Juba Airport officers accused of harassing Indian Ambassador

Juba: A number of unidentified Security and Customs Officers deployed at Juba International Airport have been accused of harassing a senior diplomat on Thursday.
Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Gabriel Changson Chang, told the press on Friday that about six Customs or Security Officers involved in dramatic embarrassing situation on Thursday when they demanded to inspect the baggage of the Indian Ambassador to Sudan, Deepak Vohra, and tried to block him from boarding a plane to Khartoum if he did not pay them some money in bribery.
The incident which ended peacefully after some other interventions forced the Indian Consul General in Juba to present a complaint to the Government of Southern Sudan through the Ministry of Regional Cooperation after informing the Ministry about the incident.
The Government of Southern Sudan’s cabinet after being briefed on Friday by the Minister of Regional Cooperation, Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin, on the incident immediately resolved to direct the Minister of Internal Affairs to take some immediate measures that included identifying the culprits who involved in the incident, investigate and prosecute them.
The incident disappointed the Government which described it as “embarrassing.”
In his narration to the Council of Ministers meeting chaired by the Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, the GoSS Regional Cooperation Minister told the cabinet that the incident started when the Indian Consul General in Juba went to the Airport on Thursday morning to check-in the baggage of the Ambassador who was traveling to Khartoum. He said four security or customs officers emerged and asked the diplomat to open the baggage for inspection.
Marial explained that it happened despite the fact that the baggage which consisted of four packages were clearly labeled as “Embassy of India Khartoum” which unfortunately the Officers did not respect.
He further explained that the diplomat tried to explain to the Officers that it was not necessary to search the baggage since the Ambassador had privileges and immunities that exempt him from such searches, but they still insisted on opening the baggage.
Under the international Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the baggage of the Head of Diplomatic Mission is exempt from Customs searches.
The incident was resolved after intervention by another senior officer from the Security Detachment at the Arrival Section who immediately authorized check-in of the Ambassador’s baggage without inspection.
Unfortunately, the matter did not end there. When the Ambassador, Deepak Vohra himself arrived at the Airport and went to the VIP lounge, two other personnel in plain clothes who were not present among the first four officers accosted him in the lounge and told him rudely that they would open his baggage unless he produced the relevant “documents” or gave them money.
“When the Ambassador politely asked what documents were needed, they were unable to answer. In order to avoid an unpleasant situation, Ambassador Vohra offered to travel without his baggage. As he was on his way to the aircraft, the two officers rudely tried to block his way, but seeing other passengers looking at them, they moved away,” lamented the Minister.
“When the Ambassador’s diplomatic passport and Identity Card were shown to them, they shouted, “We don’t care throw the passport away,” he added.
The cabinet discussions on the incident also recalled other similar unpleasant incidences involving not only diplomats but also senior GoSS officials at the Airport.
19/01/09 James Gatdet Dak/Sudan Tribune, Sudan

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Categories: Airports Jan 2009, Foreign Jan 2009