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Saakashvili and his Theatre of Clowns

April 13, 2010
Standing in the war ravaged Georgian town of Gori, not far from the border with South Ossetia and my blackberry was constantly bleeping with a barrage of e-mail spin from Tblisi and Moscow. It was clear during the conflict and in the aftermath that this was a PR war as well as a 'hot' conflict.

That was in the summer of 2008. Whilst Georgia initially won the first rounds of the PR skirmishes a lot has changed since then. The world's understanding of how 'plucky' little Georgia was brutalised by Moscow's war machine is now much more nuanced. The EU report into the conflict last year lay blame at the doors of both countries.

But Georgia has perhaps done more to damage its international image in the last few day than at any other time. Its TV hoax reporting that the Russians had invaded again has backfired massively. The incident has not only made the country's elites look like a bunch of clowns, it has also angered some of Georgia's staunchest allies.

The British and French ambassadors are said to be furious and are now demanding apologies for being included in the now notorious false Imedi TV report. EU monitoring teams have also claimed the broadcast could have caused enough confusion to have created another conflict on the volatile border.

The fallout from this for Georgia will be enormous. It's hard to think any country will take President Saakashvili and his government seriously ever again.

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