This is the document signed by Latin American organizations which participate in Internet governance debates in our region (some of them members of NCUC or ALAC) sent to the GAC chair regarding the .amazon domain, supporting a request made by governments of the Amazon region, led by Brazil and Peru. It contains what Dr Müller calls "silly and parochial" arguments. fraternal regards --c.a. ============================ Heather Dryden Chairperson ICANN Government Advisory Committee (GAC) via e-mail ([log in to unmask]) Dear Ms Dryden, On behalf of the civil society organizations and networks signed below, this is a letter in support of the request made by governments of the Amazon region that the application for the ".AMAZON" gTLD be withdrawn. The Amazon region constitutes an important part of the territory of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela, due to its extensive biodiversity, its diverse culture and several idioms, and incalculable natural resources. Granting exclusive rights to this specific gTLD to a private company would prevent the use of this domain for purposes of public interest related to the protection, promotion and awareness raising on issues related to the Amazon biome. It would also hinder the possibility of use of this domain to congregate web pages related to the population inhabiting that geographical region. In addition, this gTLD string requested by "Amazon EU S.a.r.l.” matches part of the name, in English, of the “Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization”, an international organization which coordinates initiatives in the framework of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty, signed in July 1978 by Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela, and expedites the execution of its decisions through its Permanent Secretariat. It should also be noted that the application for the “.AMAZON” gTLD has not received support from the governments of the countries in which the Amazon region is located. February 22, 2013 Instituto Nupef, Brazil http://www.nupef.org.br ISOC Brazil http://www.isoc.org.br ISOC Peru http://www.isoc.pe Alfa-Redi, Peru http://www.alfa-redi.org Fundación REDES, Bolivia http://www.fundacionredes.org NIC Argentina http://www.nic.ar Colnodo, Colombia http://www.colnodo.apc.org Asociación Latinoamericana de Educación Radiofónica (ALER), regional http://www.aler.org Asociación Paraguaya de Derecho Informático (APADIT), Paraguay http://www.apadit.org.py Red de Desarrollo Sostenible (RDS), Honduras http://rds.hn Red de Infodesarrollo de Ecuador http://www.nuevared.org Fundación Redes y Desarrollo (FUNREDES), Dominican Republic http://www.funredes.org cc. [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask]