Russian Civic Chamber Urges OSCE to Assess BBC Journo's 'Yellow Vests' Research

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian Civic Chamber urges the OSCE to convene a special meeting to discuss reports alleging Russian involvement in "yellow vest" protests, Elena Sutormina, the head of the chamber’s commission for public diplomacy, humanitarian cooperation and preservation of traditional values, told Sputnik on Monday.

"On behalf of the commission of the Civic Chamber, we ask OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Desir to pay special attention to the situation around the conduct of the BBC Russia Office journalists and give his own assessment of the editorial staff’s behavior… Also, on behalf of the commission and the Russian Peace Foundation, we will request a special meeting of the OSCE in relation to this situation," Sutormina said.

The correspondence shows BBC's desire to find any indirect and even not related to the ongoing events cause to link Russia to protest actions in France, she added.

"For our part, we believe that this is unacceptable and constitutes a violation of the IFJ Declaration of Principles on the Conduct of Journalists. We also fear that such actions of the publication may negatively affect Russian compatriots living in France," Sutormina said.

On Sunday, BBC Russia correspondent Olga Ivshina admitted that the broadcaster was in the search of any proof of Moscow’s alleged masterminding the ongoing French rallies, and demanded that its journalists seek any leads that would point to Russia. Ivshina said about this in correspondence with a Russian correspondent, who covers the rallies from the French capital, in a bid to find out whether Moscow had anything to do with the events. The BBC's London office later confirmed to Sputnik that its correspondent from the Moscow office was indeed looking into Russia’s alleged role in the "yellow vest" protests.

READ MORE: Almost 180 Detained in Paris During Saturday 'Yellow Vests' Riot — Reports

On December 9, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that the French Secretariat-General for National Defense and Security (SGDSN) was looking into media reports about Russia's alleged involvement in the rallies. The Russian authorities, in turn, have stressed that Moscow considers the protests as France’s internal affair, and called claims of Russia's alleged involvement slander.

Commenting on the issue, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Sunday urged the UK public to assess the activities of the BBC broadcaster, which had always been "advocating for an unbiased and independent approach," while in reality, was seeking at any cost to find any "proof" of Moscow’s alleged role in the "yellow vest" protests, and was effectively engaged in producing fake news.

RT and Sputnik’s editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, in turn, said that BBC's reports about alleged Russia's trace meant that the broadcaster's employees were following the instructions of higher-ups, who made decisions on what kind of news should be delivered. She also expressed her regret that the broadcaster's Russian branch and a Russian national were involved in the situation.

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