A military takeover in Guinea
Radio Conakry was still broadcasting funeral dirges and flowery eulogies last week for President Ahmed Sekou Toure, who had been buried only a few days earlier, when an anonymous spokesman broke in with a bulletin. Guinea's armed forces had seized power in a bloodless coup, the announcer declared. The goal, he went on, was to replace Toure's 26 years of "bloody and ruthless" rule with "true democracy." Word of the coup brought many rejoicing Guineans out into the streets.
The new leaders promptly dissolved the country's only political party, suspended the constitution and declared a curfew...