Papua New Guinea’s prime minister accused Joe Biden of insulting his country after the US president suggested his uncle had been eaten by cannibals on the island in the 1940s.
Biden made the comments about his uncle Ambrose J Finnegan while visiting a war memorial in Pennsylvania last week.
Finnegan, who had served in the Army Air Corps during World War II, was involved in a plane crash in Papua New Guinea in 1944.
“They never found the body because there used to be – there were a lot of real cannibals in that part of New Guinea,” Biden said, referring to the country’s main island.
Prime Minister James Marape said in a statement Sunday that Biden “seemed to imply that his uncle was eaten by cannibals.”
“from President Biden the comments may have been a slip; However, my country does not deserve to be labeled as such,” said Marape.
“World War II was not my people’s doing, yet they were unnecessarily dragged into a conflict that was not their doing,” he added.
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“There were many cannibals”
The prime minister also called on the United States to locate its war dead in the country and clean up the remains of the war.
“Wreckage from World War II lies scattered across Papua New Guinea, including the plane carrying President Biden’s uncle,” Marape added.
“Perhaps, given President Biden’s comments and the strong reaction from Papua New Guinea and other parts of the world, it is time for the United States to find as many World War II remains as possible in Papua New Guinea, including those of the soldiers who lost their lives like Ambrose Finnegan.
“The theaters of war in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands are many and filled with remains from the Second World War, including human remains, aircraft and ship wreckage, tunnels and bombs.
“Our people live daily in fear of dying from the detonated bombs of World War II.”
Biden touched the name of his uncle, Ambrose J. Finnegan, at a war memorial in Pennsylvania. Photo: Reuters
According to the United States Department of Defense, there does not appear to be any record that Mr. Finnegan’s death was the result of hostile action nor any indication that cannibals played a role in the failure to recover his remains.
Military records show that he died when the reconnaissance plane he was traveling in crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the northern coast of New Guinea in May 1944 after engine failure.
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The breakup comes as Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese began a visit to Papua New Guinea, Australia’s closest neighbor, on Monday.
“I am very confident that Papua New Guinea does not have a stronger partner than Australia and that our defense and security ties have never been stronger,” Albanese told reporters before departing Australia.
The United States has not yet commented on Mr. Marape’s statement.