Musharraf in top 10 dictators' list

Dubbed as a shrewd and skillful manipulator by his political opponents, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has achieved the dubious distinction of being ranked one of the world's top 10 dictators.

Kim Jong-II of North Korea, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and Equatorial Guinea's alleged cannibalistic ruler Teodoro Obiang Nguema also figure in the dictator's list compiled by the New Statesman weekly in its latest issue.

'Our top 10 is a selection of men -- there are currently no women dictators -- who combine a high level of personal power with repressive practices, ranging from press censorship to fixing elections and, in the case of Equatorial Guinea's Teodor Obiang Nguema, allegedly cannibalizing political opponents,' the report said.

According to the magazine, the top five worst dictators (for freedom of speech) are Kim Jong-II

of North Korea, Isaias Afewerki of Eritrea, Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of Iran and Senior General Than Shwe of Burma.

Fidel Castro of Cuba figures in the list along with Hu Jintao of China as the most corrupt dictators.

'There is plenty of kitsch excess -- bouffant hairstyles, super-sized yachts and a fondness of khaki -- and also plenty of suffering; despite a global fear of dictators running amok, the only people they tend to harm are their own,' the magazine said.

'Their misdemeanours, however, are often ignored. While North Korea's Kim Jong-II, possibly the world's cruelest autocrat, remains beyond the diplomatic pale, the West has long-standing marriages of convenience with undemocratic rulers such as Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia,' it said.