I didn't know the GOP had chapter in Papua New Guinea On Jan 8, 6:37 am, Florida Cracker <[email protected]> wrote: > Woman suspected of witchcraft burned > alivehttp://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/01/08/png.witchcraft/index.html... > (CNN) -- A woman in rural Papua New Guinea was bound and gagged, tied > to a log and set ablaze on a pile of tires this week, possibly because > villagers suspected her of being a witch, police said Thursday. > > Her death adds to a growing list of men and women who have been > accused of sorcery and then tortured or killed in the South Pacific > island nation, where traditional beliefs hold sway in many regions. > > The victims are often scapegoats for someone else's unexplained death > -- and bands of tribesmen collude to mete out justice to them for > their supposed magical powers, police said. > > "We have had quite difficulties in a number of previous incidents > convincing people to come forward with information," said Simon Kauba, > assistant commissioner of police and commander of the Highlands > region, where the killing occurred. > > "We are trying to persuade them to help. Somebody lost their mother or > daughter or sister Tuesday morning." > > Early Tuesday morning, a group of people dragged the woman, believed > to be in her late teens to early 20s, to a dumping ground outside the > city of Mount Hagen. They stripped her naked, bound her hands and > legs, stuffed a cloth in her mouth, tied her to a log and set her on > fire, Mauba said. > > "When the people living nearby went to the dump site to investigate > what caused the fire, they found a human being burning in the flames," > he said. "It was ugly." > > The country's Post-Courier newspaper reported Thursday that more than > 50 people were killed in two Highlands provinces last year for > allegedly practicing sorcery. > > In a well-publicized case last year, a pregnant woman gave birth to a > baby girl while struggling to free herself from a tree. Villagers had > dragged the woman from her house and hung her from the tree, accusing > her of sorcery after her neighbor suddenly died. > > She and the baby survived, according to media reports. > > Killings of witches, or sangumas, is not a new phenomenon in rural > areas of the country. > > Emory University anthropology Professor Bruce Knauft, who lived in a > village in the western province of Papua New Guinea in the early > 1980s, traced family histories for 42 years and found that 1 in 3 > adult deaths were homicides -- "the bulk of these being collective > killings of suspected sorcerers," he wrote in his book, From Primitive > to Postcolonial in Melanesia and Anthropology. > > In recent years, as AIDS has taken a toll in the nation of 6.7 million > people, villagers have blamed suspected witches -- and not the virus > -- for the deaths. > > According to the United Nations, Papua New Guinea accounts for 90 > percent of the Pacific region's HIV cases and is one of four Asia- > Pacific countries with an epidemic. > > "We've had a number of cases where people were killed because they > were accused of spreading HIV or AIDS," Mauba said. > > While there is plenty of speculation why Tuesday's victim was killed, > police said they are focused more on who committed the crime. > > "If it is phobias about alleged HIV/AIDS or claims of a sexual affair, > we must urge the police and judiciary to throw the book at the > offenders," the Post-Courier wrote in an editorial. > > "There are remedies far, far better than to torture and immolate a > young woman before she can be judged by a lawful system." > Woman suspected of witchcraft burned > alivehttp://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/01/08/png.witchcraft/index.html... > (CNN) -- A woman in rural Papua New Guinea was bound and gagged, tied > to a log and set ablaze on a pile of tires this week, possibly because > villagers suspected her of being a witch, police said Thursday. > > Her death adds to a growing list of men and women who have been > accused of sorcery and then tortured or killed in the South Pacific > island nation, where traditional beliefs hold sway in many regions. > > The victims are often scapegoats for someone else's unexplained death > -- and bands of tribesmen collude to mete out justice to them for > their supposed magical powers, police said. > > "We have had quite difficulties in a number of previous incidents > convincing people to come forward with information," said Simon Kauba, > assistant commissioner of police and commander of the Highlands > region, where the killing occurred. > > "We are trying to persuade them to help. Somebody lost their mother or > daughter or sister Tuesday morning." > > Early Tuesday morning, a group of people dragged the woman, believed > to be in her late teens to early 20s, to a dumping ground outside the > city of Mount Hagen. They stripped her naked, bound her hands and > legs, stuffed a cloth in her mouth, tied her to a log and set her on > fire, Mauba said. > > "When the people living nearby went to the dump site to investigate > what caused the fire, they found a human being burning in the flames," > he said. "It was ugly." > > The country's Post-Courier newspaper reported Thursday that more than > 50 people were killed in two Highlands provinces last year for > allegedly practicing sorcery. > > In a well-publicized case last year, a pregnant woman gave birth to a > baby girl while struggling to free herself from a tree. Villagers had > dragged the woman from her house and hung her from the tree, accusing > her of sorcery after her neighbor suddenly died. > > She and the baby survived, according to media reports. > > Killings of witches, or sangumas, is not a new phenomenon in rural > areas of the country. > > Emory University anthropology Professor Bruce Knauft, who lived in a > village in the western province of Papua New Guinea in the early > 1980s, traced family histories for 42 years and found that 1 in 3 > adult deaths were homicides -- "the bulk of these being collective > killings of suspected sorcerers," he wrote in his book, From Primitive > to Postcolonial in Melanesia and Anthropology. > > In recent years, as AIDS has taken a toll in the nation of 6.7 million > people, villagers have blamed suspected witches -- and not the virus > -- for the deaths. > > According to the United Nations, Papua New Guinea accounts for 90 > percent of the Pacific region's HIV cases and is one of four Asia- > Pacific countries with an epidemic. > > "We've had a number of cases where people were killed because they > were accused of spreading HIV or AIDS," Mauba said. > > While there is plenty of speculation why Tuesday's victim was killed, > police said they are focused more on who committed the crime. > > "If it is phobias about alleged HIV/AIDS or claims of a sexual affair, > we must urge the police and judiciary to throw the book at the > offenders," the Post-Courier wrote in an editorial. > > "There are remedies far, far better than to torture and immolate a > young woman before she can be judged by a lawful system." --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
