Boungnang Vorachith, dictator

http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2006/edition_01-22-2006/Dictators
http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2006/edition_01-22-2006/Dictators_11_to_20

PARADE's Annual List Of...The World's 10 Worst Dictators
By David Wallechinsky
Published: January 22, 2006
A "dictator" is a head of state who exercises arbitrary authority
over the lives of his citizens and who cannot be removed from power
through legal means. The worst commit terrible human-rights abuses.
This present list draws in part on reports by global human-rights
organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Freedom House, Reporters
Without Borders and Amnesty International. While the three worst from
2005 have retained their places, two on last year's list (Muammar
al-Qaddafi of Libya and Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan) have slipped out
of the Top 10-not because their conduct has improved but because
other dictators have gotten worse.

1) Omar al-Bashir, Sudan. Age 62. In power since 1989. Last year's
rank: 1
Since February 2003, Bashir's campaign of ethnic and religious
persecution has killed at least 180,000 civilians in Darfur in western
Sudan and driven 2 million people from their homes. The good news is
that Bashir's army and the Janjaweed militia that he supports have
all but stopped burning down villages in Darfur. The bad news is why
they've stopped: There are few villages left to burn. The attacks now
are aimed at refugee camps. While the media have called these actions
"a humanitarian tragedy," Bashir himself has escaped major
condemnation. In 2005, Bashir signed a peace agreement with the largest
rebel group in non-Islamic southern Sudan and allowed its leader, John
Garang, to become the nation's vice president. But Garang died in
July in a helicopter crash, and Bashir's troops still occupy the
south.

2) Kim Jong-il, North Korea. Age 63. In power since 1994. Last year's
rank: 2
While the outside world focuses on Kim Jong-il's nuclear weapons
program, domestically he runs the world's most tightly controlled
society. North Korea continues to rank last in the index of press
freedom compiled by Reporters Without Borders, and for the 34th
straight year it earned the worst possible score on political rights
and civil liberties from Freedom House. An estimated 250,000 people are
confined in "reeducation camps." Malnourishment is widespread:
According to the United Nations World Food Program, the average
7-year-old boy in North Korea is almost 8 inches shorter than a South
Korean boy the same age and more than 20 pounds lighter.

3) Than Shwe, Burma (Myanmar). Age 72. In power since 1992. Last
year's rank: 3
In November 2005, without warning, Than Shwe moved his entire
government from Rangoon (Yangon), the capital for the last 120 years,
to Pyinmana, a remote area 245 miles away. Civil servants were given
two days' notice and are forbidden from resigning. Burma leads the
world in the use of children as soldiers, and the regime is notorious
for using forced labor on construction projects and as porters for the
army in war zones. The long-standing house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi,
winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize and Than Shwe's most feared
opponent, recently was extended for six months. Just to drive near her
heavily guarded home is to risk arrest.

4) Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe. Age 81. In power since 1980. Last year's
rank: 9
Life in Zimbabwe has gone from bad to worse: It has the world's
highest inflation rate, 80% unemployment and an HIV/AIDS rate of more
than 20%. Life expectancy has declined since 1988 from 62 to 38 years.
Farming has collapsed since 2000, when Mugabe began seizing white-owned
farms, giving most of them to political allies with no background in
agriculture. In 2005, Mugabe launched Operation Murambatsvina (Clean
the Filth), the forcible eviction of some 700,000 people from their
homes or businesses-"to restore order and sanity," says the
government. But locals say the reason was to forestall demonstrations
as the economy deteriorates.

5) Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan. Age 67. In power since 1990. Last
year's rank: 15
Until 2005, the worst excesses of Karimov's regime had taken place in
the torture rooms of his prisons. But on May 13, he ordered a mass
killing that could not be concealed. In the city of Andijan, 23
businessmen, held in prison and awaiting a verdict, were freed by their
supporters, who then held an open meeting in the town square. An
estimated 10,000 people gathered, expecting government officials to
come and listen to their grievances. Instead, Karimov sent the army,
which massacred hundreds of men, women and children. A 2003 law made
Karimov and all members of his family immune from prosecution forever.

