Print, broadcast and online journalists who want a deeper understanding of evolution can apply for this program in Durham, North Carolina.

The National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) is accepting applications for its journalist-in-residence program for a period of two or three weeks to up to three months. Funded by the National Science Foundation, NESCent is jointly operated by Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University.

Fellows will have an opportunity to interact with world experts in a wide range of evolutionary topics including human evolution, evolutionary medicine, paleontology, biodiversity, conservation, astrobiology and climate change. Journalists can participate in a variety of scientific meetings and seminars.

Journalists-in-residence will receive support for travel to and from NESCent, a housing allowance, a meal per diem and office space at NESCent.

The deadline is Dec. 1.

For more information, click here: http://www.nescent.org/science/Journalist-in-residence.php

BAKU — An RFE/RL correspondent has been briefly detained and questioned by police in Baku, and warned «not to be critical of the government.»

Turkhan Karimov says he was stopped near his home on the morning of November 28 by plainclothes police officers who forced him into a vehicle and took him to in Baku’s Narimanov district police office.

Karimov was released after several hours of questioning.

He says he was asked about his work and salary, as well as about Khadija Ismayilova, a prominent journalist and government critic.

Karimov says the district police chief warned him to be «careful about what he was doing» and told him «all citizens should support the government.»

With some 80,000 followers on Facebook, Karimov is a well-known journalist in Azerbaijan.

The government in Baku has long been criticized for its crackdowns on journalists, human right activists, and political opponents.

http://www.rferl.org/content/azerbaijan-rfe-journalist-questioned-police-karimov/26715024.html

The co-founder of a Kyrgyzstan news portal that published a video showing Kazakh children being trained by the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Syria has slammed the Kyrgyz Interior Ministry after he was asked to remove the report.

Bektur Iskender of the Kloop.kg news website said that the Kyrgyz government was punishing Kyrgyz citizens in order to appease Kazakhstan.

Iskender’s comments came after Kyrgyzstan’s Interior Ministry issued a press release on November 25, criticizing the media for publishing material from the video. While it did not mention Kloop.kg by name, the ministry said it had sent a letter to “the editors of one of Bishkek’s news agencies” asking him to “remove material about Kazakh children trained in an Islamic State camp.”

The Kyrgyz Interior Ministry also warned that it had sent material regarding the Islamic State video to the prosecutor-general.

The Kyrgyz Interior Ministry’s comments came after Kazakhstan said it was moving to ban distribution of the Islamic State video, stating that its dissemination was illegal.

In recent months, Kyrgyzstan has increasingly expressed its concerns about the domestic threat posed by the influence of Islamic State ideology, and about Kyrgyz citizens traveling to Syria and Iraq to fight with Islamic State.

On November 26, an official representative of Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security, Rakhat Sulaymanov, said that eight Kyrgyz nationals have been killed in Syria and that there were around 150 Kyrgyz citizens fighting in Syria.

However, while these concerns reflect a genuine threat, there are signs that the Kyrgyz government has to some extent used the “IS threat” as a “useful enemy” to impose tighter controls on religious freedoms.

The move to insist that Kyrgyz news outlets remove the IS video about Kazakh nationals could also be seen as a move to impose more control over journalists. A report earlier this year by Freedom House noted that the government occasionally pressures outlets regarding the coverage of certain subjects.

In its statement, the Kyrgyz Interior Ministry argued that the Internet and the media were essential in helping to spread the extremist ideology of Islamic State and other groups.

“Any terrorist activity in modern conditions, whatever slogans it hides behind, is meaningless without radio and TV, without the Internet and the mass media and their ability to instantly spread information around the world about a terrorist act, or to intentionally or unintentionally sow panic among people,” the statement said, noting that “media activities in our democratic society are governed by a number of regulations and guidelines — these are the principles of freedom of speech, reliability and objectivity, but there are also the principles of journalists’ social responsibility, respect for public interest, and universal values.”

Kloop.kg co-founder Iskender said that the Interior Ministry statement showed the ministry’s “impotence in the fight against terrorism, if the only way to react to the information that emerged is to try to deal with the media.”

“This press release shows how our Interior Ministry fears backlash from Kazakhstan and because of that it is prepared to punish any number of its citizens, just so that our northern neighbor won’t be offended,” Iskender said.

