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Had he not been so blinkered by the arrogance of long-term incumbency, the best advice for him would have been to secure an AU-sanctioned mediator who would get the opposition to agree to a government of national unity for five years, where he would continue as president. The leader of the opposition would be prime minister or vice-president and spend his entire term trying to figure out what his job means.It worked wonders in Zimbabwe, and has been attempted elsewhere, including the dysfunctional Central African Republic and South Sudan, among others. These often don’t work for two fundamental reasons. The first is that they are usually entered into in bad faith. No sooner have the parties occupied their positions do they start fighting over substantive powers and access to state resources.

The neighboring countries, especially Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Benin, but also Ivory Coast, have a vital interest that Burkina gains stability, again. But I think it will be France, and the US, in the end, which will weigh in and make the difference. The military knows that. They know there is no turning back to pre-2000 or even pre-1996. Democratisation has arrived in the heads, and, in form of mobile communication, in the hands of the people. News are traveling much, much faster today. And the Burkina-bé are proud of their democratic progress. Very much so.

The perspective that only the USA and France have the wisdom to sort out the Burkinabes problems is malodorous and ironic given that Mitterrand undoubtably installed Compaore in the pool of Sankara's blood replacing an African solution of full employment and equal rights with the "politique de la ventre" that they are much more comfortable with. It would be convenient in media terms if a messanaic leader rose to lead the revolution but maybe with the will of the masses, it has.

The country was liberated from a regime but not from a system. We should complete the work we began during last year's popular uprising through the ballot box," Me Sankara said over the weekend, urging the Burkinabe people to defeat the system established 27 years ago by deposed president Blaise Compaore.

Hundreds stood outside the cemetery, some around mounds of dark brown earth with soldiers on top, awaiting word on their former leader. They urged police to admit journalists to verify the findings.

“He [Compaore] is a guy that we’ve sort of been able to work with to help with some of the issues in the region, in terms of being able to use Burkina strategically to counter the unsavories in the neighborhood,” the U.S. official said. “This change is a change that [the U.S. government] is going to have to contend with.”

It’s the kind of help -- along with millions of dollars yearly in foreign aid -- that the U.S. is counting on Burkina Faso needing, whoever is in charge.