nazret.com

Ethiopia - Zenawi #16 on World's Nastiest Dictators List

Parade, a weekly insert magazine that is distributed with more than 470 Sunday newspapers in the United States, named Ethiopian Prime MInister Meles Zenawi as the World's 16th Worst Dictator, in its latest annual list of the World's nastiest dictators. Meles Zenawi has been at the helm of power in Ethiopia since 1991, and prime minister since 1995. The most competitive election in Ethiopia's modern history took place in 2005, but Meles Zenawi was accused of stealing the election, in which more than 190 people were killed in election related violence.

A former guerrilla leader, Meles shows no signs of sharing power with anyone. In January, his government passed a law forbidding any NGO that receives more than 10% of its budget from abroad from doing human rights work in Ethiopia. Despite Meles’ excesses, the U.S. considers him an important regional ally and continues to train his military.

Isayas Afeworki, his kin in Eritrea, is ranked nastier by the Parade magazine as the 8th worst dictator in the world. Afewerki announced in May 2008 that elections would be postponed for "three or four decades" or longer because they "polarize society." All forms of media are controlled by the government. At least 10 local journalists remain in prison since their arrests in 2001.

Topping the list is Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe as the World's Worst Dictator for 2009.

Meles Zenawi's Record

15th Worst Dictator (2008)


17th Worst dictator (2007)

18th Worst dictator (2006)

From nazret.com archives

Here is the run down.

The World's 10 Worst Dictators

1. Robert Mugabe - Zimbabwe


2. Omar al-Bashir - Sudan


3. Kim Jong-Il - North Korea


4. Than Shwe - Burma (Myanmar)


5. King Abdullah - Saudi Arabia


6. Hu Jintao - China


7. Sayyid Ali Khamenei - Iran


8. Isayas Afewerki - Eritrea


9. Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov - Turkmenistan


10. Muammar al-Qaddafi - Libya

Source: PARADE

Related Links
Isayas Afewerki World's 8th nastiest dictator