Iskender added that the ministry was only pretending to act instead of trying to find a real solution to the problem of terrorism.

“I’m really sad that we did not get a press release about how the Interior Ministry is preventing Kyrgyz children being sent to Syria,” Iskender added.

Iskender said he had also refused a request by the Kazakh authorities to remove the material, saying that his article was neutral and did not promote terrorism.

“Dissemination of information about the activities of terrorist groups is not a violation of any international law,” Iskender said. “Otherwise, all the world’s media covering the activities of the Islamic State group would have been subjected to massive persecution long ago. But this has not happened.”

As of November 26, Kloop.kg’s article about the video, which includes stills from the footage and a link to the video itself via the Mail Online website, remains online. However, the website has been blocked in Kazakhstan.

— Joanna Paraszczuk

http://www.rferl.org/content/islamic-state-kazakhstan-kyrgyzstan-video/26711654.html

November 24, 2014

by Konstantin Parshin

It looks like Tajikistan is following a regional trend by drafting legislation that may sharply restrict the activities of foreign-funded non-governmental organizations. Activists say the bill threatens to hinder the operations of hundreds of organizations working on everything from human rights to public health.
The leaders of several prominent NGOs told EurasiaNet.org they were caught off guard when the bill was introduced earlier in November. They added that they were not involved in the drafting of the legislation, as had been customary for NGO-related bills, and have not been able to obtain details about the specific wording of the draft. The government has said nothing publicly yet about the bill, which comes as state agencies have increased unscheduled inspections and other bureaucratic measures concerning non-profits, the NGO leaders say.

Under current regulations, all NGOs operating in Tajikistan must regularly present detailed reports on their activities to the Justice Ministry, where they are obliged to register; they also must present financial statements to tax inspectors.

The draft law is believed to require local non-profit organizations to obtain the government’s approval before accepting funds from a foreign donor. For now, it is unclear from whom the local organizations would seek permission or who would appoint and manage that body.

“There are reasons to fear that it [the bill], in practice, would amount to a system of pre-authorization for the use of foreign funds that would involve direct government interference into the activities of NGOs, and could result in arbitrary delays and denials to register grants,” according to a forthcoming letter to the Tajik government that has already been signed by at least 70 organizations.

“If adopted, the draft legislation would further worsen the climate for NGOs, and is also likely to contribute to public mistrust and suspicion of foreign-funded NGOs by singling them out for a specific registration regime,” the letter added.

The public first heard about the draft legislation during a November 18 conference on freedom of speech in Tajikistan, during which NGO leaders noted a generally deteriorating climate for basic freedoms.

“In reality, it implies that the government will be dictating to NGOs which projects they should implement,” Nargis Zokirova, director of the Bureau on Human Rights and Rule of Law, told EurasiaNet.org. “Authorities demand maximum transparency from us. However, the draft law, which directly concerns our activities, was developed without the [input of] civil society organizations. None of us was aware of it.”

It is unclear why a government that frequently touts its commitment to battling corruption would create an additional layer of the kind of bureaucracy that can breeds sleaze. Tajikistan already ranks 154 out of 177 countries on Transparency International’s most recent Corruption Perceptions Index.

Several activists said they feel Tajikistan’s authoritarian-minded government is simply following the regional trend of tightening regulations in order to silence critics. Many are pessimistic and expect the government will have the country’s rubberstamp parliament approve the bill before the end of the year. “It is quite obvious that many domestic organizations will have to terminate their activities,” said Nuriddin Karshiboev, director of the National Association of Independent Media (NANSMIT).

Conditions for civil society organizations have deteriorated in all Central Asian countries over the last few years. Russian President Vladimir Putin established a precedent in 2012 by signing a law that requires local organizations receiving foreign funding to self-identify as “foreign agents” – Soviet-era slang for spies. Legislators in neighboring Kyrgyzstan are currently pushing an almost word-for-word copy of that 2012 law. If enacted in Kyrgyzstan, NGOs there would have to cope with burdensome reporting regulations.

“In countries where similar laws have been adopted – Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, Uzbekistan – the state authorities keep civil society under tough control and punish human rights activists,” said Karshiboev of NANSMIT.

