Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Those damn keys.

Last December Captain Moussa Dadis Camara seized power in a coup d’état in Guinea* after the death of the longtime dictator Lansana Conté. Last week Monday (September 28), tens of thousands of citizens gathered in the capital Conakry to protest plans by Camara to run in January’s presidential election, after promising he would not. In response the Captain's troops went on a brutal rampage; shooting, stabbing, and raping in public in broad daylight. More than 157 people are said to be killed and thousands have gunshot, bayonet, or other injuries. Three days after the massacre Camara luckily convincingly explained why he did not stop the rampage. He could not find the keys to his pickup. Those damn keys. I also lose my keys once in a while.

* Ok, don't feel too bad that you do not really know what country Guinea is and where it is located. I have problems with it, and I hope to earn my living one day by working on Africa. Guinea is in West Africa; it used to be called French Guinea until 1958. Don't mix this up with the country French Guiana that lies in Latin America and borders Suriname and Brazil. Also don't mix it it up with Papua New Guinea, which is a country in Oceania that occupies the eastern half of New Guinea. New Guinea from 1949 to 1962 was also known as Dutch New Guinea. The latter should not be confused with Dutch Guinea, which was was a portion of coastal West Africa that was gradually colonized by the Dutch beginning in 1598. Also don't mix up Guinea with the countries Guinea Bissau or Equatorial Guinea. The first is Guinea's neighbor to the north and west. The latter is located on the same continent, but more to the south.

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