MOSCOW. March 29 (Interfax) - Radicalized movements have been strengthening their positions in many countries as a result of refugees coming from war zones in the Middle East and North Africa, according to Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev.
"The intensity of military conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa has resulted in a substantial flow of refugees from war zones. Many countries were not quite ready to deal with migration problems. So, tensions flare up," Kolokoltsev said at the international conference entitled "Priorities of International Cooperation in the Suppression of Extremism and Terrorism" on Friday.
"As a result, extremist movements are strengthening their position even in countries with steady democratic traditions, and unprecedented terror attacks are launched and aired live on the Internet. An illustrative example is the recent events in New Zealand," he said.
According to Kolokoltsev, leaders of radicalized groups are using telecom technologies to create channels for communicating and spreading their ideas "mostly via social media and messenger services."
"They focus on young people who are inclined to various sorts of protests because of their age," he said.
"We have been increasingly witnessing manifestations of so-called double standards," which assess events of the same nature in varying ways, in recent years, Kolokoltsev said. "That kind of biased approach triggers discrimination against groups of citizens and even whole countries," he said.