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World's worst dictators


VietNam Communist




Muammar Gaddafi has been the leader of Libya since a coup in 1969. Described as one of the most exotic national leaders in the world, Gaddafi has ordered his forces to crush an uprising that has rocked his four-decade-long rule for the past week, warning armed protesters they will be executed, and vowing to 'fight to the end'.


Omar al-Bashir has been the President of Sudan since 1989 when he led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government. Al-Bashir has been accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur, and was the first head of state ever indicted by the International Criminal Court, as well as the first to be charged with genocide.


Turkmenistan's President For Life Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow took over the running of the East Asian nation when the former President for Life Saparmurat Niyazov died in 2006. Compared to the tyranical measures of his predecessor, Berdimuhamedow has been seen as a 'great reformer', however Turkmenistan still ranks third behind North Korea and Burma on the global index of press freedom.


Yahya Jammeh has been the dictator of The Gambia after taking control of the country in a bloodless military coup in 1994. In March 2009 Amnesty International reported that up to 1,000 Gambians had been abducted by government-sponsored "witch doctors" on charges of witchcraft, and taken to detention centers where they were forced to drink poisonous concoctions under Jammeh's orders.


Islam Karimov has been the first President of Uzbekistan since 1990. The Karimov administration has been criticised for financial corruption and human rights abuses, torture (including reports of boiling people to death), media censorship, and fake elections.


Kim Jong Il is the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), and the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, the fourth largest standing army in the world. He is the centre of an elaborate personality cult with North Korean schools deifying both him and his father, and many North Koreans believing that he has the magical ability to control the weather based on his mood.


Alexander Lukashenko has served as the President of Belarus since 20 July 1994.
Under Lukashenko's rule, Belarus has emerged to be viewed as a state whose conduct is out of line with international law and whose regime is considered to grossly violate human rights.
Since he began his presidency, Belarus has never held a poll seen as fair by international monitors, and the country is referred to as “the last true remaining dictatorship in the heart of Europe”.


King Mswati III is the King of Swaziland and is generally considered to be one of the last absolute monarchs in the world, as he has the authority to appoint the country's Prime Minister, members of the cabinet, and the judiciary. Some of his controversial measures have included an announcement in parliament in 2000, that all HIV-positive people should be "sterilized and branded".


Robert Mugabe has been the President of Zimbabwe since 1987. Western governments have condemned Mugabe's rule, approving economic sanctions to be levelled against him, and accusing him of conducting a "reign of terror" and criticising his appalling economic mismanagement, corruption, and brutal repression.


Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is the President of Equatorial Guinea, having served since 1979. Most domestic and international observers consider his regime to be one of the most corrupt, ethnocentric, oppressive and undemocratic states in the world. Equatorial Guinea is essentially a single-party state. Abuses under Obiang have included unlawful killings by security forces; government-sanctioned kidnappings; systematic torture of prisoners and detainees by security forces; life threatening conditions in prisons and detention facilities; impunity; arbitrary arrest, detention, and incommunicado detention.

Vietnam dissident bailed after uprising call

A veteran Vietnamese dissident has been arrested, official media said Monday,
after he called for a Middle East-style uprising in the one-party state.
AFP March 1, 2011

HANOI (AFP) - A Vietnamese dissident who called for a Middle East-style uprising has been released on bail after his arrest for allegedly urging the overthrow of the communist regime, a report said Tuesday.

Nguyen Dan Que was allowed to go home on Sunday because he had cooperated with police and was in relatively weak health, the state-linked Tuoi Tre newspaper said, adding that Que would still face further questioning.

Que, who was born in 1942, was arrested at his home in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday, the official Vietnam News said.

During a raid on his house, police allegedly seized many documents related to anti-government activities, including an "appeal to all people" that called on the public to rise up against the government, the report said.

"Let's take to the streets to dismantle the Politburo!" Que said in a recent communique obtained by AFP.

He urged young people to "take advantage of the democracy movements in Africa and the Middle East" and added: "Assemble for demonstrations."

Popular uprisings this year have shaken governments throughout the Arab world, toppling long-ruling regimes in Egypt and Tunisia and creating jitters among authoritarian governments further afield, including in China.

This was Que's fourth arrest in 33 years.

In 1990 he became a member of Amnesty International.

"Dr Que has never used nor advocated violence," the London-based rights group said in a statement.

More than 20 activists in Vietnam have been jailed over the last 12 months by the one-party regime, it added.

