Papua New Guinea
Thursday 14th September, 2006 13:45 Comments: 0
Did anyone else see that Boris Johnson had to apologise for insulting Papua New Guinea, after he linked it to "cannibalism and chief-killing"?
Boris wrote: "For 10 years we in the Tory Party have become used to Papua New Guinea-style orgies of cannibalism and chief-killing, and so it is with a happy amazement that we watch as the madness engulfs the Labour Party."
But Jean L Kekedo, Papua New Guinea's High Commissioner in London, reacted angrily to the remarks.
Boris (kind of) apologised, saying: "I meant no insult to the people of Papua New Guinea who I'm sure lead lives of blameless bourgeois domesticity in common with the rest of us"
But he did not retract his comments, he claims he thought they were accurate, but not meant to be about modern Papua New Guinea. He said he had seen a "fantastic" Time Life book which showed photographs of tribesman in Papua New Guinea in the 1950s or 1960s engaged in "primitive warfare and killing".
Which is all well and good until I read this:
Today Tonight was following up on a Nine Network report about an orphaned boy, Wah-Wah, who was going to be killed and eaten at some stage in the next 10 years.
It seems that the 6 year old New Guinea boy has been sentenced to death by his tribe (that is, he will be eaten by the tribe) because both of his parents have died, and therefore his tribe believes he is a sorcerer responsible for his parents' death. Some journalists have been trying to save him.
No wonder Boris didn't retract his comments.
Boris wrote: "For 10 years we in the Tory Party have become used to Papua New Guinea-style orgies of cannibalism and chief-killing, and so it is with a happy amazement that we watch as the madness engulfs the Labour Party."
But Jean L Kekedo, Papua New Guinea's High Commissioner in London, reacted angrily to the remarks.
Boris (kind of) apologised, saying: "I meant no insult to the people of Papua New Guinea who I'm sure lead lives of blameless bourgeois domesticity in common with the rest of us"
But he did not retract his comments, he claims he thought they were accurate, but not meant to be about modern Papua New Guinea. He said he had seen a "fantastic" Time Life book which showed photographs of tribesman in Papua New Guinea in the 1950s or 1960s engaged in "primitive warfare and killing".
Which is all well and good until I read this:
Today Tonight was following up on a Nine Network report about an orphaned boy, Wah-Wah, who was going to be killed and eaten at some stage in the next 10 years.
It seems that the 6 year old New Guinea boy has been sentenced to death by his tribe (that is, he will be eaten by the tribe) because both of his parents have died, and therefore his tribe believes he is a sorcerer responsible for his parents' death. Some journalists have been trying to save him.
No wonder Boris didn't retract his comments.