Dusan Reljic, Senior researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs and consultant to IMS on the CA report, presented the IMS report at an event in Kazakhstan. Helene Bach, IMS programme coordinator, also took part in the launch (right). Photo: IMS.

"IMS succeeded in bringing a very sensitive topic to debate in public fora in Central Asia, says Dusan Reljic. who was the driving force behind the IMS report "Political Extremism, terrorism and the media in Central Asia, just published by IMS. The report was launched in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in October, as the report draws on case examples from these two countries

Senior researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Studies, Dusan Reljic feels certain why the report was so well-received in Central Asia:

- These are sensitive issues in Central Asia, and people were astonished that this could be discussed in an orderly manner. I believe our success was attributed to the fact that we were presenting empirical and structured research findings in a transparent analysis, and that we provided simple recommendations.

Pioneering study

With case examples from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the report presented empirical data and an analysis of the coverage of extremism and terrorism by media in Central Asia. the cases were identified in close collaboration with the Association for Protection of Freedom of Speech in Kazakhstan (Adil Soz) and the Public Association "Journalists" in Kyrgyzstan.

The report is pioneering the field of media studies, as facts about the actual media coverage remains scarce on a global scale, and in a Central Asia context it is the first of its kind. The design of the study and methodology was developed in close cooperation with local partners, who also carried out the monitoring and data collection, followed by in-depth discussions between local partners and the IMS consultant concerning the findings as well as the recommendations.

Based on the research results, Dusan Reljic rejects the common notion in the West, that Central Asia is a breeding basket for terrorism and political extremism.

- This is not the case at the moment. However, the danger is imminent in societies where opposition has no space to articulate its views. As social tension is on the rise, there is a danger that some people may resort to political extremism, if social issues are not addressed in the public, says Dusan Reljic.

The report therefore recommends that all stakeholders do their part to improve the quality of news reporting on these issues: Government authorities should contribute to providing accurate information to the media, the media should strengthen its professional capabilities to base its reports on verified information, and the civil society community should focus its attention on monitoring progress and setbacks.

Important people came to the presentation

As with any piece of research, the impact is often to be determined by the level of attention it attracts when being published, and here, Dusan Reljic says, there is good reasom for IMS to be satisfied:

- important people came to the presentations such as media representatives, government representatives, international organisations as well as local civil society organisations. The discussions allowed everyone to share their views, and it became clear that even some representatives of the public authorities were receptive to our ideas, he says.

Among others, the government representatives in Kazakhstan seemed to be open to the recommendation in the report, that public authorities should reach out to media in order to enable the media to better cover sensitive issues.

In Kyrgyzstan, the presentation of the report generated a slightly different debate, as focus was centered around the relation between the West and the Muslim communities of the world.

- It gave offered unique opportunity to address this issue openly. We also suggested to the public authorities in Kyrgyzstan to open up to a discussion about the social issues that challenge society as a means to ease the public pressure to debate these matters openly. Finally, it gave me the opportunity to offer the view, that it is not Islam but extremist thinking of any form, that people in the West are opposed to, says Dusan Reljic.