By Conor Sweeney
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Armed not just with guns but public relations agencies,
Russia and Georgia are fighting a propaganda war to shape public opinion at
home and abroad with a constant stream of disputed facts about their conflict.
俄國和喬治亞作戰部只用槍，還用公關機構。俄國和喬治亞正在進行一場宣傳戰，
形塑國內與國外的眾意，用一連串持續的、相抵觸的事實來討論他們的紛爭。
Fighting erupted after Georgia attempted to retake control of South Ossetia,
a small pro-Russian separatist province, on Thursday night. Russia poured
tanks and troops across its southern border into Georgia to push Tbilisi's
troops back.
禮拜四晚間，喬治亞試圖重奪俄傾的南奧賽梯時，衝突爆發。俄國坦克和部隊湧入
其與喬治亞交界的南疆，把喬治亞的部隊逼退。
Both sides are employing Brussels-based public relations specialists who
arranged a succession of conference calls for the international media in
recent days, with senior government figures striving to put their side of the
story across first.
雙方都雇用了布魯塞爾的公關專家，安排一系列的國際記者會，用資深政府人士推銷
己方的說法。
Russia wants to convince the world of its role as an honest broker,
reluctantly intervening against an out-of-control Georgian president whose
forces have carried out ethnic cleansing against the Ossetian people.
俄國希望讓全世界相信他們是誠實的仲裁人，十分不甘願地介入一個脫序的喬治亞總統
派遣其部隊針對奧賽梯人進行種族淨化行動。
Georgia in turn portrays itself as a plucky little country fighting off the
resurgent Russian bear and suffering unfair Kremlin punishment on account of
its drive to become a Western democracy and NATO ally.
喬治亞則是要把自己形容成弱雞一樣的國家，正抵抗俄國熊的惡行，且正因為希望加入
北約組織所以不公平地遭受克里姆林宮的懲罰。
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili quickly sought to convince the world
of his struggle in television interviews with global broadcasters, CNN and
BBC, saying his country was "at war" with Russia and appealing for Western
help.
喬治亞總統Saakashvili很快地進行說服世界的任務，在國際記者如CNN和BBC訪問前
訴說他的國家如何與俄國「為戰」，並請求西方介入。
But the spin hasn't helped clarify the many disputed facts.
但這些抵觸的事實對於釐清事情真相沒有幫助。
Each side has accused the other of causing heavy civilian casualties and
wildly varying figures have been issued on deaths and injuries.
兩邊都在譴責另外一方造成嚴重的平民傷亡，用誇張的數據把發佈的死亡和受傷數據
灌水。
Georgia says it has shot down 10 Russian fighter jets in four days of
fighting, but Russian top brass put the figure at two on Sunday.
喬治亞說他們四天內擊落十架戰機，但禮拜天時俄國說法則是兩架。
The two sides even disputed whether a Georgian ceasefire was under way.
Georgia said it gave Russia's ambassador a signed note from Saakashvili
ordering Georgian troops to cease fire at 5.00 a.m. (0100 GMT).
兩方還在為到底喬治亞有沒有停火爭執。喬治亞說已經給俄國大使一個Saakashvili
簽名的手札，命令喬治亞部隊於凌晨五點停火（格林威治時間凌晨一點）。
Interfax quoted Russia's Foreign Ministry shortly after as saying it received
the note but the fighting continued.
俄國媒體Interfax則引述喬治亞外交部說法，說俄方收到手札了，但戰事仍在持續。
TV BULLETINS
Across Russian television channels, big headlines have appeared decrying a
"genocide" in South Ossetia, with images of wailing women, bombed buildings
and frightened children edited together in quick succession.
俄國各電台的大型頭條是驚悚的南奧「種族屠殺」，用哭泣的女人，炸毀的建築，
以及嚇傻的小孩剪接成步調很快的剪輯。
In Georgia, only one television channel was operating at the start of the
conflict and all .ru Russian Internet sites were briefly blocked, though they
were available by Sunday evening.
在喬治亞，從衝突開始就只有一個電視台在運作，且所有.ru的俄國網站都被暫時擋住，
雖然在禮拜天晚間都開放了。
Although the separatist capital of Tskhinvali was the centre of the fighting,
with the town in ruins, independent reporting was impossible as journalists,
photographers and cameraman took shelter underground to avoid coming under
fire.
雖然南奧首都Tskhinvali是衝突焦點，其城鎮成廢墟，記者卻無法進行獨立報導，
攝影記者和攝影師都躲在地下室裡躲避砲火。
"City turns into human hell, many people still trapped under rubble" stated
the banner running across the Russian state-controlled English-language TV
channel Russia Today that seeks to broadcast the Kremlin line overseas.
俄國官方控制的英語電視台打的字幕是「城市成人間煉獄，許多人仍然困在廢墟之中」。
這個電視台主要將克里姆林宮的說法對海外播送。
The figures for death tolls was also disputed. South Ossetian officials
claimed at least 1,400 people died in the first night of artillery shelling,
but have yet to fully substantiate this claim.
死亡數據也有爭議。南奧賽梯官方宣稱至少1400人在第一晚的砲擊中喪生，但還沒有
提出證據證明這個說法。
The separatists also say around 30,000 refugees have fled northwards though
other reports put the figure arriving in North Ossetia at just a fraction of
this.
分離份子也說約有三萬名難民往北逃，雖然有其他報導指出到達北奧賽梯的人數
不過這個數據的一小部分。
Mindful of Georgia's importance to the West as an energy transit corridor
from the oil-rich Caspian, a Georgian minister accused Moscow of attempting
to bomb a key oil pipeline running across its territory.
一名喬治亞部長指控莫斯科試圖炸毀貫穿喬治亞國境的油管；他瞭解喬治亞在西方
心中最重要的價值就是連結歐洲和裏海油氣資源的能源走廊。
Russia denied attacking any non-military target and independent experts
pointed out that the pipeline was in any case already out of commission
because of an explosion in eastern Turkey which knocked it out last Tuesday.
各國否認攻擊任何非軍事目標，而獨立機構專家指出，油管老早就在上禮拜二時
因為一起東土耳其的爆炸事件而停止使用。
As the conflict widened, to take in the second Georgian breakaway region of
Abkhazia, Georgia accused Russia of being behind a separatist-led military
operation there to retake some territory from Georgia while Moscow denied any
involvement.
當衝突擴散到第二個喬治亞境內希望分離的Abkhazia區域，喬治亞指控俄國支持分離
主義份子主導的爭奪喬治亞領土的軍事行動，而莫斯科否認任何形式的參與。
Even at sea, the fog of war descended on Sunday. Georgia's security council
secretary Kakha Lomaia said its Black Sea port of Poti, which had been bombed
by Russian jets in the early hours of Saturday, was now being blockaded by
Russia's navy.
就算在海上，戰爭的迷霧也在禮拜天遍佈。喬治亞的安全會議秘書長Kakha Lomaia說該國
的黑海港口Poti，在禮拜六清晨被俄國戰機轟炸後，現在已經被俄國海軍封鎖。
A senior official from Russia's military chief of staff, Colonel-General
Anatoly Nogovitsyn dismissed this claim.
一名俄國資深的軍事參謀長Nogovitsyn上將則否認這個說法。
He insisted that only weapons shipments would be intercepted, though Georgia
said wheat and fuel -- not guns -- had been blocked.
他強調只有武裝貨物才會被攔截，雖然喬治亞方的說法是麵粉燃料而非槍枝被擋住。
(Editing by Michael Stott and Mary Gabriel)
c Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Georgia/idUSLA53600320080810?sp=true
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