South, Central Asia tackle extremism at Astana CVE conference

    On Monday, Kazakhstan called on governments in Central and South Asia to take concerted steps to prevent radical groups from promoting their ideas on the Internet and proposed that the media take on a larger role in the global fight against violent extremism and terrorism.
    "The World Wide Web is used by (violent extremists) to promote their destructive dialogue, hatred, violence and transmission of information," Prime Minister Karim Massimov said at the opening of the two-day Central and South Asia Regional Conference on Countering Violent Extremism, or CVE, in Astana.
    "Current events in the world show that violent extremism has become a major threat determining the need for closer integration," the prime minister said while calling on his neighbors to adopt concrete CVE initiatives and a coordinated action plan.
    Kazakhstan, the premier said, is working to detect and block extremist Web sites, and he called on civil society and the media to play a bigger role in curbing the propagation of extremism and terrorism.
    Also speaking at the conference was presidential aide and Security Council Secretary Nurlan Yermekbayev,, who said the media should review their principles for covering terrorists and extremists.
    "The world's media often unwittingly portray members of terrorist groups in a way they want themselves to be seen, that is, as so-called jihadists. We believe it is necessary to review and revise the guidelines and forms, and the scale of media coverage of extremists and terrorists' acts," Yermekbayev said.
    The gathering of 13 nations at the Central and South Asia Regional Conference on Countering Violent Extremism in the Kazakh capital is a follow-on to the CVE Summit held in Washington in February.
    The goal is to come up with ways to counter violent extremism within the framework of good governance and the rule of law.
    The countries are then expected to announce their commitment to CVE initiatives when the United Nations General Assembly meets in New York in September.
    High-level delegations from the United States, the European Union and Russia are taking part in the conference, as well as representatives from the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and leading experts in the fight against extremism and terrorism, according to EFE News.