6) Hu Jintao, China. Age 63. In power since 2002. Last year's rank: 4
Although some Chinese have taken advantage of economic liberalization
to become rich, up to 150 million Chinese live on $1 a day or less in
this nation with no minimum wage. Between 250,000 and 300,000 political
dissidents are held in "reeducation-through-labor" camps without
trial. Less than 5% of criminal trials include witnesses, and the
conviction rate is 99.7%. There are no privately owned TV or radio
stations. The government opens and censors mail and monitors phone
calls, faxes, e-mails and text messages. In preparation for the 2008
Olympics, at least 400,000 residents of Beijing have been forcibly
evicted from their homes.

7) King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia. Age 82. In power since 1995. Last
year's rank: 5
Although Abdullah did not become king until 2005, he has ruled Saudi
Arabia since his half-brother, Fahd, suffered a stroke 10 years
earlier. In Saudi Arabia, phone calls are recorded and mobile phones
with cameras are banned. It is illegal for public employees "to
engage in dialogue with local and foreign media." By law, all Saudi
citizens must be Muslims. According to Amnesty International, police in
Saudi Arabia routinely use torture to extract "confessions." Saudi
women may not appear in public with a man who isn't a relative, must
cover their bodies and faces in public and may not drive. The strict
suppression of women is not voluntary, and Saudi women who would like
to live a freer life are not allowed to do so.

8) Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan. Age 65. In power since 1990. Last
year's rank: 8
Niyazov has created the world's most pervasive personality cult, and
criticism of any of his policies is considered treason. The latest
examples of his government-by-whim include bans on car radios,
lip-synching and playing recorded music on TV or at weddings. Niyazov
also has closed all national parks and shut down rural libraries. He
launched an attack on his nation's health-care system, firing 15,000
health-care workers and replacing most of them with untrained military
conscripts. He announced the closing of all hospitals outside the
capital and ordered Turkmenistan's physicians to give up the
Hippocratic Oath and to swear allegiance to him instead.

9) Seyed Ali Khamane'i, Iran. Age 66. In power since 1989. Last
year's rank: 18
Over the past four years, the rulers of Iran have undone the reforms
that were emerging in the nation. The hardliners completed this
reversal by winning the parliamentary elections in 2004 -after
disqualifying 44% of the candidates-and with the presidential
election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2005. Ultimately, however, the
country is run by the 12-man Guardian Council, overseen by the
Ayatollah Khamane'i, which has the right to veto any law that the
elected government passes. Khamane'i has shut down the free press,
tortured journalists and ordered the execution of homosexual males.

10) Teodoro Obiang Nguema, Equatorial Guinea. Age 63. In power since
1979. Last year's rank: 10
Obiang took power in this tiny West African nation by overthrowing his
uncle more than 25 years ago. According to a United Nations inspector,
torture "is the normal means of investigation" in Equatorial
Guinea. There is no freedom of speech, and there are no bookstores or
newsstands. The one private radio station is owned by Obiang's son.
Since major oil reserves were discovered in Equatorial Guinea in 1995,
Obiang has deposited more than $700 million into special accounts in
U.S. banks. Meanwhile, most of his people live on less than $1 a day.

11. Muammar al-Qaddafi, Libya
Age 63. In power since 1969. Last year's rank: 6
Qaddafi has made his peace with the outside world by renouncing his
quest for weapons of mass destruction and opening his oil fields to
foreign companies. But domestically he continues to operate a brutal
regime. According to the U.S. Department of State, at least 10% of the
population is engaged in surveillance of the other 90%. Libyan law
provides for collective punishment in which the relatives, friends and
even neighbors of someone found guilty of a crime can also be punished.
Criticizing Qaddafi is considered a crime punishable by death.

