The recent hoax by Georgia's "Imedi" Television in which Russia attacked Georgia has triggered the concern of the European Commission Chairman Jose Manuel Barroso, who expressed this to the Georgian Prime Minister Nike Gilauri. Similar protests came from the British and French ambassadors to Georgia.
The privately-run "Imedi" Television is in fact controlled by the government. The hoax it aired last Saturday told of a Russian invasion and the killing of President Mikhail Saakashvili. That it was only a possible scenario was said in passing. As a result, the spoof sparked widespread panic, leading to an increased number of emergency calls and heart attacks. The fake news report caused anger among the opposition supporters, who regularly hold protests in front of the television company's offices in Tbilisi.
As he voiced his concerns to the Georgian prime minister in Brussels, the EU's chief executive made it clear that the conflicting parties should refrain from letting the situation slip out of control.
In contrast to this cautious but appropriate reaction from the EU, NATO representatives have refused to comment, though they disapprove of the TV stunt on the unofficial level. The Russian Ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin has this to say:
"Russia's representative in NATO says he has sent a letter to NATO's Secretary-General Andres Fogh Rasmussen over the incident. Given the situation, it's unclear, he says, why NATO officials decline to comment. Saakashvili is their client, or rather, patient. What is happening is mainly the result of encouraging Georgian chauvinism from overseas and Europe".
In the opinion of Dmitry Rogozin, NATO partners won't comment for two reasons. First, they are traditionally unwilling to comment on their allies' moves. Second, they don't want anyone to spot a link between a meeting of the Georgia-NATO Commission in Brussels and the provocative report aired the day after. But there is a link. Otherwise, the wild pranks by President Saakashvili would be hard to explain.
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