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This is an article from the Liberian press.

Liberia: TWP - Teahjay's Comments Divisive, Inciting


AllAfrica aggregates reports from Africa's news media. This is an article from the Liberian press. It is not a report by AllAfrica.

The True Whig party says it is alarmed by comments attributed to Mr. Milton Teahjay during programs marking the 3rd anniversary of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC).

In a statement issued yesterday relative to the Teahjay saga, the party, which is the oldest institution in the country's political history said that though it is not an apologist for the Unity Party, the TWP has a patriotic responsibility to respond to such comments because they are inciting, divisive and reminiscent of the anachronisms of the 1970s.

During the 1970s, the party recalls, Teahjay and his cohorts engineered a campaign of lies against the True Whig Party-led government that precipitated the infamous 1979 rice riots.

The party said the rice riots subsequently led to the brutal killing of President Williams R. Tolbert, Jr. and 13 other officials of government in the bloody 1980 military coup.

In its statement, the True Whig Party reminded Mr. Teahjay that "gone are the days of sterile political rhetoric and pranks, when Liberians would be misled into destroying their own country and killing their president."

Liberians are resolved to forget their bitter past and get on with rebuilding their lives and only interested in developments and or constructive criticisms that would energize the ongoing transformation in the country.

The TWP says that the transformation has been buoyed by the recent success of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Forum in Germany. According to the party, Liberians will not permit the likes of Milton Teahjay to cause this sitting president to be killed as was done to Tolbert.

Not withstanding these achievements, the TWP would like to point out that although the UP led government is far from perfection and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is encountering enormous difficulties delivering on campaign promises, she undeniable remains yet the best available choice for voters at the 2005 runoff.

Moreover, contrary to Teahjay's claim, the 2005 poll run off was a contest of substance and issues that bordered on professional competence, experience, credibility and a clear knowledge and understanding of the geo political and economic / financial situation, important leadership credentials majority Liberians believed the Standard Bearer of the Congress for Democratic Change lacks, so where is the beef?

Furthermore, the TWP notes that in as much as Teahjay and CDC have stamped a vote of no confidence in the current composition of the National Election Commission whom Teahjay refers to as stooges, confidants and thieves of the President, equally so, they should not lose sight of the fact that it was the same commission that suppressed the concern of some political parties when it failed to investigate their complaint that the Standard Bearer of the CDC had obtained French citizenship while soccer professional in France.

The TWP described the behaviors and attitude of Teahjay as confused and disappointed, buried in hate and envy.

The Party vividly recalls of Teahjay on a Talk Show heaping shower of praises on the Sirleaf led government, but quickly adding that "much needed to be done in the public relations aspect", a kind of diplomatic way of offering himself for the job. "My goodness! Will someone offer Teahjay a job, remember the Taylor-Teahjay scenario", the release said.

Tagged: Liberia, West Africa

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