American Lutheran missionaries in Washington DC have been refused entry into the country.
Enga Governor, Sir Peter Ipatas, said such decisions on missionaries is not good for the country as they have served and contributed a lot in terms of education and health.
Governor Ipatas called on the Minister for Immigration, Petrus Thomas, to look into this issue and investigate the reasons of their refusal to entry.
He added that missionaries are not criminals and must be treated differently.
“How can you treat missionaries like these as they are here to help with the country’s development?
“We must not forget that we are a Christian country and must accord the missionaries well at all times.”
Minister Thomas in response agreed with Governor Ipatas and assure the Parliament that these missionaries will be granted entry into the country soon.
However, Thomas has also raised concerns that most times missionaries always refuse to comply with the law of the land which leads to their deportation.
“When we tell them to go, they must be willing to go back and re-lodge their documents again to be processed,” says Thomas.