US respects people of PNG, says embassy

THE United States (US) government respects the people and culture of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and remains committed to furthering respectful relations with PNG, according to the US embassy in Port Moresby.
A statement from the embassy was responding to the comments made by US President Joe Biden last week during an election campaign suggesting that his uncle, 2nd Lieutenant Ambrose Finnegan, might have been eaten by cannibals in New Guinea during World War Two (WW2).
The statement read: “President Biden highlighted his uncle’s story as he made the case for honouring our sacred commitment to equip those we send to war.
From the shared sacrifices of WW2, to the ongoing partnership in advancing democracy and regional stability, the people of PNG have demonstrated resilience, courage and commitment to democratic ideals. PNG is a regional leader and with diverse cultures.”
Prime Minister James Marape said Biden’s remarks could have been “a slip of the tongue”.
But Marape also pointed out that many unsolved war mysteries remained in the seas, mountains, and jungles of PNG.
He urged the US to find as many remains of their war dead as they could from WW2 in PNG and find the truth about how the US servicemen lost their lives in PNG during the war.
The US embassy said it was working with the Defence POW/MIA accounting agency to locate and recover WW2 remains in PNG.
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Justin Tkatchenko said he hoped that the White House could correct Biden’s remarks.
“PNG-US relations have seen developments for better and stronger ties on the bilateral front in recent times and these apparent untrue remarks by the sitting President is a low point in our bilateral relations,” Tkatchenko said.