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Something odious here - Airport security means harassment in the US
Something odious here
Editorial The Pioneer http://www.dailypioneer.com Monday, April 16, 2012 Airport security means harassment in the US Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan may have made light about his detention at the Westchester County Airport in White Plains, New York, where he arrived from Mumbai last Friday, but there is nothing funny about such incidents which often border on harassment. In some instances, they are also a breach of protocol. In the case of Khan, this is the second time that he has been detained by US airport authorities — he had been held back similarly for interrogation in 2009 at Newark Airport in New Jersey. At that time, airport authorities had apologised for the ‘inconvenience’ and had promised to update their notorious ‘terrorist watch list’ accordingly. Friday’s incident, that saw Khan being pulled out of line and held up for two hours, only proves the hollowness of those words. And Khan by no means is the only one to have been singled out, ostensibly for his race and religion. In 2009, John Abraham was detained by the FBI at a New York airport for having previously visited Afghanistan; in 2008 director Kabir Khan was held back thrice at US airports; and in 2002, Aamir Khan was strip-searched at a Chicago airport. Other actors like Irrfan Khan and Mammootty (the name on his passport reads Mohammad Kutty Ismail Paniparambil) have also been subjected to similar treatment. Outside the film industry, the list only gets longer and much more embarrassing, and includes corporate honchos and high-ranking politicians from Wipro chief Azim Premji to former Union Minister for Defence George Fernandes. More recently, in December 2010 former Indian Ambassador to the US Meera Shankar was patted down at a Mississippi airport because she was wearing a saree. Days later, India’s representative to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri had his turban subject to a pat down at Houston airport. The worst, however, came in September 2011, when former President APJ Abdul Kalam was frisked twice at JFK airport in New York. All the above dignitaries have diplomatic privileges that exempt them from going through airport security. By still putting them through the process and then pulling them out for further scrutiny, the US is in violation of international diplomatic protocol. Of course, US authorities have apologised for this grievous lapse on their part, but now it is clear that the Americans are getting away too often. Against this backdrop, Union Minister for External Affairs SM Krishna is absolutely right to point out that the US Customs and Border Protection authorities’ apology — profound or otherwise — that came following the latest Shah Rukh Khan fiasco is “mechanical” in nature. Hauling up dignitaries, embarrassing them at airports and then apologising for the same has become a matter of routine in the US. Nobody can dispute that security mechanisms have to be stringent, but what’s the logic in subjecting known personalities to humiliation in the name of security? It’s good that Mr Krishna has also done well to take up the matter at the highest diplomatic level — he has already asked India’s Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao to draw Washington, DC’s attention to the issue while the American mission in New Delhi has also been notified. Though what good that will do, remains to be seen. Perhaps the US is getting so paranoid that it has decided to target people with certain names or looks. That’s racial profiling for sure. More at: http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnis...ious-here.html Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi Om Shanti o o o About the terrorist Goon Squad: "Myself, Mallu. Yourself?" (V. Bhattathiri) tries his best to be a bully -- telling others what and when to post, where to post and where not to post, deliberately publishing lies about others, stalking and abusing them with hate speech -- but fails miserably. He is really stressed out, and like his lap dog Prem Thomas (who currently posts as "P. Rajah" , and issues *death threats* to people), is priming himself for conditions such as stroke and heart disease. Others in the Goon Squad include Dayashankar M. Joshi "DMJoshi" who displays unquestioning obedience to Goon Squad thugs, and the instigator who posts as "Bholu" The Goon Squad currently posts most of their abuse through eternal-september.org and by writing someone else's name or handle in the "From:" header -- their favorite now is " (note the extra "b" and "gmail.com") to make it appear as if the posts are from ", who has been a regular poster for many years. -Updated on February 2, 2012- o o o o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works. o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read, considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number. o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are not necessarily those of the poster who may or may not have read the article. FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. 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