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Something odious here - Airport security means harassment in the US



 
 
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Old April 15th, 2012, 10:43 PM posted to soc.culture.indian,alt.fan.jai-maharaj,alt.politics,soc.culture.usa,rec.travel.misc
Dr. Jai Maharaj[_2_]
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Default 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

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