Savanna Murder: Lessons and Implications
Wars on earth have been, are and will be. Humanity cannot do without it. And in wars there are always representatives of the “second oldest”. The war beckons them like the night light of moths. Some in the war earn their bread, others try to gain their popularity and fame. And those and others sometimes die. The death of every member of the media in Russia blows up the journalistic community. Various versions of death are put forward, mistakes made by the dead are analyzed: no one wants to step on those rakes that were fatal to their predecessors.
In the Central African Republic, a group of Russian journalists died, led by well-known in narrow circles Orhan Jemal. Having suffered an irreparable loss, the liberal public raised another howl. All the rest (illiberal) journalists (many of whom did not like Cemal) froze in mournful silence. Having, as it should be, a minute pause, we will try without anger and addiction to understand what happened.
Host country
It is difficult to find a more dangerous place than the CAR on planet Earth. Here a fierce intertribal war goes on for the fifth year, rivers of blood flow. Poverty is a record even by African standards. The government controls a maximum of a quarter of the territory. Three unarmed Europeans without protection from such a place can be returned only with great luck. She turned away from our fellow citizens.
Customer
The official customer of the voyage was a certain “Investigation Management Center”. This is not so much the media and not so the structure. This is a certain muddy project-centaur, existing at the expense of the former Zek, now the Londoner Mikhail Khodorkovsky. It is clear what it does: creating content about the “bloody and thieving Russian regime” and scattering it on social networks and other like-minded resources.
Goal
As the correspondent of Komsomolskaya Pravda, Dmitry Steshin, aptly noted, “not a single media outlet in the world, living at the expense of readers and advertising, is interested in what is happening in the CAR. From the word "absolutely." Because it is absolutely not necessary for the readers themselves. ” It’s hard to disagree. Not the most popular among tourists country. Not Thailand and not the Bahamas.
But the one who pays is the one who orders the music. In our case - the topic of reporting. She was predictable and uncomplicated. The journalists were ordered to dig up a compromising material about the PMC Wagner. For in the republic (which the Foreign Ministry of Russia officially announced in March), in agreement with the government, 5 military and 170 civilian instructors from Russia are working. They are engaged in the training of local army personnel - by the way, in agreement with the relevant committee of the UN Security Council. This is a worldwide practice. American instructors teach the military in Georgia, Ukraine, the Baltic States. Also for the money. And no one calls them "Uncle Sam's mercenaries." Such a job. Yes, specific, perhaps not honorable, but according to the sovereign's order and very well paid. These Russian instructors were needed “for the picture”. Moreover, in the republic they didn’t hide from anyone in particular. They were supposed to pass off as bloody mercenaries. The rest is a matter of camera equipment and the author’s fantasy. The concept is already there, it remains only to fit the "cutting frames" under it. What the journalists and went.
Security
The security of journalists "customer", apparently, did not think for a second. For in the scheme declared by him the performers were initially considered as a “consumable”. Even their motivation (and she could be quite sincere) was not interesting for him. If something happens to them, it will be even better: simple fighters of the information war can be reformatted into “victims of the struggle.” And this is again a quote, a new reason to remind of myself, to accuse the “bloody regime”, etc. You can even demand new financial trenches from their curators - on the altar of the war, which takes the lives of "comrades".
According to Steshyn, journalists in this history "At first they threw in, and then they exchanged." True, the journalists themselves are far from children. It is necessary to understand all the same when you play and when you play. You cannot agree to any offers, especially coming from odious personalities, if you have at least an elementary instinct of self-preservation and you do not consider yourself to be "consumable", of course.
Trip design
Journalists entered the CAR illegally. They had a “otvodnjak” with them - press cards of the federal and absolutely pro-government newspaper “Izvestia”. As it quickly turned out, Izvestia about “its” correspondents sent to Africa is not a dream. But in the country - for a moment - there is a civil war in the most active phase. And it was decided to use false documents solely as a pass to the combat zone. In such cases, in Asia, they immediately recall the saying: "These guys initially crookedly mounted a horse." True, the official representatives of the LRC immediately after the murder with enviable efficiency put forward a new version of the African voyage, trying to “straighten the landing” in hindsight: “The guys just went to make a film about Africa.” Reinforced concrete argument. Even a newborn mouse knows that a former convict, an oligarch and a London fugitive, Khodorkovsky, is sponsoring a video exclusively about zebras, elephants, cockatoo and hippos.
Further. All those killed in the Central African Republic issued their entry as a tourist. Neither they nor the organizers of their trip have notified the Russian Foreign Ministry or the Russian embassy in the republic about this voyage. About this in the air of the TV channel "Russia 24" said the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova. The dead did not even have passports with them, which complicated the identification procedure. There were only expired certificates of media representatives 2011 year of release. According to Zakharova, the Foreign Ministry still does not have a clear understanding of how they got there and who is responsible for their stay in a belligerent country.
