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News item | 12-08-2008
The Dutch government was shocked to learn of the death of Dutch cameraman Stan Storimans in Georgia.
'My thoughts go out to Mr Storimans' family, especially his wife and two children. The government offers its deepest condolences to them and to RTL,' said a shaken Maxime Verhagen, Minister of Foreign Affairs. 'I had a chance to speak with Mr Storimans during my most recent visit to Afghanistan in May. He struck me as a hard-working professional and a very likeable man.'
The cameraman was killed during the bombardment of the Georgian town of Gori. His colleague, the reporter Jeroen Akkermans, was wounded in the attack. Mr Verhagen has summoned the Russian ambassador to request an explanation of the circumstances in which Mr Storimans died.
The Dutch Embassy in Tblisi is committed to providing all necessary consular assistance. Minister for European Affairs Frans Timmermans has asked the Georgian ambassador in The Hague for assistance with the repatriation.
The Dutch government condemns the excessive use of force, and takes the view that there is no military solution to this conflict, only a political one. The Netherlands supports the efforts of the French EU presidency and the Finnish OSCE chairmanship to persuade the warring parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire, the withdrawal of Russian and Georgian troops under some sort of international supervision and the opening of negotiations to find a lasting solution to the conflict.