***

Dissident Detained for Reform Calls

Source: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/reform-02282011155532.html

A Vietnamese activist is held by police after calling for political reforms.

Authorities in Vietnam have arrested a prominent pro-democracy activist after he called for an overthrow of the government amid a wave of uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East.

Nguyen Dan Que, 68, a doctor who runs the Non-Violent Movement for Human Rights in Vietnam, was detained in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday for “anti-state” activities, according to the state-run Vietnam News Agency.

Police who searched Que’s residence, where he had been confined to house arrest, found 60,000 “anti-state” items on his computer’s hard drive, the news agency said.

Que’s brother Nguyen Quoc Quan, who lives in Virginia, said in interview on Sunday that he had been notified of the arrest shortly after it occurred.

“Police surrounded his house and about 20 people went inside to search the whole place. They took one cell phone and a computer,” Quan said.

“They also questioned Doctor Que about whether he was the author of a letter calling for people to take to the street to fight against the communist government—to establish a new democratic government in Vietnam.”

Que admitted to authoring the letter, which referred to the “Jasmine Revolution” in Tunisia that triggered uprisings elsewhere in North Africa and the Middle East, and was informed by the police that it was illegal to call for an overthrow of the government.

“[Que] said that because the government controls the media, the only way to express our demands is to take to the street peacefully. He said that to do so was not illegal, but that to arrest him would be illegal,” his brother said.

Health condition

Quan said the police forced his brother to sign a document acknowledging what he had told them and then took him to the city’s fifth district police station.

Later that evening, he said, police returned to the house and seized the computer of Que’s wife, Tam Van.

On Sunday Tam Van told RFA in an interview that authorities had been questioning Que to the point of exhaustion.

“They are still working on his case … he was very tired. He has a lot of health problems, including high blood pressure, kidney stones, and ulcers … I informed [the authorities] of his health condition,” she said.

Calls to the police station went unanswered, but the Vietnam News Agency quoted police as saying that Que's actions were “very dangerous” and “directly threaten[ing] the stability and strength of the people's administration."

Outspoken activist

Authorities in the one-party Communist state do not tolerate political dissent and frequently crack down on any calls for reform or a multi-party system.

Que has often spoken out about the need for democracy and human rights accountability in Vietnam and has paid the price for his beliefs, spending a total of 20 years in prison or under house arrest on three separate occasions since 1978.

In a Feb. 2 interview, Que told RFA that Vietnamese activists had been inspired by the recent overthrow of authoritarian regimes in the Middle East following massive popular uprisings.

“The democracy movement is now a global trend. We are following that trend, which means we have support coming from this movement. The opportunities lie in the hands of Vietnam’s activists,” Que said.

In the interview he said government mismanagement of foreign investment in the country had led to a growing gap between the rich and the poor.

“The people are unhappy, and on top of it, we have a global movement plus the development of technology like the Internet, cell phones, social networking like Twitter and Facebook.”

“The democracy movement [in Vietnam] does not need to follow the old path … right now we have a lot of opportunities.”

Agence France Presse said it had also obtained a recent communique from Que calling on Vietnam’s youth to "take to streets to dismantle the Politburo!" and to “assemble for demonstrations” in order to “take advantage of the democracy movements in Africa and the Middle East."

Call for release

Donna Guest, deputy director of the London-based Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific group, said the organization was “shocked” to learn that Que had been arrested again, and noted that the activist could face between five years to life imprisonment, or even death, for “overthrowing” the state, according to Vietnam’s penal code.

She called for his immediate release and said it was “no coincidence” that Que’s arrest came on the same day an article he wrote that was critical of Vietnam’s human rights record was published in the Washington Post.

In the Washington Post article, Que condemned Vietnamese authorities for a January attack on a U.S. diplomat who was attempting to visit another high-profile dissident who had recently been released from prison.

Que spent nearly 20 years in jail for calling for democracy before he was finally granted an amnesty in 1998. In July 2004, he was sentenced to 30 months in prison after writing an essay about censorship and the media, but was released after serving only seven months.

