More russophobia in international press

http://english.pravda.ru/mailbox/22/101/398/13583_BBC.html07/28/2004 18:26 This time it¦s the BBCThere is no mine disaster, no missile running amok, this President does not drink in public or even in private, the nuclear power stations are behaving themselves, the Russian economy is picking up, there is no default and no banking crisis. Where then can the BBC attack Putin¦s Russia?Simple! The army. In today's online BBC we have in nice clear letters the headline "Suicides increase in Russian army" and the lead paragraph, quoting Russian military sources, then states that there has been a 38% increase in suicides in the Russian armed forces over the last year.That is an improvement, because usually western news sources are accusing the Russians of lying. Now they quote them, but only of course to paint a dreary picture and to print negative stories.The report begins by claiming that 109 soldiers committed suicide in 2003, among a total of 420 servicemen who lost their lives in non-combat operations. Out of a total of 1.2 million, but this the BBC forgot to add.Speaking of casualties, how many British and American servicemen have died over the last twelve months during their venture in Iraq? How many British soldiers have committed suicide? A visit to the Ministry of Defence website makes interesting reading.For instance, between 1989 and 2000, there were 285 recorded suicides in the British Armed Forces. Other information in the site claims that "young Army males experience more deaths from suicides than the equivalent UK national population".So with less than half the number of servicemen as Russia, Britain has three times as many suicides? Why doesn't the BBC report about that?