Lecture marks Beslan hostage drama anniversary

Aug 28, 2006

On 1 September 2004, a group of terrorists took more then 1,200 hostages on the first day of school in the North Ossetian town of Beslan, Russia. The deadliest hostage crisis in history was about to unfold.

After a 52 hour standoff, detonation of explosive devices inside the school triggered a chaotic rescue operation in which 331 people were killed, more then half of them children.

Two years have passed and despite notoriety, the Beslan school tragedy still remains an incredibly misunderstood phenomenon.

Who were the attackers, and what was their goal? How did they manage to travel to Beslan? What intelligence indicators were present prior to the attack? Was it possible to resolve the crisis via the process of negotiation? How did this incident reach such a tragic end? What lessons can we learn for the management of such incidents in the future?

International terrorism expert Dr Adam Dolnik, Director of Research Development at the Centre for Transnational Crime Prevention at the University of Wollongong, will present a public lecture on the Beslan crisis to mark the anniversary on 1 September.

Dr Dolnik has conducted exhaustive research into the tragedy for his upcoming book From Moscow to Beslan: Negotiating with the New Terrorists (Brill Academic Publishers, forthcoming in 2007).

Dr Dolnik has examined thousands of pages of witness testimonies and court transcripts, analysed video footage, and conducted extensive field research in Beslan, Chechnya, and Ingushetia including the examination of evidence left behind in the school, visits to the perpetrators’ home villages, and dozens of interviews with hostages, witnesses, relatives, negotiators, and investigators.

His presentation will analyze the myths and facts of the attack, with the clear purpose of identifying successes and failures. The media is invited to cover this lecture.

WHERE: Lecture Theatre 104, MacKinnon Building (Building 67), University of Wollongong.

WHEN: Friday, 1 September, 2006. 12-1.30pm.

CONTACT: To arrange an interview with Dr Dolnik, contact Tracy Wood at the Centre for Transnational Crime Prevention (ph: (02) 4221 4230) or ring Dr Dolnik on 0408 277942.

For more information, contact:

media@uow.edu.au
University of Wollongong
Ph: (02) 4221 5942; fax (02) 4221 3128