12. King Mswati III, Swaziland
Age 37. In power since 1986. Last year's rank: 11
Africa's last remaining absolute monarch, Mswati III took power at
the age of 18. Since then he has allowed his country to slide into
extreme poverty, with 69% of the Swazi people living on less than $1 a
day. Swaziland has the highest HIV/AIDS rate in the world: almost 40%.
The country has operated without a constitution for 30 years. Mswati
has agreed to implement a new one in 2006, however, it bans political
parties, gives Mswati the right to reject any laws passed by the
legislature and grants him immunity against all possible crimes.

13. Isayas Afewerki, Eritrea
Age 59. In power since 1993. Last year's rank: 17
A popular leader of Eritrea's 30-year war of liberation against
Ethiopia, Afewerki became its first president in 1993. Since then he
has cancelled all national elections. He also suspended the
constitution, shut down all privately owned media and restricted the
use of cell phones because, he says, they are a threat to national
security. He recently expelled all American and European members of the
United Nations peacekeeping force that is trying to stop the outbreak
of a border war with neighboring Ethiopia.

14. Aleksandr Lukashenko, Belarus
Age 51. In power since 1994. Last year's rank: 12
Europe's last dictator, Aleksandr Lukashenko was elected Belarus'
first president after the break-up of the Soviet Union. Since then he
has rewritten the constitution to allow him to appoint all 110 members
of the upper house of the legislature, and he has harassed his
opponents, sometimes having them arrested on live television. He also
has mandated a return to Communist-style "mutual surveillance,"
encouraging workers to use "trouble telephones" to inform on one
another. It is against the law to criticize him.

15. Fidel Castro, Cuba
Age 79. In power since 1959. Last year's rank: 13
Fidel Castro moved into his 47th year as the leader of Cuba, continuing
his record as the longest-reigning dictator in the world. He seems to
be telling his people that two generations have passed and no one in
Cuba is worthy of taking his place. Cuba had one of the worst scores on
Reporters Without Borders' international index of press freedom.

16. Bashar al-Assad, Syria
Age 40. In power since 2000. Last year's rank: 14
A former ophthamology student, in 2000 Bashar inherited power from his
father, who had ruled Syria for 29 years. Recently the Syrian
government has received international condemnation for its presumed
involvement in the assassination of the ex-prime minister of
neighboring Lebanon. In Syria itself, "emergency rule" has been in
effect since 1963. Amnesty International has documented 38 different
types of torture that have been used in Syria in recent years.

17. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan
Age 62. In power since 1999. Last year's rank: 7
General Pervez Musharraf seized power in a military coup that overthrew
an elected government. He appointed himself president of Pakistan in
2001 and then attempted to legitimize his rule by staging an election
in 2002. However, the election did not come close to meeting
international standards. Musharraf agreed to step down as head of the
military but then changed his mind, claiming that the nation needed to
unify its political and military elements and that he could provide
this unity. He justified his decision by stating, "I think the
country is more important than democracy." Prior to September 11,
2001, Musharraf was an ardent supporter of Afghanistan's Taliban
regime.

18. Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia
Age 50. In power since 1995. Last year's rank: unranked
Following a disputed election in May 2005, Zenawi's forces shot to
death several dozen unarmed demonstrators and detained more than 10,000
political opponents. Zenawi had agreed to a mediated solution to his
border dispute with Eritrea. But when the United Nations boundary
commission ruled against him, he refused to comply with its decision.

19. Boungnang Vorachith, Laos
Age 68. In power since 2001. Last year's rank: 20
Laos is run by the communist Lao People's Revolutionary Party.
Freedom of expression, assembly and religion are almost nonexistent.
Three quarters of Laotians live on less than $2 a day.

20. Tran Duc Luong, Vietnam
Age 68. In power since 1997. Last year's rank: 19
A geology technician, Luong oversees a classic communist regime that
forbids public criticism of the Communist Party, strictly controls all
media and heavily censors the Internet. Political trials are closed to
the public and 29 different crimes are punishable by the death
penalty-including fraud, corruption and drug trafficking. In
November, 2005, the U.S. State Department's International Religious
Freedom Report designated Vietnam as one of eight "countries of
particular concern."

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