Latvia: Protesters slam screening of BBC 'war propaganda'

The 'Russian Union of Latvia' held a protest in Daugavpils, Friday against the screening on Latvian public TV of a BBC programme entitled "World War Three: Inside the War Room."
Dozens of protesters gathered in front of a government building with banners reading 'war propaganda - not at our expense!' and chanting "shame on the BBC." The picket was attended by co-chairman of the Board of the Russian Union of Latvia Miroslav Mitrofanov, MEP Tatyana Zhdanok, as well as residents of Daugavpils.
The protesters called the film "disgraceful" and "insulting," since they say it stirs up ethnic hatred and is being screened on Latvian TV channel Latvian Television (LTV) at tax-payers' expense.
The film is based on a fictional international conflict, sparked by a Russian invasion of Latvia. The programme goes on to portray a fictional war in Eastern Europe and the Baltics, which apparantly sees the UK and US send soldiers to Latvia to fight the Russian Army on behalf of its NATO ally. Russia then responds with a fictional nuclear strike on a British warship.
The film, which premiered on the UK's BBC Two earlier this month, comes as the UK government continues to debate whether to spend £100 billion to replace its fleet of Trident nuclear submarines.