Latvia's society stirred by BBC flick on nuclear war in its territory

A short film depicting a fictional military clash of superpowers resulting in a nuclear attack on Latvia has caused a stir in the Baltic country's society, with authorities trying to calm down frightened people and experts stressing the film's fictional character.

The film called "World War Three: Inside The War Room," aired by The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on Wednesday night, plays out a scenario in which Russia has occupied several eastern Latvian towns and cities near the Russian border in an attempt to support pro-Kremlin separatists ravaging the country.

According to the screenplay, when NATO leaders fail to decide on how to respond to the invasion, both the United States and Great Britain decide to send in their soldiers to counter the Russian force. Russia responds to this with a nuclear attack.

Asked to comment the new BBC film depicting separatist activities in the eastern Latvian region of Latgale, Janis Lacplesis, mayor of the southeastern Latvian city of Daugavpils, said that there are people among the city's residents "who have seen wars, revolutions, deportations and genocide not just in films but in reality. This is why people in Latgale value peace and harmony extremely highly."

The Daugavpils mayor also indicated that depopulation and the region's economic issues rather than a hypothetical military invasion are seen by local residents as the main threat to Latgale.

Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics wrote about his impressions of the film on Twitter: "Watched BBC2 World War 3: Inside the War Room, while scenario of separatists in Latgale is rubbish, overall many lessons to learn for all."

The Latvian minister also noted that the position of British representatives in the film does not reflect the official stance of the UK government.

"Shortly before the BBC film about World War Three I had a conversation with my British colleague and was told that it did not reflect the UK government's position," Rinkevics said.

In another comment, Rinkevics also pointed to the film's reassuring aspects, saying that it also shows that "Article 5 of the NATO Treaty remains in force and our allies are ready to defend us in case of attack, and this is not just theoretical fiction. Collective security commitments remain in place,''

The Baltics have been a NATO member for the past 10 years and continue to work closely together with its partners, that is why even a theoretical invasion is resisted, the Latvian foreign minister said.

Russian Ambassador to Latvia Alexander Veshnyakov, who commented the BBC war film on the embassy's Facebook page, called it a "dangerous provocation."

"I have been working in Latvia for eight years, and I have no information about any kind of separatist organizations, let alone ones that could capture any cities in Latvia's border area. Any independent expert familiar with the situation on the ground can confirm this," the ambassador said.

Maris Cepuritis, a researcher at the Center for East European Studies, pointed out that Russia will probably use the BBC film to defend its interests accusing the West of undermining security in Europe.

The expert indicated, however, that TV films or series should not be automatically taken as documentary material, but that the BBC had clearly tried to depict the events as realistically as possible, based on processes that have taken place elsewhere in the world. "And still, the following process [shown in the film] is fiction," Cepuritis stressed. Enditem