Application Comment Details

The Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) is the information and communications technology sector (ICT) regulator in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (SA).

Amongst its roles and responsibilities include:

• Granting licenses in the ICT sector

• Protection of users’ rights

• Setting service quality standards

• Preparation of policies, regulatory frameworks and studies of ICT sector in SA

• domain name administration in SA

• Increasing the information security awareness level in SA

• Supervision of the National Committee for Information Society in SA

This application is sensitive as the applied-for gTLD string (.tatar) has an important cultural relevance to approximately 7 million people across Asia.

The Tatars (sometime spelled Tartars) are an indigenous Turkic people of Russia, the majority of whom live in the Russian Federation. Sizeable minorities are located in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and the Ukraine.

We do not believe that the applied-for gTLD string (.tatar) should be under the control of one group or individual who cannot, and does not, represent the multitude of Tatar communities. To allow this string to be registered would be offensive to many people and societies on religious and cultural grounds.

Further, we believe that any and all gTLD applications for any name in relation to religion or a specific community should be presented to the whole of that community for evaluation before an application is denied or granted. If this cannot be accomplished then such names should be restricted completely from being used as gTLD's.

The current applicant cannot demonstrate that it possesses a monopoly over the term "Tatar" nor can it demonstrate that its intended ownership of that term is accepted by Tatars across the region.

Therefore, we respectfully request that ICANN not award this gTLD string.