Mon, 24 Aug 2009 01:34:02 +0000
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Argentine peace

To SOLAR, Hipatia, Madres de Plaza de Mayo, UTUTO, and their members; to other Free Software and Human Rights organizations, projects and activists; and to whomever else it may concern,

FSFLA is accused of acts in Argentina that are incompatible with our values and public commitments. The accusations are misdirected: they were first raised more than 4 years ago, against a few people who later came to be FSFLA founding members but are no longer in FSFLA. We cannot judge the dispute between others, but if we had existed then as today, we certainly wouldn't have behaved as alleged. We shall never recommend that Free Software speakers avoid a venue where they will be welcome and listened to, and we shall never try to divide a project committed to the values of the Free Software Movement.

FSFLA was founded in November, 2005. One year later, insurmountable internal differences forced a restart. Of the people against which the accusations were first raised, none remained. We adopted a new constitution and invited Free Software activists from all over Latin America to join us.

Whatever occurred happened before FSFLA's founding, it wasn't approved by FSFLA. There wasn't even discussion about these issues within the FSFLA formation team before they allegedly took place. Per our constitution, nobody represents FSFLA without a formal decision to approve this. If our name was used, it was without authorization. We deny any connection with whatever did happen. Our current values and public commitments would not have permitted us to behave as alleged: if consulted, we'd advise and decide against the alleged acts attributed to a few of our founders.

In spite of our non-involvement, we recognize and regret the setbacks and conflicts that followed the doubts about whether Richard Stallman should speak at the Universidad Popular de Madres de Plaza de Mayo, in 2004, and the alleged attempt to divide the UTUTO project, in early 2005. Our constitution demands us to value the long-term advancement of Software Freedom ahead of anything else. This is the opposite of the alleged acts.

We stand by our commitments to our constitution, our mission, and the ethical, moral and social values that are the foundations of the Free Software Movement. We vow to help and support the promotion of the ideals and principles of Software Freedom to people and entities, regardless of their political inclinations, including social movements and human rights organizations such as Madres de Plaza de Mayo, along with any Free Software communities that welcome our cooperation to that end. We respect and support the unity of the UTUTO project, the first to create a 100% Free distribution of GNU/Linux, and of any other projects committed to the values of the Free Software Movement.

We urge the involved parties to attempt to resolve peacefully the remaining conflicts and put an end to the hostilities that harm the Free Software Movement. We reaffirm our wish and invitation for further cooperation with and among all communities, organizations, and activists in the promotion of Software Freedom.

Free Software Foundation Latin America

About FSFLA

Free Software Foundation Latin America joined in 2005 the international FSF network, previously formed by Free Software Foundations in the United States, in Europe and in India. These sister organizations work in their corresponding geographies towards promoting the same Free Software ideals and defending the same freedoms for software users and developers, working locally but cooperating globally.

Copyright 2009 FSFLA

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