Georgia Accuses Dutch TV of ‘False’ War Report

• The Dutch TV, NOS, said it was investigating the report.

The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) accused Dutch broadcaster NOS (Nederlandse Omroep Stichting) of “a false and misleading report” on the August war and alleged that it was part of the Russia’s anti-Georgian campaign.

The Georgian MFA said in a statement that NOS – which is part of the Dutch public broadcasting system – aired in its news program on January 3 a report in which the broadcaster’s Moscow correspondent says that President Saakashvili started the war. The report, the MFA said, featured a Georgian woman, Nino Matkava, who, according to the same report, served in the Georgian army and fought on the frontline during the war. “He [President Saakashvili] viewed the war as a game, a game in which Nino and others like her were jeopardizing their lives,” the MFA statement quoted the TV report. It also said that Matkava was dismissed from the Georgian army in 2006 and could not have been on the frontline during the August war.

“The Ambassador of Georgia to the Netherlands has brought these details to the attention of the Dutch broadcaster and formally requested an on-air retraction of the report,” the MFA said.

The Dutch broadcaster has declined to comment pending an internal investigation by the broadcaster’s ombudsman, Ton van Brussel.

“The ombudsman is currently investigating the report and the television will be able to comment on the matter next week,” NOS spokesperson told Civil.Ge on January 8.

The Georgian MFA also said that the report by NOS was “the latest in what appears to be a systematic campaign of disinformation by Russia that aims to manipulate international opinion on the origins of the Russian invasion.”

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)