Thank God our puny little tin-pot despot is no longer as invisible as he was a couple of years ago. He has made the grand list of mean-spirited tyrants several times this year - a very good piece of news for Gambia. Thanks for sharing Bamba Laye. And may the writer's new year wish come true! Baba > Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:27:56 -0600 > From: [log in to unmask] > Subject: [G_L] Fwd: On the death of Kim Jong-Il > To: [log in to unmask] > > http://dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2011-12-19-on-the-death-of-kim-jong-il > > Opinionista > Ivo Vegter > On the death of Kim Jong-Il > > The reason we loved the Nando's “dictator” advert, pulled because of > fears for the safety of the chain's Zimbabwean employees, is because > it expresses a wish all of us share. > Tweet > > This week, we mourn the deaths of Václav Havel, the man who led the > former Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution against Soviet domination, > and of Christopher Hitchens, the man of the astonishingly agile mind, > who railed against totalitarianism in all its forms. > > In fitting counterpoint, news broke this weekend that the Dear Leader > of North Korea has obliged them, and joined the Brother Leader of > Libya on the ash heap of history. > > It's been quite a year for dictators and international fugitives. Many > were deposed, and not a few died. Few were more odious than North > Korea's Kim Jong Il, who presided over a country that stubbornly clung > to a vicious brand of communist thought control. > > North Korea has long-range missiles and nuclear weapons. Its standing > army is exceeded only by those of three vastly larger countries: > China, the USA and India. Per capita, it is by some margin the largest > in the world. For every thousand of its starving people, fifty > better-fed soldiers guard the country's deserted streets, barren farms > and empty food shops from foreign attack. > > After all, the greed of American neo-fascist imperialist warmongers > knows no bounds, and the jealous bastards have troops just across the > “demilitarised” zone for a reason. In international relations > departments, the term “juche envy” is used to describe such latent > Yankee aggression. > > Rare visitors to the secretive state report many positive emotions – > happiness, national pride, and when appropriate, grief – etched on the > faces of newsreaders and tour guides. North Korea has concentration > camps in which live humans – those who failed to hold Kim in > sufficiently high esteem, along with their parents, siblings and > children – are subjected to gruesome chemical weapon experiments. > You'd smile too, if that was your alternative. > > Inept though the country's official propaganda is, it should be noted > that in reality, Kim Jong Il was dead for two days before anyone – but > anyone – knew about it. At first, reports said he, the indefatigable > Dear Leader, had died of fatigue. Reports remain mixed at the time of > writing, but the Korean Central News Agency, the source for a great > deal of amusement and very little truth, says it was a myocardial > infarction. > > Such secrecy is the mark of a thoroughly repressive totalitarian > state. It is also why the song I'm so ronery, from that superb > documentary, Team America: World Police, is so funny. Few people – > outside an unthinking few on the far left who support by default > anything the free world opposes – have any sympathy for the porcine, > totalitarian bastard. He died with the blood of uncounted millions on > his hands. > > Much the same sentiment (though at somewhat lesser scale) goes for > Osama Bin Laden, the non-national paramilitary leader whose death in > May was celebrated by all freedom-loving people on the planet, despite > any disquiet that the robust application of military force on the part > of the world's powerful but free nations might raise. > > And the same also holds true for Father O'Gaddafey, to use the Irish > variation of the name of the Brother Leader with 112 Names. (I made > that up. To be clear, I made up the Irish variation, not the bit about > 112 names.) > > Let us not forget Tunisia, where the death of a salesman, Mohammed > Bouazizi, by self-immolation led to the overthrow of its dictator of > 24 years, Zine el Abedine Ben Ali. Or Egypt, where courageous > protestors first toppled the 29-year dictator, Hosni Mubarak, and are > now engaged in resistance against the military rule that followed. Or > Yemen, where Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled since 1978, has been > forced out of office, and will decamp this week, if he proves true to > his word. > > Many other countries across the Mahreb and Levant have witnessed > dramatic political change in the last year as their long-oppressed > peoples find their voices, their inspiration, and their courage to > fight for freedom. > > The events of 2011 prompted an inspired Nando's advertisement. The > visuals are hilarious. The politics are shrewd: the notion that Robert > Mugabe and PW Botha were birds of a feather was spot-on. And the > nostalgic lyrics, which never fail to raise a lump in the throat, are > beautifully ironic. Here's a subtitled version of the most famous > recording, by Mary Hopkin in 1968. (And if you're interested in the > original Russian gypsy song, it is here. Do your self a favour - > Editor) > > But despite the happy light this advert casts on political > developments in the world, the dictator dominoes still have a way to > go. Despite all this progress, it is sobering to note how many vicious > tyrants the world still holds. > > I'd like to make a wish, in the spirit of the year that has been. With > the #godisnotgreat Twitter furore that followed the death of the > Hitch, I got all I wanted for Christmas, so this will have to be a New > Year's wish. I'd like to see a dozen more dictators resolve to go, or > be forced out by revolution or death. > > Let's start with the Nando's ad, and the observation that it was > pulled from television stations for fear of the safety of employees in > Zimbabwe, the country ruled by the dictator it lampooned. > > 1. Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe > > Mugabe was once arguably a hero of the freedom struggle, but he turned > liberation into an awful parody. He started his three decades of > tyranny with the Matabeleland massacres, and spent the remainder > turning his beautiful country into a cesspit of oppression, violence, > corruption and poverty. What used to be the food basket of southern > Africa became a hyperinflationary joke. Many died. Many more suffered > brutal beatings or starvation. Millions fled. > > Almost nobody, except the thugs on Mugabe's payroll, is willing to > defend his destruction of Zimbabwe, and that's a boast not even many > dictators can make. > > Mad Bob, you've done enough to prove that only the good die young. Go. > > 2. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran > > Iran's president was the object of the Green Revolution, the popular > but as-yet incomplete uprising that started the social networks' > obsession with the overthrow of tyrannical regimes. > > The image of Neda Agha-Soltan's beautiful, startled face as she died > on camera will forever be engraved on my mind. The Twitter hashtag > that brought this new kind of news coverage to the world, > #iranelection, stand etched in the annals of history as a turning > point in how people interact on social networks. > > The Green Revolution to a considerable extent inspired the uprisings > elsewhere in the region, by demonstrating that the love of freedom > gives power and courage even to the most oppressed peoples. Iranians > led the march to freedom. They deserve some of the success that others > have achieved. > > Iran has a long and fractious history. It has degenerated by stages, > from the flowering civilisation of Persia, to a modern but corrupt > Cold War client state, to the backward and repressive theocracy it is > today. From the outset, Iran's revolutionary rulers have indulged in > reckless diplomatic and military brinkmanship, both overt and covert. > Its government persists on a path of nuclear stand-off, threatening > its neighbours and the free world in the hope of dominating the > region. Its religious leaders routinely torture and kill people, > including women, for exercising even the most petty freedoms. > > The Iranian regime has become odious – too offensive for its own > people to tolerate. It is no surprise that it has to buy the > acquiescence of the middle class with cheap fuel and handouts. It is > no surprise it has employed the Basij, millions of violent thugs > reminiscent of Hitler's “brown shirts”, to enforce strict religious > codes and suppress political resistance. The revolutionary path of > Iran will end, and a free society will emerge. What was once a great > civilisation will rise again. The question is how long it will take, > and how bloody it will be. For the good of the Iranian people, and the > world, Ahmadinejad must go. If he takes Ayatollah Khamenei with him, > few will complain. > > 3. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia > > Arguably less violent but no less oppressive than Iran, this awkward > ally of the US lies at the heart of the Middle East. Its oil-driven > engine is in dire need of an overhaul. Either the regime needs to > change, or the people need to change the regime. Under a strict > interpretation of religious law based on the teachings of a > fundamentalist sect, women are segregated from male society and live > their lives as chattel. In the ultimate insult to their legal > competence, they are subject even to male children, if a male adult > cannot serve as guardian. Minority tribes, guest workers and Hajj > pilgrims who don't share the Saudi interpretation of Islam have few > rights, and suffer injustices ranging from petty discrimination to > domestic abuse. Religious freedom is non-existent in Saudi Arabia, > which officially considers the Quran and Sunna to be its constitution. > Political parties, trades union and public protests are banned. The > press is heavily censored. If I were Saudi, this column wouldn't get > published, and I'd be jailed. Lucky I'm not gay, because that could > earn me a flogging or execution at the hands of the enlightened > monarchy. The House of Saud must fall. It is time for Sheik Abdullah > to go. > > 4. Omar al-Bashir of Sudan > > His 22 years in command of the Sudan have been blighted decades of > violent civil war, brutal repression, medieval religious rules, > genocide in Darfur, and the documented theft of many billions of > dollars from the people of the Sudan. Make us happy and go, Al-Bashir. > To hell, if heaven won't have you. > > 5. Isaias Afewerki of Eritrea > > Eritrea has suffered under brutal misrule ever since its independence > from Ethiopia 20 years ago. Afewerki dissolved parliament in 1992, and > it hasn't met since. There is no private, free media at all in his > country, so we can't know just how bad things really are, but tales > about draconian work camps, religious persecution and tens of > thousands of political refugees make it clear that he is no longer > welcome among his people. Go. > > 6. Hugo Chávez of Venezuela > > A darling of the socialist left, Chávez has confiscated private > property, suppressed the media, taken control of formerly independent > universities, and persecuted political opponents, including by > co-opting the judiciary as a political weapon. Venezuela's bountiful > oil revenue affords Chávez the opportunity to bribe citizens with > subsidised necessities and political patronage, a strategy that, as > with Iran, is not atypical of repressive regimes. Ironically, this > produces some statistics that give cover to his defenders on the left, > and give force to his attempts to export the “Bolívarian revolution” > to Latin America and beyond. The truth, however, is simple: Chávez is > a brutal socialist thug on an oil drip. He needs to go. > > 7 and 8. Raúl and Fidel Castro of Cuba > > While we're sojourning on the communist side of Latin America, let's > add the Castro brothers. There is a reason their citizens risk their > lives to flee their prison state on home-made rafts. Useful idiots > such as Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore find themselves (rightly) moved > by the harsh embargo against Cuba, to (wrongly) romanticise an > idealised, sanitised version of the revolutionary island state. Unlike > them, the people who actually suffer Cuba's much-vaunted “quality of > life” are not entirely enchanted with the island paradise, and prefer > to risk drowning. The Castros must go. > > 9. Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia > > His Excellency Sheikh Professor Al Haji Dr Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus > Junkung Jammeh of The Gambia is not very widely known, but those who > do, know him for allegedly killing journalists, proposing to > decapitate homosexuals, disappearing thousands of citizens with > arbitrary detentions and rigged trials, and duping the rest with > claims of miracle herbal cures for everything from infertility to > Aids. Development spending is limited to regions that support him, in > the classic political patronage ploy of dictators. Inspired by the > uprisings in the Arab world, Gambians both at home and abroad have > been protesting his rule all year, noting that the leader of the > opposition is rotting in jail for daring to oppose Jammeh in public. > Yahya Jammeh, your time is up. Go. > > 10. Bashar al-Assad of Syria > > Bashar al-Assad and his father have ruled Syria for a combined 40 > years. Intelligence circles are undoubtedly mistaken about the > chemical weapons stockpiles Syria has had for decades. Satellite > imagery shows it has recently been expanding its facilities to > warehouse and manufacture complex chemicals, but surely the chemicals > in question are multi-vitamins. For little babies. After all, Syria > says it's been calling for a WMD-free Middle East since 1987, and none > were found in Iraq, from where a large convoy was seen heading to > Syria mere days before the 2003 invasion. In 2007, an Israeli air > strike targeted what couldn't possibly have been a military nuclear > facility built by the North Koreans, because that would violate the > Non-Proliferation Treaty of which Syria is a signatory. > > All this is just western imperialist propaganda, no doubt, but what we > do know is that just this year, thousands of Syrians have died > protesting their continued repression at the hands of the Assad > regime. > > The Arab League, not renowned for its aggressive stance against > members on matters of liberty and democracy, has suspended Syria and > imposed sanctions. Never mind a peace deal. Assad is a dangerous, > murderous dictator. He must go. > > 11. Theodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea > > Nguema has ruled his small but oil-rich country for 32 years, after > deposing and killing his murderous uncle. He is Africa's > longest-serving “democratically-elected leader”, having won 99 of 100 > seats in elections a few years ago. > > He might be chairman of the African Union, but perhaps that is because > they couldn't deny a fellow who claims to be God, and above the > judgement of mere mortals in matters of murder and torture. Besides, > as the histories of UN Commissions on Human Rights, Disarmament and > the Status of Women show, membership of international organisations > means squat, especially when you have oil or broadly oppose the United > States. > > Nguema has won several other plaudits. Most of them are fictional, > however, with the notable exception of the Admiralship of the Great > Navy of Nebraska. This is indeed a genuine award, most fitting to this > eccentric tyrant. > > His people might be too scared to say so, and foreign governments – > like South Africa – too enamoured of his abundant new oil wealth, but > Nguema is a blot on the African continent. He needs to go. > > 12... no, scratch that. I was going to include Burma on this list, but > the long-serving tyrant in charge of the military junta in that > benighted country, Than Shwe, has this year given way to the > supposedly civilian rule of U Thein Sein. Though his “election” was > neither free nor fair, he is seen as a pragmatic reformer, has > released opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and convened a parliament > for the first time in two decades. He merits a close eye, but doesn't > make my wish list. Yet. Also, I spent an extra number on the ghost of > Fidel Castro, so I need number 12 for someone closer to home. > > 12. King Mswati III of Swaziland > > Mswati runs his small country as a personal fiefdom. He is the > quintessential kleptocrat, who had the temerity to demand a R400 > million “facilitation fee” for arranging a financial rescue package > from South Africa. By all accounts, his interior decorators and luxury > car dealers need this money. Mswati and his thirteen wives – whom he > chooses by annually having the country's most nubile virgins line up > and dance for him – live it up in ever-more lavish style, while his > subjects endure abject poverty. They are dependent on unproductive > subsistence farming or food aid despite living in one of the most > fertile regions of the sub-continent. The popular press makes > caricatures out of fat little despots like Mswati, because ordinary > people needlessly suffer under their boot-heels. Fat little despots > like Mswati ruthlessly crush popular protest, because they know this. > He's a festering pimple on the cheek of South Africa. The sooner he is > gone, the better. > > In the interest of modest ambitions, I've limited the list to these > dirty dozen. There are a few more leaders deserving of a proper > ousting, notably in some of the former Soviet states, but getting rid > of this dirty dozen would be a good start for 2012. DM > > -- > -Laye > ============================== > "With fair speech thou might have thy will, > With it thou might thy self spoil." > --The R.M > > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ > To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface > at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html > > To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l > To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: > [log in to unmask] > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