Reported by Thanh Quang, Mac Lam, and Gia Minh for RFA’s Vietnamese service. Translated by Viet Ha. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

US, UK pressure 'delusional' Gaddafi

People Power

Việt Nam hãy học bài học Tunisia, Egypt
Free the people, Free yourself

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible,
make violence inevitable." - John F. Kennedy

Peaceful Revolution Hopeless
Non-violence Hopeless With Vietnam Communists

Tự do không phải ngồi đó mà có,
phải trả giá bằng sự quyết tâm, bằng xương, bằng máu ..
không phải van xin, thắp nến hiệp thông,
cầu nguyện chỉ có ở trong chùa chiền, nhà thờ.
teolangthang
****

AAP March 1, 2011

http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_video.swf

The United States branded Muammar Gaddafi "delusional" and moved naval and air forces into position around Libya, stiffening the international bid to drive the teetering strongman from power.

Washington also clamped a freeze on $US30 billion ($A29.5 billion) in Libyan assets - the largest such haul ever hooked by sanctions and openly goaded key Gaddafi aides to defect.

It said "exile" was an option to end his defiance.

President Barack Obama's team sought to weaken Gaddafi on multiple fronts, as international pressure on his fragile regime multiplied and opposition forces bore down on his Tripoli stronghold amid reports of new violence.

Meanwhile, Britain announced that it had foiled a plan by Libyan Gaddafi to move mint Libyan banknotes worth STG900 million ($A1.44 billion) out of Britain.

"The Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance minister) intervened to block the departure of STG900 million in notes destined for Libya," British Prime Minister David Cameron said.

The British government on Sunday announced it was freezing Libya's British-held assets and the money was impounded before it could leave the country.

Libyan ambassador to the US, Ali Aujali, who defected has been replaced by a pro-Gaddafi diplomat.

Gaddafi has punched his own rhetorical counter-offensive, proclaiming in an interview with foreign outlets that his people loved him.

"They love me all. They would die to protect me," he said in an interview with Western journalists in a Tripoli restaurant, laughing off suggestions that he might leave Libya as the White House aired the prospect of exile for him.

The remarks drew fierce scorn from Washington.

"It sounds just frankly delusional, when he can talk and laugh to an American and (an) international journalist while he is slaughtering his own people," US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice said at the White House.

"It only underscores how unfit he is to lead and how disconnected he is from reality."

There have already been discussions in Washington about what to do with Gaddafi in exile.

Rice said Washington was already contacting Libyan opposition groups, though was not yet ready to recognise any of them.

State Department spokesman Philip Crowley added: "he should get out of his tent and see what's really happening in his country".

Earlier, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton led the US diplomatic thrust in Geneva, meeting with foreign ministers at the UN Human Rights Council.

"The people of Libya have made themselves clear: it is time for Gaddafi to go - now, without further violence or delay," she said, accusing him of unleashing "mercenaries and thugs" on protesters.

The Pentagon meanwhile said it was moving naval and air forces into position near Libya, as Western countries weigh possible military intervention, and officials discussed a possible "no fly" zone to protect civilians.

"We have planners working various contingency plans," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan said.

US commanders could turn to the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier, currently in the Red Sea, and the amphibious ship the USS Kearsarge, bristling with a helicopter fleet and about 2,000 Marines.

The force could also launch humanitarian missions as fears grow of a refugee crisis sparked by Libyans fleeing government repression.

Clinton said that two US relief teams were being sent to Libya's borders with Egypt and Tunisia, noting that Washington had set aside $US10 million ($A9.83 million) in emergency assistance.

The Treasury Department meanwhile said it had frozen at least $US30 billion in Libyan assets, the largest amount ever blocked under any sanctions regime.

"As of today at least $US30 billion in government of Libya assets under United States jurisdiction have been blocked," US sanctions czar David Cohen said.

Cohen said more sanctions could be on the way.

Libyan leaders are suspected of holding billions of dollars in foreign bank accounts, cash largely gleaned from the country's vast oil wealth.

In another swipe at Gaddafi, Washington also accused the Libyan government of jamming foreign television broadcasts, including Al-Jazeera and Alhurra, the US-funded Arabic language cable channel.

China floods Beijing with security before planned protest

By Jo Ling Kent, CNN
February 28, 2011

Beijing (CNN) -- For the second weekend in a row, anonymous calls by organizers for a pro-democracy demonstration in Beijing were overshadowed by heavy security presence.

Hundreds of Chinese police officers along with more than 120 vehicles flooded Beijing's central pedestrian shopping area, Wangfujing, around the site of a second attempted "jasmine" rally inspired by pro-democracy protests in Tunisia.

There was no sign of protest as the police deployed unusual tactics to prevent demonstrations.

