Biden insinuates that uncle was eaten by cannibals in Papua New Guinea, and local prime minister is offended | World

During a speech last week, President Joe Biden of the United States hinted that an uncle of his was eaten by cannibals in Papua New Guinea, a country in Oceania, in World War II. On Sunday (21), the country’s Prime Minister, James Marape, accused Biden of offending the nation.

On April 17, Biden said that four of his uncles fought in World War II. He then gave a version of what happened to the uncle who died.

“Ambrose Finnegan – we called him Uncle Bosie – was knocked down. He flew single-engine planes, made reconnaissance flights over New Guinea. He had volunteered, because someone couldn’t go, and he was shot down in an area where, at the time, there were a lot of cannibals in New Guinea. They never found his body. The government came back when I went there, and they discovered some parts of the plane.”

According to the Associated Press news agency, military records do not describe the same story. According to the archives, Ambrose Finnegan was a passenger in a Douglas A-20 Havoc transport aircraft, which fell into the sea on May 14, 1944, when both engines failed. One person on board survived, but three others were never found and neither was the plane. There is no mention of cannibalism.

The British newspaper “The Guardian” interviewed Michael Kabuni, professor of political science at the University of Papua New Guinea.

He stated that Yes, there was cannibalism in the countrytheres, but said that “taking it out of context and suggesting that your uncle jumped out of the plane and that we (Papuans) would somehow think it was a good meal is unacceptable.”

The professor told “The Guardian” that cannibalism was practiced in some communities and that it was something ritualistic, and not due to lack of food: for example, the body of a deceased relative was eaten to avoid decomposition: “There was a context, they didn’t eat any white man that fell from the sky”.

James Marape, the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, said “President Biden’s comments may have been a slip; however, my country doesn’t deserve to be labeled like that,”.

He stated that his people had nothing to do with the Second World War and that they were led to participate in a conflict with which they had no relation.

Marape also called on the US to search for dead Americans in the forests of Papua New Guinea and clean up the debris of war. “The remains of the Second World War continue to be spread across Papua New Guinea, including the plane that carried President Biden’s uncle”.

He continued: “With President Biden’s comments and the reaction in the country and other parts of the world, perhaps it is time for the US to find the remains of WWII in Papua New Guinea as soon as possible, including the military personnel who died, such as Ambrose Finnegan.”

“The theaters of war in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands are littered with remnants of WWII, including human remains, plane and ship wreckage, tunnels and bombs. Our people live daily in fear of being killed by WWII bombs. War”, said Marape.