Police disperse youth protest against Taylor

Heavily armed police dispersed at least 200 demonstrators who marched through the centre of the Liberian capital Monrovia on Thursday calling for the resignation of President Charles Taylor. The marchers, who were mainly young people and children, were cheered by small crowds that quickly gathered on street corners. They attempted to march on the US embassy in support of President George Bush's call for Taylor to step down and leave the country. A planned pro-Taylor demonstration outside the US embassy was called off. Official sources quoted the organisers as saying they wanted to avoid a possible clash. The pro-government demonstrators had planned to present a statement to the US embassy demanding that Taylor be allowed to complete his term of office in January 2004. Bush said in Washington on Wednesday: "We're exploring all options to keep the situation [in Liberia] peaceful and stable. But one thing has to happen: Taylor needs to leave the country...in order for there to be peace and stability. Taylor needs to leave now." Former US President Jimmy Carter said in a statement on Thursday that he welcomed Bush's "determination to help the people of Liberia find the path to peace and his strong support for the ceasefire signed early this month." Expressing support for "a multinational humanitarian intervention" in Liberia, Carter said: "Taylor needs to leave the country, permitting the cease-fire to prevail and democratic elections to be held." The anti-Taylor protestors, who carried palm fronds, chanted: "We want peace, no more Taylor. We like Bush". One carried a banner with the inscription: "Taylor must step down now. We are tired of living like this". Vincent George, a University of Liberia student who was among the demonstrators, told IRIN: "Let Taylor move from our backs, he failed the Liberian people. Since he became President close to six years now, we have never lived in peace", An elderly woman in the early sixties said: "We will not leave the street, we will keep marching. If they bring their guns to kill us, we are prepared to die for the sake of our country." Despite the protest, Monrovia remained calm for the fifth day running since rebel forces retreated from the city last Friday and a 17 June ceasefire agreement was re-established. Government fighters removed some checkpoints fro the city centre, shops opened but the banks remained closed. The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that aid agencies were taking advantage of the calm to conduct a two-day joint assessment of the immediate needs of tens of thousand of people displaced by two rebel attacks on Monrovia last month. The assessment, which was due to be completed on Thursday, would show the numbers of displaced people, where they were presently located and what their priority requirements were. The World Health Organisation (WHO) said that between 6-29 June, 586 cases of cholera had been recorded in Monrovia's overworked hospitals and health centres. But it added: "Because of the security situation, exact numbers of cases and deaths are difficult to obtain." The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) meanwhile reported that a large number of the 15,000 Sierra Leonean refugees in Monrovia, were seeking emergency evacuation aboard a UNHCR-chartered passenger ferry that was on its way from Freetown. UNHCR said in a statement that more than 500 Sierra Leoneans who had fled refugee camps on the outskirts of Monrovia had signed up for repatriation aboard the MV Overbeck. Many more had signalled a wish to go home on the ship, which can carry up to 300 passengers, it added. "This is the first of many voyages that UNHCR will make available for refugees who want to return home," Moses Okello, UNHCR representative said. "There should be a boat every three days or so." Liberia degenerated into chaos at the start of June, when rebels of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) fought their way into Monrovia's suburbs as they began peace talks with the government in Ghana. The government, LURD and another rebel group, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), subsequently signed a ceasefire agreement in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, on 17 June. However, this collapsed within hours, stalling negotiations on a political settlement to end 14 years of intermittent civil war, during which more than 200,000 people have died. The peace talks were due to resume in Accra on Friday.