THE usual reaction from the outside world to atrocities in Africa is an expression of horror, some tough talk and then, essentially, a shrug of the shoulders. In essence, for so long, no one has expected more out of African nations. The massacre of opposition demonstrators in a sports stadium in Conakry, Guinea, however, has sparked the kind of international movement that may well could have prevented previous atrocities from segueing into all out conflict and genocide. On Sept. 28, an opposition rally was held in the Stade du 28 September (named to commemorate the day in 1958 when Guineans rejected a confederation with its colonial master, France). Reportedly with no warning, government soldiers opened fire on the crowd. The opposition reports at least 157 were killed. The government says 56. There are also widespread reports and photos to back up those reports that women were both beaten and raped by the soldiers. Guinea's president, Moussa Dadi Camara, claims no responsibility for the incident, a puzzling assertion given that he came into power in December as the result of a military coup. It is baffling that he could think any reasonable person would find his denial credible, especially since the central complaint of the opposition is that Captain Camara has backpedaling on his original promise that he would not run in upcoming presidential elections. The events at Stade 28, however, are not going ignored by the rest of the world. In an unprecedented development, a US envoy met with Camara and told him that he had lost all standing in the international community and that it is time for him to go. Although the US has somewhat limited influence in formerly French West Africa, the envoy put it in no uncertain terms that even if Camara does not agree to go, he will, indeed, go. Similarly, French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner also made it clear that Camara must go. It seems as if finally the world is taking the behavior of erratic and profoundly unqualified African leaders seriously and lifting a finger to do something about it. __
