Papua New Guinea angry with Canada

Published: July 22, 2008 at 9:02 AM

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 22 (UPI) -- Diplomatic relations between Canada and Papua New Guinea are strained after Canada denied entry to eight young dancers on a cultural exchange.

The incident began July 4, when the dancers arrived in Vancouver, British Columbia, on the invitation of the Little Shushwap Indian band, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., reported Tuesday.

After four hours of questioning by border agents, the group was denied entry, as officials said they suspected the dancers intended to overstay their monthlong visit despite their return tickets, the report said.

Malcolm Smith-Kela, a Papua New Guinea legislator who helped organize the trip, told the CBC he was outraged, and his prime minister, Michael Somare, was sending a diplomatic protest to his Canadian counterpart, Stephen Harper.

He said Papua New Guinea was also taking more than just diplomatic measures.

"We will refuse to let Canadian companies come in here or meet with the appropriate people and I know there are a lot of oil licenses pending on that, so it'll cost Canadian companies a lot of money," Smith-Kela said.

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints



Additional News Stories
MLS: Los Angeles 2, Houston 0 (OT) (51 min)
Your Daily Horoscope
The almanac
NBA: Denver 105, LA Lakers 79
NBA: Sacramento 109, Houston 100
COL BKB: Georgetown 74, Tulane 58
NBA: Atlanta 97, Boston 86
fark
Merlot the cat, who went missing 17 months ago when he was less than a year old, has returned home...
Middle school teacher resigns job she held for 22 years, after she's caught stealing small amounts...
But honestly, who amongst us hasn't mistaken a uniformed police officer for a Sonic drive-through...
Creepy weatherman leaves around 100 voicemails to girl he just met. Wonders why she won't call him...
Man charged with battery, grand theft, exhibition of a deadly weapon and a possible hate crime for...
Comic books are doing surprisingly well even when big-boy books are struggling