PHOTO: UP new Chairman Amos Tweh (above) and Rev. Tarpeh’s burnt out home (below)
By Our Staff Writer
Since the home of the newly elected chairman of the former ruling Unity Party, Rev. Luther Tarpeh was gutted by fire early Thursday morning near Monrovia, a war of words has erupted between the UP and the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) government, which has been blamed for deliberately setting the house ablaze.
A press release from the UP at the weekend: “The attackers believed to be operatives of the government of Liberia threw several petro bombs during the early hours of August 12, 2022 in the fence of Chairman Luther Tarpeh which is believed to have led to the fire.
One of the houses and a Mitsubishi SUV in the fence got burned to ashes as a result of the arson.”
The fire followed reports that government-hired arsonists attacked Unity Party Chairman home, days after armed men believed to be agents of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change tailed the vehicle of the Chairman and Party executives to identify locations of their homes.
But in a statement the the ruling CDC party government of Liberia has dismissed the claim by UP as “unfair and irresponsible”.
Information Minister Ledgerhood Julius Rennie said the government was troubled by such tragic incident and “expresses empathy with the Chairman of the opposition Unity Party (UP), Rev. Luther Tarpeh, whose home was gutted by fire on Friday, August 12, 2022.”
Minister Rennie noted that the administration of President George M. Weah is not in the business of physically attacking its political opponents.
“What do we stand to benefit from the action.”
UP insists that the fire on the home of its Chairman was “well planned and orchestrated attack against the home of its Chairman Dr. Luther Tarpeh early Thursday morning at about 1:00Am in Paynesville.”
According to the main opposition party, one of Chairman Tarpeh’s sons is currently taking treatment due to severe burn. Other family members are so far safe.
UP says it is preparing to submit a formal complaint of several targeted attacks against it leaders by operatives of the ruling party.
“The Unity Party feared democratic gains made during her stewardship of Liberia has significantly retrogress under the CDC -led government, as the bad memory of Liberia’s dark days are again surfacing, where opposition leaders and critical voices in the country are constantly harrased, humiliated, and in some instances found dead with no outcomes of government announced investigations,” UP said in its press statement at the weekend.
The Unity Party is at the same time calling on all its Partisans, supporters, and Liberians at large to be vigilant, and calm as the party is committed to providing a responsible, peaceful and democratic leadership for all Liberians.
In a related development, the Information Ministry has said Investigators from the National Fire Service have already been dispatched to the scene in order to determine the cause of the outbreak.
Minister Rennie has also said the UP’s claim that the blaze was a government-sponsored arson attack has “no element of truth”.