[TYPES] ETAPS bars Russian researchers from attending

[Jonathan Aldrich]

It appears that ETAPS has taken down this policy, along with a related
statement that was formerly on the Programme page:

"By virtue of participating at ETAPS'22, each participating scientist
explicitly condemns the war against Ukraine launched by President Putin as
an intolerable breach of international law and a crime against humanity"
(was from https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://etaps.org/2022/programme__;!!IBzWLUs!EpsQrWS31b30n9gaZtvqxq7Rq-6qqTlzJ-NVbzT5ftsROBWUU7cwfDXCOxA7gPC83gw-BfS8N2w$ ).

This statement was arguably even more problematic, as it is a kind of
forced speech, and thus incompatible with academic freedom.

It appears both have been replaced with a statement by the organizers,
which--while it could still be viewed as bringing ETAPS into
politics--seems much less problematic.  I thank ETAPS for listening to
community concerns here.  And, I echo the ETAPS organizers in condemning
the invasion of Ukraine and the atrocities that have been committed as part
of it.  I support the government sanctions against Russia (which also
affect attendance at ETAPS), even if I agree with what Neel, Talia, and
others say about academic boycotts.

Best,

Jonathan

On Tue, Mar 8, 2022 at 1:33 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
>