[ilug-tvm] Statement on National Conference on Free Software Kochi - 2008

[Anivar Aravind]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Manilal K M <libregeek at gmail.com>
Date: 2008/11/17
Subject: [smc-discuss] Statement on National Conference on Free
Software Kochi - 2008
To: smc-discuss at googlegroups.com


Hello all,
Here is the statement by Swathanthra Malayalam Computing(SMC) on NCFS
held on 15th and 16th of November. I hope this will clarify the stand
of SMC as an organising member of this event.

http://fci.wikia.com/wiki/SMC/StatementOnNCFS2008Kochi


*For Immediate Release*

17 November 2008

The National Conference on Free Software which holds the motto of Free
Software, Free Knowledge and Free Humanity was held on Cochin University of
Science And Technology (CUSAT). The main organisers of the event were CUSAT,
Open Software Solutions Industrial Co-Operative Society (OSSICS),
Appropriate Technology Promotion Society (ATPS) and Kerala State
IT at SchoolProject. In addition to the above mentioned organizations,
Free Software
Communities such as Swathanthra Malayalam Computing(SMC) and ILUG-Cochin
were also invited to organise the event. The prime sponsors of the event
were Keltron, C-DIT and Linux For You Magazine. A number of NGO's and
private organisations also participated in the four day exhibition and two
day seminars. All of the sponsors and the participating members were listed
in the website of NCFS(http://nfm2008.atps.in). However, one such
organization was missing from the sponsor list, which is the notorious
Novell Corporation.

After the evil agreement with Microsoft Corporation (MS), Novell betrayed
the Free Software community by violating the spirit of the GNU General
Public license, which is the corner stone of the Free Software movement and
legitimising the patent threats of Microsoft corporation. The protest
against Novell have been in it's peak since the inception of the Boycott
Novell campaign which has been successful in making awareness about the evil
hands of Novell and it's ally MS. Novell was allotted a prominent position
in the exhibition stall and they were allowed to place their posters at the
prominent venues.

Members from SMC were part of the Programme Committee and the Souvenir
Committee. There were no indication that Novell was the platinum sponsor of
this Free Software Event. The organisers never communicated about the
sponsorship and thus betrayed the whole Free Software community as Novell
did. This is evident from the incidents that occurred after the peaceful
campaign to boycott Novell by the SMC members & other Free Software
Supporters present at the meeting.

SMC members including Anivar Aravind, Shyam, Hiran, Suresh, Jaisen and many
others were busy in the first day with Localisation track (full time) and
sessions. After knowing Novell's role SMC members planned a peaceful
awareness campaign on second day urging end users to boycott Novell and
posted a Charge
sheet<http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/fci/images/0/00/Boycottnovell.pdf>against
Novell. However, the organisers, primarily the CUSAT bureaucrats &
Members of Students Union, (who does not have much exposure in Free
Software) were harsh with the protesters after a verbal complaint from one
of the Novell official present at the stall.

SMC takes this opportunity to deeply condemn the organisers decision to
include Novell into the Free Software event. SMC urges the organisers of the
event to aplogize to the community on this dreadful alliance with the
notorious Novell Corporation and the way the organisers treated Free
Software Campaigners.

<END>


<http://fci.wikia.com/wiki/SMC/StatementOnNCFS2008Kochi>

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