The Vanuatu Christian Council has condemned the hanging of two suspected sorcerers on the island of Akaham in South Malekula.
The general secretary of the Council, Shem Temar, told Radio Australia International that pastors are supposed to promote Christian values which includes respect for human life.
He said more information was needed before he could comment on the actions of any individual pastor who may have had a part in the hanging of two men suspected of sorcery in Akaham.
Vanuatu Christian Council (VCC) is a non-governmental organisation. It is made up of seven member churches: Presbyterian, Catholic, Church of Christ, Apostolic, Anglican, Assemblies of God, and the Seventh Day Adventist.
A Vanuatu politician, Willie Jimmy, is calling for witchcraft to be a crime punishable by death.
He says that Melanesian people regard black magic as very real, and people who practice it should get the death penalty.
In Papua New Guinea, Cassaundra Rangip, co-founder and secretary of NGO Leniata Legacy, says it’s a worry that this sort of murder has spread from PNG to another Melanesian country.
Leniata Legacy is an NGO that was set up in memory of Kepari Leniata who was murdered by a mob in PNG.
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