Saddam Hussein Isn’t the Scariest Dictator

Compilation of different ratings has become a favorite occupation of journalists, politicians and public figures. This work is rather easy by the way, as criteria for making up of ratings determining “people of the year”, “the event of the year”, “the most beautiful woman of the year”, etc. are often vague. However, ratings are all the same considered prestigious and even honorary in case if they are compiled by influential editions or organizations.

It would be certainly strange if the most odious political figures were not honored with a rating. As Washington Profile reports, the Parade magazine published a list of the worst (and what if they are the best?) dictators of the planet. Sure, the rating is wonderfully well-timed.

The list of dictators is based upon reports of the most authoritative human rights organizations such as Freedom House, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. It is quite natural that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is rated among the first members of the list. The authors of the rating didn’t mention the Iraqi leader on the top of the rating probably in order avoid accusations of jaundice. Nevertheless, the top ten dictators are worth mentioning.

1. Kim Jong-il (North Korea) 2. King Fahd and Prince Abdullah (Saudi Arabia) 3. Saddam Hussein (thanks to Bush, we shouldn’t mention of what country he is the leader) 4. Charles Taylor (Liberia) 5. Than Shwe (former Burma, now Myanmar) 6. Teodoro Obiang Nguema (Equatorial Guinea) 7. Saparmurat Niyazov (Turkmenistan) 8. Muammar Gaddafi (Libya) 9. Fidel Castro (Cuba) 10. Alexander Lukashenko (Belarus)

So, now everybody knows who is the scariest. Alexander Lukashenko is “lucky”: he is the only European member of the rating while the rest dictators are from Africa and Asia. Why are these and not other people were joined in the rating? As it turned out, there is still a criterion for compilation of the rating: “All these dictators are alike: they use power for personal enrichment and tolerate no criticism in their address.” Does it mean that other dictators behave differently?

On the whole, practically the whole of the list consists of politicians whose relations with the American authorities can be called problem. But is there anyone in America taking interest in what is going on in Equatorial Guinea? So, Saddam Hussein will be the one from the rating who will suffer most of all, even despite the fact that he is rated after Saudi Arabia in the list.

Vasilty Bubnov PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Maria Gousseva

Read the original in Russian: https://www.pravda.ru/world/35665-diktator/

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