Dear all, sustained discussions have recently taken place on one of the RALO lists, whether the ALAC should comment on the current political situation in Egypt, focussing in particular on the suspension of Internet service in the country. I have personally monitored the discussion and members of the ALAC ExCom have held daily discussions about the matter. I have also discussed the possibility of a statement with other constituency Chairs and some Board members. Rod Beckstrom has published a Blog post on: http://blog.icann.org/2011/01/status-report-on-the-dns-in-egypt/ He has steered away from making any kind of political statement, and I suspect that this was for a reason. Egypt's GAC representative is Ms. Manal Ismail. She works for the Telecom Regulation Authority (TRA) - but their Internet is cut too. The ccNSO representative is EGregistry.eg - and they are cut from the Internet as well. The ICANN manager for relations in the Middle East, Mr. Baher Esmat, is also based in Cairo - and he's also off-line. Many more participants in ICANN Supporting Organisations and Advisory Committees, including ICANN fellows are also based in Egypt. I have managed to speak to a couple of my own friends in Cairo. They explained that, like all Egyptians, they are worried about the security situation, their own personal security included. This is particularly important. Whilst I understand that the current action by Egypt breaks ICANN's Core Value #1, it is my firm view that any statement might bring more harm that good to ICANN and its friends at the present moment, if it is not crafted with caution. This is a complex political situation which surpasses ICANN's sphere of influence, and I should seriously recommend that ALAC keeps a low profile about this because of the political implications for our friends on the ground. That said, the Internet Society has released a Q&A document focussing primarily on the technical implications of the shut-down of Internet services in Egypt. It is very useful, and I propose that for the time being, we support this Q&A and point our members to it. I am therefore asking the ALAC to endorse the following statement in an accelerated vote and procedure: --- cut here --- Statement of the ALAC regarding current situation in Egypt The ALAC is concerned by the impact of developments in Egypt on the ordinary Internet user. In the light of ICANN's responsibility for IP address and AS number policy, and its core value of 'preserving and enhancing the operational stability, reliability, security, and global interoperability of the Internet', we endorse the ISOC statement and Q&A as expressed at http://isoc.org/wp/newsletter/?p=3100 Signed: The At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) --- cut here --- I hope that this will receive support and in this case, Heidi will swiftly follow-up with regards to voting procedures. In the meantime, and until the situation on the ground gets resolved, we wish all the Best to our Egyptian friends in this time of troubled politics in their country. Best regards, Olivier Crepin-Leblond ALAC Chair