The “crooked horse” of the African voyage began to poodle right away. Everything went wrong from the start. On the eve of the death of journalists were detained for conducting illegal shooting. Local authorities officially warned them that they were leaving the security zone controlled by the legitimate government. And later it turned out that the Wagner’s seekers did not go at all to where the Russian specialists are based.
Errors
According to Vladimir Vorozhtsov, a well-known specialist in journalistic circles in the field of conflict management and extreme situations, in this case, the dead journalists unfortunately violated the basic rules for staying in hot spots and places of local wars, which, like the military charter, are written in blood.
Any more or less experienced journalist who worked in hot spots, like “Our Father” should know, observe and carry out the following steps in preparing his voyage:
1. Definition of routes of movement and movement of the group (the main and several spare).
2. The choice of location, stops, meetings with local residents and military personnel.
3. Selection of vehicles.
4. Organization of safety and security.
5. Misinformation and prevention of a potential adversary.
6. Sometimes it is very productive to “tie” the film crew to one of the divisions of the opposing sides.
These basic safety principles are not allowed to violate the most experienced journalists who have experienced fire, water and hot spots. None of them was fully observed by the Jemal group.
The circumstances of the death of the group, alas, are very typical. According to Vladimir Vorozhtsov, the group clearly did not have a clear plan for the trip, a thoughtful schedule of movements, competent organization and the minimum level of security. A driver who escaped during the attack, who is also a conductor, also a translator, he is a security guard, is very suspicious. Practice and life experience show that, if the conductor or driver from the local “happily escapes” during the death of the escorted, he can fully qualify for the title of accomplice. It was this man who, the day before the shooting, transferred to journalists the demands of the local police officers, who simply extorted a bribe from them in 200 dollars. The amount has been paid. After that, the chain of “interested persons” sent information about a group of “rich Buratino” who drove into the country with no one and nothing protected. And they had with them, as it turned out, eight and a half thousand dollars in cash. The amount by local standards is simply unreal, astronomical one. That, perhaps, led the murderers to radical measures.
Afterword
Neutralize the group of Jemal, of course, could for various reasons. Including "for sneakers," as suggested by journalists. But it is painfully suspicious obvious sacrality of the victim. If the authors of the information veil succeed in imposing their version of the version on public opinion (“they only tried to find out the truth”), then everything will again come down to the fact that “the bloody regime and Putin personally” are to blame.
The well-known Spanish writer Perez-Reverte once said: “In any war, sooner or later, a journalist turns from a descriptor of victories into a dangerous and unnecessary witness.”
In this story, the first stage has not been completed. Immediately came the second ...
In the Central African Republic, a group of Russian journalists died, led by well-known in narrow circles Orhan Jemal. Having suffered an irreparable loss, the liberal public raised another howl. All the rest (illiberal) journalists (many of whom did not like Cemal) froze in mournful silence. Having, as it should be, a minute pause, we will try without anger and addiction to understand what happened.
Host country
It is difficult to find a more dangerous place than the CAR on planet Earth. Here a fierce intertribal war goes on for the fifth year, rivers of blood flow. Poverty is a record even by African standards. The government controls a maximum of a quarter of the territory. Three unarmed Europeans without protection from such a place can be returned only with great luck. She turned away from our fellow citizens.
Customer
The official customer of the voyage was a certain “Investigation Management Center”. This is not so much the media and not so the structure. This is a certain muddy project-centaur, existing at the expense of the former Zek, now the Londoner Mikhail Khodorkovsky. It is clear what it does: creating content about the “bloody and thieving Russian regime” and scattering it on social networks and other like-minded resources.
Goal
As the correspondent of Komsomolskaya Pravda, Dmitry Steshin, aptly noted, “not a single media outlet in the world, living at the expense of readers and advertising, is interested in what is happening in the CAR. From the word "absolutely." Because it is absolutely not necessary for the readers themselves. ” It’s hard to disagree. Not the most popular among tourists country. Not Thailand and not the Bahamas.
But the one who pays is the one who orders the music. In our case - the topic of reporting. She was predictable and uncomplicated. The journalists were ordered to dig up a compromising material about the PMC Wagner. For in the republic (which the Foreign Ministry of Russia officially announced in March), in agreement with the government, 5 military and 170 civilian instructors from Russia are working. They are engaged in the training of local army personnel - by the way, in agreement with the relevant committee of the UN Security Council. This is a worldwide practice. American instructors teach the military in Georgia, Ukraine, the Baltic States. Also for the money. And no one calls them "Uncle Sam's mercenaries." Such a job. Yes, specific, perhaps not honorable, but according to the sovereign's order and very well paid. These Russian instructors were needed “for the picture”. Moreover, in the republic they didn’t hide from anyone in particular. They were supposed to pass off as bloody mercenaries. The rest is a matter of camera equipment and the author’s fantasy. The concept is already there, it remains only to fit the "cutting frames" under it. What the journalists and went.
