Makhachkala, November 12, 2016. The scientific-practical conference "Information-based measures to countering terrorism" organized by the Ministry of Press and Information of the Republic of Dagestan has kicked off November 11 in the conference hall of Dagestan State University.

The two-day event is attended by the representatives of the republican ministries and departments, the public organizations and the regional media. The Minister of National Policy of Dagestan Tatiana Gamaley noted that the conference on a number of indicators has become the main experts' platform across the Northern Caucasus.

"We are well aware that the fight against the threat of terrorism in all its manifestations is the primary task for not only to the law enforcement agencies, but the executive authorities, public organizations and the scientific community as well. It is an axiom, but I have to repeat it. Only the rejection of the destructive ideology by the whole society, a clear awareness of each person on the devastating impact of terrorism and the peaceful and therefore an invaluable way of life give the real results. Therefore, in this sense, the informational component plays a great role in the fight against terrorism" - Gamaley  said.

The Minister reminded on the inhumane terrorist act committed in Kaspiysk in 1996. The conference, in fact, was timed to the 20th anniversary of the incident. 20 years ago, a 9-storey house where the families of the military servicemen lived was blown in Dagestani town of  Kaspiysk (15 km southwards from Makhachkala). This was the first apartment building destroyed by an explosion in Russia by the terrorists. The brutality of the terroristic attack enhanced the awareness of peoples and mobilized support for the fight against the terrorism and its ideology.

According to the Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation of Dagestan State University Nazir Ashurbekov, in his report noted that the terrorism threatened the existence of some sovereign states, such as Syria, Iraq and other countries.

The Advisor to the Head of Dagestan, the executive secretary of the Experts' Council under the Antiterrorist Commission of the republic Kamil Landa expressed the view that the solution of problems on struggle against extremist phenomena faces a strong backlog in the information policy. "The main objective of the conference is to present the real picture of the society on the basis of facts, figures and the scale of the terrorist threat in Russia and in particular in the Northern Caucasus" - Landa said.