Quick Study: World's Most Dangerous Leaders (page 2 of 3)

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Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, talks during a press conference with international media in Caracas. Chavez mentioned that 'nobody could pretend' that Latin Americans 'couldn't say what we want', in allusion to his verbal dispute with King Juan Carlos I of Spain in the last Ibero-American summit.
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© Phillip Dhil/epa/Corbis
Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir (L) attends celebration of the 54th anniversary of the sudanese army at the graduation ceremony of Karari military university in Omduran
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© PHILLIMON BULAWAYO/epa/Corbis
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe arrives for a meeting with his Tanzanian counterpart Jakaya Kikwete (not pictured) in Harare. Mugabe today told Western countries which have criticised his government over accusations that it assaulted the main opposition leader to 'go and hang'.
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© Abedin Taherkenareh/epa/Corbis
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shows his passport during the parliamentary elections in Tehran. Khamenei asked the people to determine their political future by going to the polls. The elections are considered as a major test for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his performance in the last 30 months since his presidency. The main rivalry is between the ultraconservative pro-Ahmadinejad faction, reformists close to former President Mohammad Khatami and another conservative group which is critical of the president's policies, especially his economic plans.
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Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir (L)
© Phillip Dhil/epa/Corbis
Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir (L) attends celebration of the 54th anniversary of the sudanese army at the graduation ceremony of Karari military university in Omduran
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African Autocrats
Robert Mugabe
Country: Zimbabwe
Came to Power: 1980
In a rogues' gallery of African strongmen, you can't beat Mugabe for cold indifference to suffering. His 28-year rule has been a nightmare of atrocities: up to 20,000 killed in a 1980s campaign against rivals; thousands tortured in 2002. Before this year's election runoff could take place, Mugabe's goons killed over 100 people. Meanwhile, unemployment stands at 80%, while 83% live in poverty. Where once Zimbabwe had a vibrant economy, inflation has now topped 100,000% (the world's highest). "This is a country which has been nearly engineered into destruction," says Jon Elliott of Human Rights Watch.
Omar Al-Bashir
Country: Sudan
Came to Power: 1989
Over 300,000 people have been killed in the ongoing conflict in Sudan's Darfur region. For the past five years, Al-Bashir's armed forces and government-backed militias have killed, raped, tortured, and pillaged with impunity. Over 2.2 million civilians have been moved to internal displacement camps. The president has also become adept at hampering aid efforts inside the country. Humanitarian operations spend "a staggering amount of time and energy dealing with bureaucracy and paperwork," says Selena Brewer of Human Rights Watch.

Isaias Afwerki
Country: Eritrea
Came to Power: 1993
Afwerki may be the most ruthless ruler you've never heard of. He's been described as "mercurial" and "autocratic." "One questions his emotional approach to issues," says Princeton Lyman, former U.S. ambassador to South Africa. Afwerki's human rights record reads like a how-to manual for aspiring dictators: no opposition parties, no rule of law, no unapproved religions. An unknown number of political prisoners have disappeared into secret jails. The president won a unique distinction last year: Eritrea ranked 169th out of 169 countries in a Reporters Without Borders press-freedom index.
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where is george w bush? he should become the number one , the best, the most dangerous and the greatest dangerous people

By the victims, on 10/08/2009
Obama, Three weeks in office and weaknesses abound, the terrorist world is watching!

By greypanther, on 02/16/2009
You foregot the worst, George Bush, he traverseed the world greating illegitimate warfare and death, and terrorized his own people by making them all afraid of the rest of the world, what percentage of his population carries guns, afraid of what, each other??

By Facarus, on 02/06/2009
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