It will be interesting to see what will happen to him and his buddies specially
his Gambian bodyguards?

May be Kukoi should negotiate for him to come in exile in Gambia:-)

----------------

Liberians march against Taylor
Hundreds of demonstrators have marched through the streets of the Liberian
capital, Monrovia, calling on President Charles Taylor to step down.
Anti-government demonstrations are rare in Monrovia and come as pressure
increases on the president.

On Thursday, President George W Bush reiterated his previous day's call for Mr
Taylor, who has been indicted for war crimes, to leave the country as a "first
step" in bringing peace.

But he admitted he had yet to reach a decision on whether to send US
peacekeepers in to help the millions of people forced to leave their homes
since fighting began.

"I am in the process of gathering the information necessary to make a rational
decision as to how to ... enforce the cease-fire in place," President Bush told
African journalists ahead of his trip to the continent next week.

"What I am thinking about is how to bring some stability to the country in a
way that will be effective, and there's no question step one of any effective
policy - whether we are involved or not - is for Charles Taylor to leave."

A ceasefire has held around Monrovia for almost a week, but aid workers are
still struggling to help those with cholera and wounds from the fighting.

Washington has come under increasing diplomatic pressure to take the lead in
restoring peace in Africa's oldest republic, which was founded by freed
American slaves.

Taylor exile?

"Taylor must go" and "No more Taylor, we want Bush," chanted more than 400
people outside the US embassy as American Marines in flak jackets and helmets
kept watch from behind sandbagged posts on the roof.


Correspondents say there seems little real appetite in the corridors of the
Pentagon for a new peacekeeping mission in West Africa, but equally an
acceptance that events appear to be moving in that direction.


Senior United Nations diplomats have suggested that he may be offered exile in
Nigeria, although a UN-backed war crimes court has issued an international
warrant for his arrest.

West African countries have already said they can send soldiers, but they want
the United States to lead the way.

Under pressure

With American forces already deployed in large numbers in Afghanistan and Iraq
and with no prospect of those involvements ending soon, the White House does
not want to send troops to Liberia, the BBC's Washington correspondent Justin
Webb reports.

But, he says, President Bush is about to embark on an African tour and is under
great pressure from the United Nations to use American power to help save
civilian lives in Liberia.


CHARLES TAYLOR
Indicted on war crimes charges
Under UN sanctions
Former warlord
Won 1997 elections


There is talk of the US sending a small contingent of 500 to 2,000 troops as
the core of a broader, mainly African, force.

But, says the BBC's world affairs correspondent Mark Doyle, the US is unlikely
to want to mount a classic peacekeeping buffer force between the government and
the rebels because of its position regarding President Taylor.

Our correspondent said Mr Taylor would use the intervention of an international
peacekeeping force to try to hang onto power.

The Americans may be considering regime change tactics, he said, but the risk
to US soldiers would be high.

Washington-based group Human Rights Watch has warned that if US troops are sent
to Liberia, they should ensure their mandate focuses on protecting civilians
and humanitarian assistance, and not get involved with making deals that "let
Charles Taylor off the hook".

Regional solution

Aid workers said they were struggling to help thousands of people displaced and
injured during the fighting.


Tom Quinn, a British nurse who works for the charity Medecins San Frontieres
(MSF), told BBC News Online that although the shooting in Monrovia has stopped,
disease and injuries mean the crisis is far from over.

Meanwhile, a Liberian presidential envoy is to go to Nigeria "very soon" to
discuss the situation in Liberia, a spokeswoman for Nigeria's head of state has
said.

The Liberian foreign minister will present President Taylor's proposal for
resolving the crisis peacefully to President Olusegun Obasanjo, Remy Oyo told
the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.

The former warlord faces war crimes charges in neighbouring Sierra Leone, where
he backed rebels in the war that officially ended last year.

UN diplomats say that Nigeria does have a law that would allow Mr Taylor's
extradition to Sierra Leone.

But David Crane, chief prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone,
insists that Mr Taylor must face trial for his alleged crimes.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/3040268.stm

Published: 2003/07/03 18:37:56 GMT

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