Security
The security of journalists "customer", apparently, did not think for a second. For in the scheme declared by him the performers were initially considered as a “consumable”. Even their motivation (and she could be quite sincere) was not interesting for him. If something happens to them, it will be even better: simple fighters of the information war can be reformatted into “victims of the struggle.” And this is again a quote, a new reason to remind of myself, to accuse the “bloody regime”, etc. You can even demand new financial trenches from their curators - on the altar of the war, which takes the lives of "comrades".
According to Steshyn, journalists in this history "At first they threw in, and then they exchanged." True, the journalists themselves are far from children. It is necessary to understand all the same when you play and when you play. You cannot agree to any offers, especially coming from odious personalities, if you have at least an elementary instinct of self-preservation and you do not consider yourself to be "consumable", of course.
Trip design
Journalists entered the CAR illegally. They had a “otvodnjak” with them - press cards of the federal and absolutely pro-government newspaper “Izvestia”. As it quickly turned out, Izvestia about “its” correspondents sent to Africa is not a dream. But in the country - for a moment - there is a civil war in the most active phase. And it was decided to use false documents solely as a pass to the combat zone. In such cases, in Asia, they immediately recall the saying: "These guys initially crookedly mounted a horse." True, the official representatives of the LRC immediately after the murder with enviable efficiency put forward a new version of the African voyage, trying to “straighten the landing” in hindsight: “The guys just went to make a film about Africa.” Reinforced concrete argument. Even a newborn mouse knows that a former convict, an oligarch and a London fugitive, Khodorkovsky, is sponsoring a video exclusively about zebras, elephants, cockatoo and hippos.
Further. All those killed in the Central African Republic issued their entry as a tourist. Neither they nor the organizers of their trip have notified the Russian Foreign Ministry or the Russian embassy in the republic about this voyage. About this in the air of the TV channel "Russia 24" said the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova. The dead did not even have passports with them, which complicated the identification procedure. There were only expired certificates of media representatives 2011 year of release. According to Zakharova, the Foreign Ministry still does not have a clear understanding of how they got there and who is responsible for their stay in a belligerent country.
The “crooked horse” of the African voyage began to poodle right away. Everything went wrong from the start. On the eve of the death of journalists were detained for conducting illegal shooting. Local authorities officially warned them that they were leaving the security zone controlled by the legitimate government. And later it turned out that the Wagner’s seekers did not go at all to where the Russian specialists are based.
Errors
According to Vladimir Vorozhtsov, a well-known specialist in journalistic circles in the field of conflict management and extreme situations, in this case, the dead journalists unfortunately violated the basic rules for staying in hot spots and places of local wars, which, like the military charter, are written in blood.
Any more or less experienced journalist who worked in hot spots, like “Our Father” should know, observe and carry out the following steps in preparing his voyage:
1. Definition of routes of movement and movement of the group (the main and several spare).
2. The choice of location, stops, meetings with local residents and military personnel.
3. Selection of vehicles.
4. Organization of safety and security.
5. Misinformation and prevention of a potential adversary.
6. Sometimes it is very productive to “tie” the film crew to one of the divisions of the opposing sides.
These basic safety principles are not allowed to violate the most experienced journalists who have experienced fire, water and hot spots. None of them was fully observed by the Jemal group.
The circumstances of the death of the group, alas, are very typical. According to Vladimir Vorozhtsov, the group clearly did not have a clear plan for the trip, a thoughtful schedule of movements, competent organization and the minimum level of security. A driver who escaped during the attack, who is also a conductor, also a translator, he is a security guard, is very suspicious. Practice and life experience show that, if the conductor or driver from the local “happily escapes” during the death of the escorted, he can fully qualify for the title of accomplice. It was this man who, the day before the shooting, transferred to journalists the demands of the local police officers, who simply extorted a bribe from them in 200 dollars. The amount has been paid. After that, the chain of “interested persons” sent information about a group of “rich Buratino” who drove into the country with no one and nothing protected. And they had with them, as it turned out, eight and a half thousand dollars in cash. The amount by local standards is simply unreal, astronomical one. That, perhaps, led the murderers to radical measures.
Afterword
Neutralize the group of Jemal, of course, could for various reasons. Including "for sneakers," as suggested by journalists. But it is painfully suspicious obvious sacrality of the victim. If the authors of the information veil succeed in imposing their version of the version on public opinion (“they only tried to find out the truth”), then everything will again come down to the fact that “the bloody regime and Putin personally” are to blame.
The well-known Spanish writer Perez-Reverte once said: “In any war, sooner or later, a journalist turns from a descriptor of victories into a dangerous and unnecessary witness.”
In this story, the first stage has not been completed. Immediately came the second ...
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