[members-discuss] NRO letter to Mauritian Government

Hi,

I just read the message from the NRO (co-signed by Hans Petter Holen on behalf of the RIPE NCC) to the Mauritian Government: https://www.nro.net/nro-letter-to-mauritius-government/ and I must say I was shocked.

The letter is about the lawsuits of Cloud Innovation Ltd (Lu Heng) against AFRINIC. The NRO is urging the government to recognise AFRINIC as an international organisation "that if granted, it might lead to more appropriate outcomes”. So basically the NRO is urging the Mauritian government’s executive branch to intervene in its judicial branch. Asking a government is to violate their separation of powers is NOT OK™.

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t like Lu Heng and the way he does business, but not all his lawsuits are without merit, so this is something for the Mauritian court to decide. The NRO pushing the government to intervene goes against the basis of the democratic system.

The letter even does more than urging. It basically threatens/insults Mauritius:

"""
To successfully operate a continental wide entity such as AFRINIC, the African Internet community deliberately chose to locate its headquarters in Mauritius in order to obtain the benefit of a stable and consistent legal system.
[...]
It would be very unfortunate for the African regional community if the above situation proves that the designation of Mauritius as the place to locate AFRINIC has been wrong.
"""

This letter has raised some eyebrows around the world (and as I understand it in Brussels) to say the least. I would like a response from the RIPE NCC and its board on how they have dared to write such a letter.

Sincerely,
Sander Steffann