BBC coverage of funeral biased

To the editor:

In BBC News TV coverage Dec. 28 of the funeral of Kim Jong Il, we saw thousands of women in the North Korean military, but no mention was made of this example of equal rights for all people. BBC also said over and over again that the funeral was highly orchestrated.

What funeral ceremony of a country's leader is not carefully orchestrated? So, I found this coverage to be greatly biased against North Korea. CBC News online reported May 30, 2006, "China, Eritrea, Israel, Libya, Malaysia, North Korea, Peru and Taiwan draft women into the army."

Notice that the U.S. and South Korea are not among those countries with equal rights for women. Of course, U.S. females serve in most areas of the military, but they are not allowed on submarines, and "are precluded from units that engage the enemy on the ground with weapons or that are exposed to hostile fire and have a high possibility of direct physical contact with the enemy," according to CBC.

Our women are not allowed in units that close with and kill enemies. We should engage a military draft to enhance the entry standards of both military men and women, treat both equally, and we must rise to the challenge of providing equal human rights for all people in order to be competitive in the world.

Daniel Russell

Willow