Papua New Guinea experts say Biden's statements are baseless, simplistic and inappropriate.
US President Joe Biden said speculation that his uncle may have been eaten by cannibals in Papua New Guinea during World War II. This caused a mixture of amazement and criticism in the island country.
The Guardian reports this with reference to local experts.
During the election campaign in Pittsburgh, the American president spoke about his uncle, Lieutenant Ambrose J. Finnegan, who flew single-engine reconnaissance aircraft during World War II. Biden said he was “shot down in New Guinea,” adding that “the body was never found because there were actually a lot of cannibals in that part of New Guinea.”
Papua New Guinea experts say Biden's statements are baseless, simplistic and inappropriate, especially at a time when the United States is trying to strengthen its ties with the country and counter Chinese influence in the Pacific region.
Reaction to Biden's words
“The Melanesian group, to which Papua New Guinea belongs, is a very proud nation. Such a classification would be very offensive to them. Not because someone says: “there once was cannibalism,” we know that. But to take it out of context and suggest that your uncle jumped out of a plane and we thought it was good food is unacceptable,” said political scientist Michael Kabuni of the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG).
According to the scholar, in some communities in the past, cannibalism was practiced in special situations, such as when a deceased relative was eaten out of respect to prevent the decomposition of his body. “There was a context. They wouldn’t just eat some white guy who fell from the sky,” he emphasized.
Kabuni noted that about 79,000 American soldiers remain missing in action since World War II. “They are scattered from Southeast Asia to the Korean Peninsula and Europe. What is Biden proposing? Or all 79,000 that were never found were eaten by the natives?” he asked ironically.
East Sepik Governor Allan Bird, recently elected as the opposition's alternative prime minister, said he was at a loss for words to respond to Biden's suggestion.
“I don’t feel offended. It's really funny. I'm sure when Biden was a child he heard something like this from his parents. And he probably remembered this for the rest of his life,” he noted.
UPNG economics lecturer Maholope Lavale called Biden's statement sad. “For the President of the United States to say that – especially after the United States has entered into many agreements with Papua New Guinea – is inappropriate,” he said.
What is known about Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea was created on the eastern part of the island, first in 1949 as a territory of Australia, and in 1975 as an independent state
It is a country of approximately ten million people, home to eight hundred tribes, many of whom live in inhospitable and remote areas.
Violent inter-tribal clashes repeatedly occur in certain parts of its territory. In February this year, 26 people were killed in Engam province when a group of men went to attack a neighboring tribe but were ambushed along the way.
Recall that earlier US President Joe Biden invited his election rival Donald Trump to play golf.
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