ON the BBC ten o'clock news on June 2 two items appeared that were very strange.
Protesters at the G8 summit were described by the reporter as "anarchists" and an "unruly mob". They threw stones and litter bins through shop windows. For this they were beaten up. They can't even be heard by these so-called trusted servants of freedom and democracy.
The second piece was in Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe, usual stuff, protesters wanting simple things such as democracy, jobs, health, a fair share for all.
They were throwing stones, chanting slogans, again there was tear gas, water cannons, heavy handed police brutality.
However these protesters were only "stone-throwing unarmed students", there was no mention of them being anarchists, or an unruly mob.
Both sets of protesters want the same thing. Yet the good old BBC, ever the impartial commentator, saw these two incidents completely differently. Why?
James Stewart,
Beech Grove,
York.
Updated: 10:33 Thursday, June 05, 2003
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