Guineans fed up with dictator

The streets of Conakry roiled with rioting as Guineans took to the streets to demand the resignation of their dictator of 23 years, Lansana Conté (seen at left with pigeon).

CNN is reporting that 59 people have died as protesters clashed with the army and police, and that as many as 233 people across the country have been injured.

Prior to seizing power in a 1984 military coup d'etat, Conté was a professor of politics at the prestigious Sorbonne in Paris . Ah. The value of a classical French education. At any rate, one certainly gets the sense that Lansana Conté is in no mood to budge, and that after a proper thrashing, the people of Guinea will return to the unhappy conclusion that their demands for political reform will be ignored, and that they will be stuck with Conté until he finally dies in office, or is overthrown in another military coup. I've been known to be wrong, but West African dictators are certainly among the world's most entrenched.

UPDATE: Conté announced that he will go halfway to meet the rioters political demands, but he won't be stepping down until God removes him.