Survey lists most world's most repressive regimes

AP on Yahoo ^ | 5/6/08 | Barry Schweid - ap

[NormsRevenge]

WASHINGTON - In a worldwide survey, a democracy watchdog organization said 90 countries respect a broad array of basic human rights and political freedom while 103 countries fail to some degree to observe standards of liberal democracy.

Eight countries were judged by Freedom House, the New York-based organization, to have the most repressive regimes. They were Cuba, Libya, Myanmar, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Two restive territories, Chechnya and Tibet, "whose inhabitants suffer intense repression," the organization said, were placed in the lowest category, as well.

Violent repression of protests of food prices in Myanmar, or Burma as it is commonly known, contributed to a further downward trend in the South Asian country, now devastated by a staggering cyclone.

Within the eight countries and two territories "state control over daily life is pervasive and wide-ranging, independent organizations and political opposition are banned or suppressed and fear of retribution for independent thought and action is part of daily life," said Jennifer Windsor, executive director of Freedom House, in issuing the annual report.

Ranked only slightly better than "the worst of the worst" were Belarus, Chad, China, Equitorial Guinea, Eritrea, Laos, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Zimbabwe as well as the Western Sahara territory of North Africa. They severely suppress opposition political activity, impede independent organizing and censor or punish criticism of the state, Windsor said.

Increased corruption and controls on non-governmental organizations placed Chad on the list for the first time. The African country replaced another, Cote d'Ivoire, in this group while the "worst of the worst" remained the same.

Syria showed a downward trend, the report said. While it held elections, candidates' eligibility was tightly circumscribed, new measures to control Internet activity were adopted and prominent reformers were sentenced for signing a declaration supporting Lebanese sovereignty.

Summing up world trends in an interview, Arch Puddington, director of research at Freedom House, said "even while global freedom has stagnated in the past decade we had seen a decline in the 'worst of the worst' countries." But, he said, "that process seems to have come to at least a temporary halt as the 'worst of the worst' countries seem to be pushing back."

[Uncle Miltie]

Cuba - Communist
Libya - Islamic
Myanmar - Militarist
North Korea - Communist
Somalia - Islamic
Sudan - Islamic
Turkmenistan - Islamic
Uzbekistan - Islamic

[Inyo-Mono]

I’d say none of them have a 2nd Amendment.

[Uncle Miltie]

Belarus - Communist
Chad - Islamic
China - Communist
Equitorial Guinea - Ya got me there!
Eritrea - Islamic
Laos - Communist
Saudi Arabia - Islamic
Syria - Islamic
Zimbabwe - Communist (essentially)

[mvonfr]

Somalia - Islamic Was it not liberated by Ethiopia already? Strange.

[NormsRevenge]

Now Now,

one mustn’t allow one to become overly suspicious
just because a pattern is developing. ;-)

[erikm88]

From the way the libs speak, you’d think the U.S. would be on that list...

[Uncle Miltie]

Update: Myanmar is at least Socialist, a short step from Communist.

[marktwain]

“Eritrea - Islamic”

---

I thought Eritrea was communist. Marxist in fact.

[Sherman Logan]

Eritrea - Islamic

Actually, it's 50/50 Muslim/Christian.

[Uncle Miltie]

I’m reporting either political system when Communist, or primary Religion when Islamic.

I think that forms a trend in the data that is hard to miss.

[trumandogz]

Wow, I have been to three of those places!

[decal]

“I thought Eritrea was communist. Marxist in fact.”

Ethiopia certainly was at the time they broke away.

[Rembrandt]

Have a link? Thanks.

[Uncle Miltie]

You are probably right. I took the lead religion from the CIA Fact Book which reports:

“Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant”

Here: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/er.html#People

[marktwain]

Here is a description of the Eritrean government from the CIA world book:

note: following a successful referendum on independence for the Autonomous Region of Eritrea on 23-25 April 1993, a National Assembly, composed entirely of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, was established as a transitional legislature; a Constitutional Commission was also established to draft a constitution; ISAIAS Afworki was elected president by the transitional legislature; the constitution, ratified in May 1997, did not enter into effect, pending parliamentary and presidential elections; parliamentary elections were scheduled in December 2001, but were postponed indefinitely; currently the sole legal party is the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ)”

[Uncle Miltie]

I think you’re right on Eritrean communism. From the CIA Fact Book:

following a successful referendum on independence for the Autonomous Region of Eritrea on 23-25 April 1993, a National Assembly, composed entirely of the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, was established as a transitional legislature; a Constitutional Commission was also established to draft a constitution; ISAIAS Afworki was elected president by the transitional legislature; the constitution, ratified in May 1997, did not enter into effect, pending parliamentary and presidential elections; parliamentary elections were scheduled in December 2001, but were postponed indefinitely; currently the sole legal party is the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ)

[Uncle Miltie]

Dude, that was like, De Ja Vu-iness!

[from occupied ga]

What about MA, MD, NY, and NJ?

[dhs12345]

Yeah. You must be an Islamophobe.

... ignore the man behind the curtain.