On Wed, Mar 2, 2016 at 4:36 PM, Andreas Kolbe <jayen466(a)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.
--
Asaf Bartov
Wikimedia Foundation <http://www.wikimediafoundation.org>
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