Biden Calls Papua New Guinea ‘Cannibal Country’, PM Marape Reacts

CNN Indonesia

Tuesday, 23 April 2024 21:00 IWST

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —

prime minister Papua New Guinea James Marape did not accept it, after the President of the United States Joe Biden the country is said to be “the country of the cannibals”.

Marape was angry and said that his country did not deserve to be called “cannibals”. He urged the US to clean up the remnants of the Second World War scattered in the Pacific, after Biden’s statement that his uncle was a soldier missing in those waters.

Marape said Biden “appeared to be implying that his uncle was eaten by cannibals after his plane was shot down over PNG during WWII”.

“President Biden’s statement may be a misrepresentation; however, my country does not deserve to be called that,” said PM Marape, reported by Reuters.

Biden said this to media teams after visiting a war memorial in the city of Pennsylvania, USA.

He continued to tell the story of his uncle, Lieutenant Ambrose Finnegan, whose plane was shot down in Papua New Guinea. However, his body has not been found so far.

“He was flying a single-engine plane, a flight over New Guinea. He volunteered because nobody could come. He was shot down in an area where there were a lot of cannibals in New Guinea at the time,” Mr. Biden said. saying Reuters.

“They never found the body. But the government came back, when I went there, and they investigated and they found some plane parts and things like that,” Biden continued.

This phase occurred when competitive tensions increased in the Indo-Pacific region, between China and the US. In addition, the US has signed a defense cooperation agreement with neighboring Indonesia.

When asked about Marape’s response, a spokesperson from the US State Department said that Mr. Biden intended to explain how his party honors heroes who have fallen in battle.

“We respect the people and culture of Papua New Guinea and remain committed to promoting respectful relations between our democratic nations,” said a US State Department spokesperson.

So far, Biden’s statement on Papua New Guinea has had no impact on cooperation between the two countries. The US continues to strive to maintain good relations with countries in the Indo-Pacific region, especially Papua New Guinea.

(val/dna)