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 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~