all possibilities of seeing worldwide ICTD investment
as a urgent global need and responsibility – that could usher in a new
paradigm of development – was scuttled again by US led governments of
the North.



*So when it is obvious that the Tunis summit is a momentous failure, and
US led Northern governments are responsible for this failure, the CS
needs to be more vocal – both in pronouncing the failure – and the role
of US in this failure of WSIS. `*



Tunisian situation is an important issue for the CS, and we aren’t going
to let go this opportunity provided to us by the WSIS event taking place
in Tunis, to do all that we can do in aid of improving the rights
situation in Tunis.



But, as importantly, we cant let US get away with its self-assumed
description of ‘uniquely positioned in the world to protect the
fundamental principles of free press and free speech’ – and not as
strongly condemn what it has done to the world’s hope for the poor and
the disadvantaged from the WSIS process.



Most in the CS at WSIS are apt to say to this that they of course are
critical of US – but the problem is that they are not strident enough in
their criticism, as, for example, they are of the Tunisians.



I have heard many say about US’s unilateral control over IG that they
are not so strident in opposing it, because it is unlikely that US will
give up its control easily. But neither do I think Tunisia is going to
change so much, easily, on our protests. But don’t we still keep making
the protest, as forcefully as we can.



*I think, the Tunis summit should be used by the CS to tell the US – in
clear strong words – what it thinks of its usurping of the Internet
oversight – and its basic responsibility for failure of the WSIS on all
fronts. *

* *

*Tunis** phase has been an even greater failure than the Geneva phase.
It is the responsibility of the CS at WSIS to prepare a score card for
Tunis phase (and WSIS overall) and identify factors of failure. *US will
outdo everyone else by a big margin in earning red-marks in such a
report card. But US has for many years now taken such extreme
geo-political stance regarding fair global governance that most global
policy related events have been accompanied by fierce criticism of the
US’s stand by the civil society. (It is a necessary corrective to US
polices, and one of the most important responsibility of the global CS
to push for reclaiming fairness and equity in global governance) US must
be quite used to it by now. Hope, the WSIS civil society does not give
them a pleasant surprise at Tunis!



Regards



Parminder



_________________________________________________

Parminder Jeet Singh

IT for Change

Bridging Development Realities and Technological Possibilities

91-80-26654134

www.ITforChange.net
-- 
vb.             [Vittorio Bertola - v.bertola [a] bertola.eu.org]<-----
http://bertola.eu.org/  <- Prima o poi...
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