Key says sorry for cannibal 'joke'
Source: Agencies |
May 14, 2010, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
NEW Zealand's leader apologized yesterday for joking that he would have been part of the meal had he attended a dinner with a Maori tribe whose history includes cannibalism.
Prime Minister John Key's quip further soured relations with the Tuhoe people that are already strained over their bid to win back ownership of land confiscated 150 years ago.
The Tuhoe have accused Key of betraying an earlier agreement over the land.
Key was at a conference when he made a reference to the dispute and having a meal with a tribe - the iwi - that are Tuhoe's neighbors.
"The good news was that I was having dinner with Ngati Porou as opposed to their neighboring iwi, which is Tuhoe - in which case I would have been the dinner," Key said. Before European settlement, Maori tribes regularly indulged in cannibal feasts to sow fear in their enemies.
"It was a lighthearted joke, a bit of self-deprecating humor," Key said. "But if anyone is offended, then I deeply apologize."
Prime Minister John Key's quip further soured relations with the Tuhoe people that are already strained over their bid to win back ownership of land confiscated 150 years ago.
The Tuhoe have accused Key of betraying an earlier agreement over the land.
Key was at a conference when he made a reference to the dispute and having a meal with a tribe - the iwi - that are Tuhoe's neighbors.
"The good news was that I was having dinner with Ngati Porou as opposed to their neighboring iwi, which is Tuhoe - in which case I would have been the dinner," Key said. Before European settlement, Maori tribes regularly indulged in cannibal feasts to sow fear in their enemies.
"It was a lighthearted joke, a bit of self-deprecating humor," Key said. "But if anyone is offended, then I deeply apologize."
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