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
Study shows no change in FDA approval time (11 min)
Cut greenhouse gases = Saving lives (26 min)
Peptide-mineral interaction images created (53 min)
U.S. markets edge higher Wednesday morning (59 min)
German skater's doping ban upheld
Linguist: 'Most' means 80 to 95 percent
Invasive Asian carp spread in Great Lakes
fark
Obvious tag doesn't come even close: "Thanksgiving gatherings could spread swine flu"
Two arrested for threatening YouTube rap, are sentenced to read 80,000 barely literate YouTube comments...
Another reason China is kicking our ass: Push button boob jobs with instant D-liscious results
"It often is reported that 46 million turkeys will be eaten on Thanksgiving, and that it is the...
It's not quite Thanksgiving yet, but the Christmas trees are already trying to kill us all
You claim the government owes you $200 million. Do you c) rent a van, hang a "My $200 Million Dollars"...