Opposition Leader Tillman Thomas has called on government to allow the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) to investigate and bring to justice those responsible for setting the fires at the Grenada Boys Secondary School (GBSS).

His comments came as a war of words erupted during the sitting of the House of Representatives last Thursday on who might be responsible for burning down the island's oldest secondary school.

Thomas, the political leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), charged that allegations made by government ministers to link the opposition to the fires are aimed at diverting public interest in other happenings on the island.

Government Parliamentarians have sought to blame the opposition for incited persons to set the school ablaze. Investigators from the United States Alcohol Tobacco and Firearm (ATF) International Response Team, have determined that the two fires which gutted the GBSS were deliberately set.

The 5 ATF officials along with two officers from RGPF handed in their report to government at the conclusion of their investigation that was carried out between July 10 -13.

GBSS has had two suspicious fires this year, the first on April 19 that gutted part of the school and the other on June 9 which completely destroyed the institution. Education Minister Claris Charles told the sitting that she heard an opposition Parliamentarian spoke about making it difficult for the ruling New National Party (NNP) to govern the country.

She was obviously referring to comments made by Member of Parliament for St. George's North-east Nazim Burke during the 2003 General Elections. Burke, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the NDC charged that if government did anything illegal to rig the voting process for the last general election then the NDC would make it extremely difficult for the Mitchell administration to govern the country.

Charles suggested that calls made by certain persons for civil disobedience in Grenada could have also had its influence resulting in the destruction of the school. Thomas, the political leader of the congress party, told the House that there is nothing wrong in calling for civil disobedience since this is part of the worldwide democratic process.

He called the names of several human rights leader such as South Africa's Nelson Mandela and the late Mahatma Gandhi of India who had called for some form of civil disobedience during their life time.

The Mitchell government is claiming that the criminal acts of fire at GBSS have cost the country in excess of US$1 million which is a tremendous burden to the nation now trying to recover from the impact of hurricanes Ivan and Emily.