[TYPES] ETAPS bars Russian researchers from attending

[Talia Ringer]

I agree this is a bad move. Ever since JetBrains' statement against the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, I've been proud to continue to collaborate
with them. Furthermore, discrimination based on national origin is against
the ACM Ethics Code and other relevant ethical codes.

Sanctions make a lot of sense as a way of pressuring a country to cease
unwarranted behavior, and pushing citizens to resist governments engaging
in those behaviors. But academic boycotts are uniformly wrong. This is
especially true given that academics in Russia are overwhelmingly
anti-Putin and are often active in resisting the government even when it is
literally illegal to do so.

Russian politics are about as divided as American politics. It is not OK to
conflate governments with people.

It is also not really an action that accomplishes anything, unlike
sanctions. So if we want to accomplish something as a community, we can do
a lot, like:

1. organize large donation efforts to help with relief in Ukraine and
resettlement if refugees,
2. personally reach out to those in and outside of our community who are
impacted, and ask if they need anything,
3. organize a group effort to call our representatives and demand
additional support for Ukraine and acceptance of refugees, and explain how
we will personally help with that effort,
4. talking to our Russian friends who are organizing against Putin, and
helping them with that effort,
5. talking to Russians who are confused and unsure of what is true, and
explaining the truth,
6. funding VPN access for Russians who want to continue to access
independent news that will help them resist.

Here's a reputable organization I like, if anyone wants to donate:
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://novaukraine.org/__;!!IBzWLUs!DHlXVoZ6BDwBfH2OIWb-MM7tsQ8m5xqm0-qPznoFXvlpDYMV2qsTpSP8ZkB_53Xdvhwvm4JgIak$ 

Sanctions tend to work best when there is also an allied resistance
movement within the country; this was certainly true in South Africa, and
it's certainly true in Russia, too. It works to Putin's advantage to
completely isolate those in Russia who are our allies. It comes across as
performative, too, and it's against the ethics code.

We should stand against all forms of academic boycott. But if anyone makes
comments that are very harmful to Ukrainian researchers, or puts them at
risk, of course we should enforce that through the ethics codes and codes
of conduct as well. And we should support Ukraine during this time; there
is no apolitical stance in war, especially a war this unprompted. But
banning Russian academics is definitely not the way to do that.

Talia

On Tue, Mar 8, 2022, 12:33 PM Neel Krishnaswami <
neelakantan.krishnaswami at gmail.com> wrote:

> [ The Types Forum, http://lists.seas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/types-list
> ]
>
> The ETAPS website (
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.etaps.org__;!!IBzWLUs!HUevd2N5Ms-2WYC1sMdH93ef4xxRy4BjZ9KD0I8SPwLGGpv-Rk7u_Emgl9qMMyLGK4ex90o0Cm0$
> ) has the following text on its
> front page:
>
> > The ETAPS association strongly condemns the war against Ukraine
> > launched by President Putin. It is an intolerable breach of
> > international law and a crime against humanity, unfolding in Europe
> > now. Therefore, until further notice, ETAPS 2022 cannot accept
> > registrations from affiliates of Russian research institutions or
> > companies.
>
> While I'm as opposed to illegal wars of aggression as anyone else, this
> feels like a serious mistake.
>
> There are many Russians (such as Jetbrains corporation) who have taken
> the serious personal risk of publically opposing the war, and barring
> them from our conferences due to their nationality feels wrong to me.
>
> It may well be that the financial sanctions regime means that
> registration payments cannot be accepted, but that is quite different
> from barring them personally.
>
> What do the rest of you think?
>
> Best,
> Neel
>