On Wed, Mar 2, 2016 at 4:36 PM, Andreas Kolbe jayen466@gmail.com wrote:
Asaf,
I hear you. My apologies to Susanna and the list for anything I have said that cast aspersions on Susanna's character.
Thank you.
Nevertheless, I remain concerned. She is part of a state committee under the authority of the Armenian Minister of Education and Science, who along with other senior political figures has repeatedly been a featured speaker at Wikimedia Armenia events during her tenure as the President of Wikimedia Armenia.[1][2]
I do not consider that sort of government proximity healthy or advisable.
I think it's fair to say any contact with a government (or similarly powerful entity) is *potentially* concerning. But between potentially concerning and actually concerning, there is the all-too-crucial need for substantive evidence or cause for concern.
As has been pointed out, quite a few Wikipedians are or were part of the civil service or otherwise close to powerful people in their regimes. So long as there is no reason to suspect they are not managing their potential conflict of interest, we must assume good faith.
A.