(NationRise.com) – Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape blasted US President Joe Biden on April 21, after the American leader claimed that his uncle Ambrose Finnegan was eaten by savage “cannibals” in the Australasian nation. During a speech on April 18, the US commander-in-chief said that his uncle, who was an American pilot during World War II, suffered a “horrible” fate after his aircraft crashed at the Melanesia Island chain.
At the memorial event at which he was speaking, President Biden told attendees that the area was dominated by Japan’s Armed Forces when the incident took place. He said that no one could find his uncle’s body because, back in those days, a lot of cannibal tribes from New Guinea lived there.
In a statement, Marape said that while it was possible that President Biden didn’t want to say what he said or simply had a “slip of the tongue,” his remarks were offensive. The Guinean prime minister said that his country didn’t deserve to be labeled as a place of cannibals, especially when it had nothing to do with World War II but was dragged into the armed conflict by foreign nations.
Marape also claimed that instead of delivering offensive remarks to the Guinean people, President Biden and Western powers should clean up the remains of the war’s casualties that are still “scattered” in the African nation instead. He added that he believed even the remains of Biden’s uncle could be found.
Political analysts explained that President Biden’s comments were a diplomatic mistake as they offended one of the key strategic allies that the US has in the Pacific, which could play a crucial role in containing China’s influence in the region. Some geopolitical experts have even claimed that his comments were another episode of a series of errors that have allowed the Chinese regime to expand its presence not only in the Pacific but also in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
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