Another "Bashing" for Bashir

The latest honors have just been announced, and for the second year in a row, President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan has been proclaimed by Parade Magazine as the World’s Worst Dictator. This is no small feat, as he had to beat out strong competition from North Korea’s Kim Jong-Ill and Iran’s Sayyid Ali Khamenei, and many other worthy candidates.

It is interesting to note that both North Korea and Iran, second and third respectively in the Parade report, have been singled out by President Bush as members of his “Axis of Evil,” but Sudan has not yet reached that level of notoriety with our president.

Bashir earned his distinction in Parade for “his ongoing deadly human rights abuses in the Darfur region of Sudan.” He also outclassed his competitors by just recently agreeing to a ceasefire, then allegedly “ordering his troops to continue their attacks.”

Parade Magazine is distributed to more than 34 million readers, mostly as Sunday supplements in major newspapers across the country. Their Annual Report of the World’s Worst Dictators is taken largely from reports from several respected international human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. The magazine is inviting readers to participate in a survey, which you can do via their Interactive Poll.

Better yet. I’m guessing neither President Bashir nor President Bush read Parade Magazine –- or check their website -- very often. So send a message directly to President Bush through our Drumbeat for Darfur campaign. And send a message to Congress through our Legislative Action Center.