Long-serving President Emomali Rahmon appears to have a strong grip on power in Dushanbe. Even so, authorities have moved steadily in recent years to limit the space for any form of dissent.

A court shut down the human rights watchdog organization Amparo in the northern city of Khujand in 2012 for alleged technical violations shortly after an Amparo representative accused the government of failing to address widespread reports of detainees being tortured.

In October, Tajik security forces mustered a massive display of strength at the mere rumor of a demonstration, which never came to pass. This month, the lower house of parliament quickly approved a draft law restricting demonstrations, again without public consultation. The Asia-Plus news agency quoted political scientist Abdugani Mamadazimov as saying that the law shows that authorities have “opted for stability to the determent of democratic traditions.”

Editor’s note: 

Konstantin Parshin is a freelance writer based in Tajikistan

http://www.eurasianet.org/node/71081

Acourt in Kazakhstan has ordered the closure of an independent magazine that has scrutinized the authorities over human rights issues and corruption.

The editors of «Adam bol» (Be a Human) say the Almaty court’s decision to shut the periodical’s print and online platforms was delivered to them on November 20.

The Almaty mayor’s office told RFE/RL that the periodical was closed due to the magazine’s violation of laws «banning the propagation of forceful change in the country’s constitutional structure, threating its territorial integrity and security, as well as inciting ethnic, religious and social hatred.»

Last year, publishing houses in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s biggest city, refused to print the periodical — which then was called «Adam Reader’s,» after it reported on the deadly clashes between police and protesting oil workers in the western town of Zhanaozen.

The periodical is led by Gulzhan Erghalieva (eds: a woman), a prominent journalist who has faced numerous intimidations by police in many years.

http://www.rferl.org/content/adam-bol-erghalieva-shut-down-medeu-district-court-magazine/26701749.html

Nongovernmental organizations in Tajikistan are concerned over new legislation that restricts their access to foreign grants.

Participants at an international conference in Dushanbe said on November 18 that according to legal amendments recently adopted by aparliament, NGOs in the Central Asian nation will only be able to receive grants from foreign entities if they have apprival from the government.

The leader of the National Association of Independent Media in Tajikistan (NANSMIT), Nuriddin Karshiboev, said at the conference that the change would have substantial effects on the activity of NGOs and would probably force some of them to close.

The «Freedom of Speech in Tajikistan» conference  was organized by the European Union and Tajik government.

http://www.rferl.org/content/tajik-freedom-of-speech-ngos-new-legislation-grants-foreign/26697656.html

Organizations working in the areas of media, youth, women, democratization, community development, and rule of law and human rights are eligible.

The United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) is inviting civil society organizations to apply for funding projects to advance and support democracy. Project grants range between US$100,000 and US$300,000.

Projects that are two years long are accepted. Project proposals must fall under one or more of six main areas: media, youth, women, democratization, community development, and rule of law and human rights.

Proposals must be submitted online in either English or French.

The deadline is Dec. 31.

For more information, click here: http://www.un.org/democracyfund/application-materials

Russia’s latest media product is the Sputnik news agency, an ambitious international venture with dozens of languages and bureaus around the world.

Russian media reports of the arrests of the notoriously bloodthirsty Moscow «Grand Theft Auto» Gang on November 6 have taken a strange turn, with unconfirmed reports and rumors that the criminals might be closely connected to the Islamic State (IS) group via Central Asia.

The rumors reflect the extent to which Russian concerns over the domestic threat posed by IS — whose ubiquitous social media presence and violent ideology could, some in Russia believe, lead to radicalization of the country’s Muslim residents, particularly Moscow’s large migrant worker population — have percolated into the popular consciousness.

The reports concerned the so-called Grand Theft Auto (GTA) Gang had terrorized Moscow for the past couple of years. Named after the popular video game that involves motor-vehicle theft and shooting, the gang is thought to be responsible for the murders of at least 14 people on highways around the city.

The reports of the arrests are sketchy and appear to have originated in LifeNews, a pro-Kremlin media outlet, which said that 14 alleged members of the gang, eight men and six women, were arrested on November 6 in a series of arrests by the «spetznaz» (special forces) Special Rapid Response Unit. Another alleged gang member was killed when he threw a hand grenade at the police.

LifeNews quoted anonymous law-enforcement officials as saying that the gang leaders were also involved in recruiting supporters for IS and training them, in order to send them to Syria as fighters.

