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[gang ah jee]

From parade magazine: http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2007/edition_02-11-2007/Dictators

Who do you think is the world's worst dictator?

There are more than 70 countries ruled by dictators who exercise arbitrary authority over their citizens and who cannot be removed from power though legal means. These tyrants suppress the freedom of speech and religion, and the right to a fair trial. Some also commit torture, execute opponents, and starve their own people. PARADE's annual list is drawn in part on reports from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders and the U.S. State Department. Notably, there are two leaders who did not make this year's list: Saparamurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan, No. 8 last year, died in December; and Fidel Castro, No. 15, relinquished power in Cuba to his brother Raul on July 31. Among the newcomers are Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Vladimir Putin of Russia. Some who moved up in rank are Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei, Hu Jintao of China, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and Bashar al-Assad of Syria. But by no means does this mean that those whom they passed showed improvements.

1) Omar al-Bashir, Sudan. Age 63. In power since 1989. Last year's rank: 1

Omar al-Bashir retains his position as the worst dictator because of his ongoing deadly human-rights abuses in the Darfur region of Sudan. Over the last four years, at least 200,000 people there have been killed by pro-Bashir forces. Nationwide, 5.3 million have been driven from their homes, and more than 700,000 have fled the country. But at the UN last September, Bashir blamed international aid groups for exaggerating the problems as a ploy to raise money for their organizations. And in November, he argued that war-related deaths in Darfur were less than 9,000. Despite agreeing to a 60-day ceasefire last month, he has been accused by his people of ordering troops to continue their attacks.

2) Kim Jong-il, North Korea. Age 64. In power since 1994, Last years rank: 2

Last year, Kim Jong-il attracted attention by testing a nuclear bomb, but it is his domestic human-rights abuses that make him stand out. His citizens are more shut off from the world than those of any other nation. Kim is portrayed as a weirdo or a joke. But he is actually a well-informed, wily politician who was trained for this position by his father, Kim Il-sung. While North Korea is a Communist state, the real ruling model this family has followed is ancient Confucianism, with its highly centralized and paternalistic leadership

3)Sayyid Ali KhamEnei, Iran. Age 67. In power since 1989, Last years rank: 9

Although it is Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has alarmed the world with threatening gestures, it is actually the Ayatollah Khamenei and the 12-man Guardian Council who control all decisions regarding Iran's relations, its nuclear program and domestic freedoms. This regime has increasingly suppressed freedom of expression: Women can be stoned to death for adultery, and in November an Iranian man was publicly hanged for homosexuality.

4) Hu Jintao, China. Age 64. In power since 2002, Last years rank: 6

China has become such an important part of the global economy that most countries ignore its abysmal human-rights record, even as it prepares to host next years Olympics. The U.S. State Department has identified 22 areas of human-rights abuses under Hu Jintao, among them torture, forced abortions, forced labor, detention of religious groups, government corruption and restrictions on speech and the media. Last year, citizens were executed for such nonviolent crimes as bribery and stealing oil.

5) King Abdullah, Saudia Arabia. Age 83. In power since 1995, Last years rank: 7

Because King Abdullah and the Saudi royal family control the worlds largest reserves of oil, the U.S. government has not acted to oppose the repressive and intolerant actions of their regime. In Saudi Arabia, it still is possible to be executed for witchcraft and flogged for being alone with an unrelated person of the opposite sex. It is illegal for a Saudi citizen to practice a religion other than Islam. According to a 2006 report by the Center for Religious Freedom, Saudi school textbooks continue to be virulently anti-Christian and anti-Semitic. Last year, the U.S. State Department judged Saudi Arabia one of the top eight offenders of religious freedom.

6) Than Shwe, Burma. Age 74. In power since 1992, Last year's rank: 3

One of the most secretive world leaders, Gen. Than Shwe is rarely seen in public but made a trip abroad last month for medical treatment. While his people continue to wait for a new constitution promised 17 years ago. Reporters Without Borders ranked Burma 164th out of 168 nations in its 2006 press freedom index. Among the numerous offenses for which Burmese have been arrested are selling tapes of CNN and BBC coverage of the 2004 tsunami and for "hiding in the dark."

7) Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe. Age 82. In power since 1980, Last years rank: 4

Robert Mugabe once was hailed as a symbol of the new Africa, but under his rule the health and well-being of his people have dropped dramatically, which is as much an abuse of human rights as arbitrary arrest and torture. According to the World Health Organization, Zimbabwe has the worlds shortest life expectancy; 37 years for men and 34 for women. It also has the greatest percentage of orphans (about 25%, says UNICEF) and the worst annual inflation rate (1,281% as of last month). He last allowed an election in 2002 but "won" only after having his leading opponent arrested for treason.

8 ) Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan. Age 69. In power since 1989, Last years rank: 5

Islam Karimov was fortunate to be president of the Soviet republic of Uzbekistan when the USSR collapsed. Using the old-fashioned Soviet tactics of torture, media censorship and fake elections, he has remained in power ever since. He has banned the study of Arabic in this largely Sunni Muslim nation, shut down all billiard halls and ordered the massacre of hundreds of his citizens in the city of Andijan. The 9/11 terrorist attacks turned out to be a break for Karimov: The U.S., which previously had shunned him because of his human-rights abuses, suddenly found him to be a geographically well-placed ally. But when the Bush Administration condemned the 2005 Andijan killings, Karimov ordered American troops to leave the country.

9) Muammar al-Qaddafi, Libya. Age 64. In power since 1969, Last years rank: 11

Among our Top 10, Muammar al-Qaddafi has been in charge the longest; 38 years. He was only 27 when he seized power and has spent decades being a conspicuous enemy of the U.S. For most of that time, the U.S. had included Libya on its list of state sponsors of terrorism. In 2006, Qaddafi went six months without funding terrorism; in June, as a reward for doing so, President Bush removed Libya from that list. Libya now stands to reap even more economic benefits from its large oil fields. Still, it is a place where political prisoners disappear and where women who have been raped or accused of having sex out of marriage can be kept in "rehabilitation" homes indefinitely.

10) Bashar al-Assad, Syria. Age 41. In power since 2000, Last years rank 16

Bashar al-Assad gradually has assumed greater control of the military and intelligence services. Recently, his administration was implicated in assassinations in Lebanon. A UN report, due in June, will detail Syria's role. Assad is perhaps the unlikeliest of dictators: He was doing postgraduate work in ophthalmology in London when his late father, Syrian dictator Hafiz al-Assad, summoned him home in 1994 and began training him to run the country.

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Well, China is definitely beating out the US here. Bah to China.

[ddeubel]

Interesting list.

I find it curious that Castro isn't there....he should be. I would also think that Mubarak should be much higher on that list. Also not included should be definitely Rahmonov, of Tajikestan. A thug he is. One might also put Kazekstani boss Nazarbayev there. Especially given now the PM has resigned and the parliament is basically run by military honchos.

What about the Sultan of Brunei? He's been there a long time and almost all of it under quasi martial law?

Will Thailand be on the list next year?

Glad Zenawi in Ethiopia got mentioned. Little publicized mention of his crackdown on minorities and how the country has become more and more a military state.

DD

[wannago]

I'm just waiting for the inevitable post to roll in...

[VanIslander]

[huffdaddy]

[Woland]

[Nowhere Man]

[huffdaddy]

[Sincinnatislink]

[ddeubel]

[jinju]

Cuba is such a paradise there are over a million people in Southern Florida who risked their lives to escape it. Yeah, Cuba is such a paradise..fun and sun....ofcourse the reason they risked their lives is twofold: 1. Cuba is a crumbling hellhole 2. castro would rather kill you than let you leave his paradise. Sounds like a nasty dictator to me.

Again you are defending Cuba and again you need a reality check.

[wannago]

[gang ah jee]

Re: Castro - he's off the list because he transferred power to Raoul last year. Apparently little brother still has a way to go before getting in the top ten.

Also, I don't think that its valid to argue that functioning social or medical programmes make a country any less than a dictatorship. I mean, presumably Saudis enjoy a relatively high standard of living until they step out of the Wahabbi line and are stoned to death, right?

[VanIslander]

[jinju]