Washington, October 01: Papua New Guinea tribesmen have demanded an apology from American political satirists who used their traditional dress in a witchdoctor slur against US President Barack Obama.
In the offending image, a headshot of Mr Obama was superimposed on a photograph of a PNG Highlands region man in full traditional costume, supposedly to portray the black President as an African witchdoctor.
Damien Arabagali, Hela Gimbu Association chairman, said PNG’s Foreign Affairs Minister and Cultural Minister would have to take up their demand.
“We have never felt such discrimination of our cultural identity, we are not witch doctors,” Mr Arabagali said.
“Our children face the shame of being labelled this way.
“We will not rest until we get an official apology. We are prepared to travel to New York to show the world we are not witchdoctors.”
HGA lawyer Alfred Kaibe, who wore his traditional Hela costume when sitting as a member of Parliament in 2001, said his people did not see the funny side.
“It borders on racism, to us and the US President,” he said.
“The connotation is this type of dress is for witchcraft.
“This is our traditional costume; we are proud of it.”
Another HGA member suggested that if no apology was forthcoming the $16 billion ExxonMobil liquefied natural gas project based in the region could be jeopardised.
A US organisation known as The Tea Party mocked up the image as part of a three-week series of protests across the US against President Obama’s controversial healthcare reforms.
Last week, CNN asked Tea Party member Joe Wierzbicki whether the image was racist or satirical.
“(It) says to me that a lot of people in this country are angry about the direction that the administration and Congress are taking us,” he said.
In 2006, PNG demanded a similar apology from Boris Johnson, then a British Conservative MP who is now mayor of London, after he linked the country with “cannibalism and chief-killing”.
—Agencies