«The investigators have not ruled out that the murders [committed by the gang] on Moscow suburb roads could have been a kind of rite of passage for future fighters,» LifeNews speculated.

While LifeNews did not give details about the arrested men and women, the«Komsomolskaya Pravda» website offered more information, suggesting they were migrant workers from former Soviet Central Asian republics. While the outlet noted that «official information is scarce,» it quoted «unofficial sources» and local residents, who offered more details about the unnamed detainees — apparently migrant workers from former Soviet Central Asian republics.

«They came from Kyrgyzstan over 10 years ago,» one local resident said. «The landlady is named Barakat…. She always wears a Muslim dress, and was constantly reading prayers. Her son is religious. He was always turning up with his bearded friends.»

«Komsomolskaya Pravda» was more cautious in repeating the rumor that the men were linked to IS. «There is another version. It’s possible that the gang trained young fighters-Islamists for sending to Syria to the Islamic State group (one of the most radical extremist groups),» it concluded.

A third outlet, «Moskovskiy Komsomolets,» went into more details, also via unofficial sources. «Moskovskiy Komsomolets» names the suspect who died after throwing a grenade at police as R. Usmanov, a 33-year-old Uzbek national, who the outlet said has «close links to IS.»

«And here’s another interesting fact. Several months ago, a video made by Islamic State’s ‘Internet propagandists’ was published, called Clash of Swords, with Russian subtitles…the terrorists in the video overtook another car on the road and shot everyone in it with a Kalashnikov. All of the victims in the video were defiantly killed. Does that not remind you of anything? After all, we already noted that most of the [GTA] gang’s murderers were not contracted but were training [killings],» «Moskovskiy Komsomolets» wrote.

These rumors are the latest in a series of stories about the threat posed by radical Islamists and IS militants to Russia, via the country’s Muslim population and particularly migrant workers from Central Asia.

A poll conducted by Russian polling organization FOM in October showed that about one-quarter of Russians thought IS posed a threat to Russia.

Meanwhile, as Chechen analyst Mairbek Vatchagaev noted in September, Russian observers reacted strongly to an Internet clip of an Arabic-speaking IS militant who said that the group planned to fly back to Russia to liberate Chechnya.

As Vatchagaev argued, IS militants in Syria do not pose a threat to Russian interests — but the ideology that is behind them does. «Russia remains on the edge of an Islamic time bomb; it is only a question of time before it explodes,» he concluded.

It is this extremist ideology and the propaganda that has helped it to spread via the Internet that is Russia’s main concern, and is the reason why the country’s security authorities have moved to shut down pro-IS accounts on the social-media site VKontakte.

While we have yet to learn (and may never do so) whether the Grand Theft Auto Gang really did have any connection at all to IS, some in Russia are warning that increasing dissatisfaction within Moscow’s growing Muslim population could push young people to extremist groups like IS.

Journalist Grigory Tumanov of Russia’s «Kommersant» newspaper warned recently that Moscow’s Muslim population is a time bomb, saying that tension between the capital’s Muslims and xenophobia is pushing young Muslims increasingly to show an interest in extremist movements. One Moscow resident, Umar Said from Daghestan, said that tension with the police had caused him to be full of resentment to Russia and to study «every media reference to IS with great interest, seeing something good in its aims if not its methods.»

— Joanna Paraszczuk

http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-isis-central-asia-media-islamic-state-moscow-grand-theft-auto/26679654.html

The office of an opposition newspaper has been ransacked in Kyrgyzstan.

The owner of the newspaper «Alibi,» Babyrbek Jeenbekov, told RFE/RL on November 6 that the intrusion had taken place overnight.

He said it was unclear who had broken in and that the intruders did not appear to have taken anything.

He said it appeared they may have been searching for something, as papers and other stationery were found littering the floor and the editor’s safe was overturned but unopened.

Police were at the scene on November 6.

«Alibi» is printed twice a week and often carries material criticizing the government.

Jeenbekov is the father of Ravshan Jeenbekov, who is a lawmaker and a leader of Kyrgyzstan’s National Opposition Movement.

http://www.rferl.org/content/alibi-bishkek-newspaper-office-opposition-jeenbekov/26677296.html