At 8 PM on Saturday Imedi TV in Georgia announced that the Russians had invaded the country. The announcement was to all intents and purposes the real thing. According to the report Russian tanks were on the way. Georgia's pro-western leader Mikheil Saakashvili had been murdered. In the course of the 30-minute bulletin, it was also reported that Georgian airports and seaports had been bombed and that opposition leader Nino Burdzhanadze had seized power.
For the next half an hour there were scenes of absolute panic, as the mobile network collapsed, Georgians spilled on to the streets, and friends and relatives desperately tried to reach each other and seek out information. In fact, they needn't have bothered.
"People were completely shocked. I was driving to my friend's party when I got a phone call telling me to turn on the TV... I rushed upstairs. There was Dmitry Medvedev saying that Russia was intervening in Georgia. I didn't notice this was old footage from August 2008. I immediately started looking for my children... It was a very cruel simulation. One lady whose son was in the army had a heart attack and died. Another pregnant lady lost her baby. Many children were taken to hospital suffering from stress. It was horrible what happened, actually. It is a criminal act that should be punished."
Protest in central Tbilisi
The possibility of a Russian invasion isn't altogether far-fetched when viewed in the context of recent history. During the conflict of August 2008 Russians tanks did in fact roll in. Russian troops remain stationed in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
But why would Imedi TV spark mass panic with a hoax report about a Russian invasion? Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili's political agenda might have something to do with it. His reaction to the false news report was to say that the threat of a Russian invasion remained "very realistic".
Interestingly enough Imedi TV - once Georgia's main independent broadcaster - was taken off the air by Saakashvili after he had a falling out with the station's owner Badri Patarkatsishvili. Following the latter's death, Saakashvili handed control of the station to a government supporter.
Kremlin politicians have used the incident to press their view that the Georgian leader is deranged. The Russians regard Saakashvili with thinly disguised contempt. Not long ago Putin told Nicolas Sarkozy that he intended to hang Saakashvili "by the balls".
Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's envoy to NATO described the TV stunt as "criminal". Nino Burdzhanadze, leader of the Georgian opposition, was equally blunt: “People won’t forgive it... Saakashvili was behind it”.
Days before the on-air alert Burdzhanadze had been in Moscow holding talks with Putin about restoring ties. The broadcast appears to have been a misguided effort to shock Georgians into an awareness of the Russian threat, especially with mayoral elections coming up in Tbilisi in May.
Imedi TV says it was an attempt to show how events might unfold if the president was killed. The head of the holding company that owns Imedi TV, George Arveladze, apologized for the distress the TV report had caused.
For more on this story link to - Guardian - BBC (with video) - Euronews
But why would Imedi TV spark mass panic with a hoax report about a Russian invasion? Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili's political agenda might have something to do with it. His reaction to the false news report was to say that the threat of a Russian invasion remained "very realistic".
Interestingly enough Imedi TV - once Georgia's main independent broadcaster - was taken off the air by Saakashvili after he had a falling out with the station's owner Badri Patarkatsishvili. Following the latter's death, Saakashvili handed control of the station to a government supporter.
Kremlin politicians have used the incident to press their view that the Georgian leader is deranged. The Russians regard Saakashvili with thinly disguised contempt. Not long ago Putin told Nicolas Sarkozy that he intended to hang Saakashvili "by the balls".
Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's envoy to NATO described the TV stunt as "criminal". Nino Burdzhanadze, leader of the Georgian opposition, was equally blunt: “People won’t forgive it... Saakashvili was behind it”.
Days before the on-air alert Burdzhanadze had been in Moscow holding talks with Putin about restoring ties. The broadcast appears to have been a misguided effort to shock Georgians into an awareness of the Russian threat, especially with mayoral elections coming up in Tbilisi in May.
Imedi TV says it was an attempt to show how events might unfold if the president was killed. The head of the holding company that owns Imedi TV, George Arveladze, apologized for the distress the TV report had caused.
For more on this story link to - Guardian - BBC (with video) - Euronews