At least three foreign press photographers at the scene were reportedly beaten by police officers and detained. Other foreign journalists, including CNN, were manhandled, detained and escorted away from the site.

At Beijing's Wangfujing shopping area, a large number of plainclothes and uniformed police officers circulated the area, which is typically known for being an open area attracting throngs of domestic and foreign tourists. Every entrance to the shopping area was guarded by multiple police officers on Sunday.

CNN crew detained by Beijing police

In front of a McDonald's restaurant, the appointed meeting place for demonstrators, a large construction site was erected several days ago following the first attempted demonstrations, directly blocking the open plaza outside the restaurant.

Nearby, a mysteriously large group of orange-clad street sweepers stood near the appointed protest area with brooms but did not sweep the street.

When protests were slated to begin, two large street-washing trucks began slowly driving through the main thoroughfare, blocking pedestrian traffic and spraying water. Plainclothes police sat in restaurants and storefront windows for hours, observing the surroundings, while uniformed police officers forced journalists and onlookers out of the vicinity.

In Hong Kong, approximately 25 concerned citizens who organized on Facebook gathered in the city center and carried placards and wore jasmine flower pins.

They gathered in front of the Golden Bauhinia, a statue of Hong Kong's official flower. It is a major tourist destination, especially for mainland Chinese tours.

Placards read, "Freedom and Democracy. End One Party Rule. Push for Political Reform."

One Hong Kong demonstrator, Lam Ng, called for the end of single-party governance. "I don't agree with the Chinese government," he said. "I don't like the corruption."

Meanwhile on Sunday morning, just hours before the demonstration was slated to begin, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao participated in his third annual web chat with selected Internet users on Sunday, ahead of China's annual central leadership meeting and legislative session.

Among the 25,000 questions submitted were concerns for social stability. He presented several strategies to maintain calm including reducing the urban-rural income gap, increased benefits and opportunities for rural citizens, and eliminating corruption.

"I always say we should not only make the cake of social wealth as big as possible, but also distribute the cake in a fair way and let everyone enjoy the fruits of reform and opening up," Wen said Sunday morning.

He did not comment on the protests planned for last week or Sunday.

Efforts to organize an earlier protest on February 20 were deemed largely unsuccessful after casual observers and police outnumbered the few protesters that showed up for the demonstrations.

On Friday, anonymous instructions on a site on Facebook, which is blocked in China, encouraged people to show up at central locations in about two dozen major Chinese cities and "go for a walk" together on Sunday. Along with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube continue to be blocked, making calls for action available only to those outside mainland China or to Chinese who have access to virtual private networks with foreign IP addresses.

Meanwhile, LinkedIn, one of the last social networking sites allowed in the country, was temporarily blocked in China on Friday as the government ramped up internet censorship.

This time around, organizers tried to mask the events as "liang hui" -- a Mandarin term which commonly refers to meetings held each March by China's political leadership. The cleverly selected terminology is an attempt by protest organizers to circumvent censorship on popular microblogs in the lead-up to actual meetings held by the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Words such as "jasmine" in Chinese and "Wangfujing" -- the famous Beijing shopping strip where Sunday's demonstrations are set to begin -- were not searchable on China's most popular microblog, Sina Weibo, on Friday. The Chinese name of U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman Jr. -- who showed up at last Sunday's "jasmine" protest in Beijing -- are also blocked.

When searching the terms, users see a message that states: "According to relevant laws and policies, search results cannot be shown."

Huntsman, wearing a black leather jacked with a patch of the American flag on his left shoulder, was captured at last week's protest in a widely viewed video posted on YouTube, in which he's called out by some in the crowd. One asks if he is "hoping China will become chaotic?" -- a reference to the unrest that has consumed several countries in Africa and the Middle East as protesters there demand democracy.

Speaking in Mandarin, Huntsman tells them that he "just came to have a look." The hecklers accuse him of pretending to not know about the protest and feigning ignorance.

U.S. Embassy spokesman Richard Buangan said Huntsman came upon the protests when he was passing through the area with his wife, two of his children and his son-in-law.

"Last Saturday, (members of) the Huntsman family were on their way to visit a Tiananmen Square museum, passing through Wangfujing Shopping district. The Huntsmans walking through Wangfujing, and the events that took place related to any so-called protests, were purely coincidental. Once the family realized a security-related situation was developing, they immediately left," Buangan said.

CNN's Jaime Florcruz and Licia Yee contributed to this report.