Indian Defence Review

We must look for some other dignified solution in consultation with the US State Department.

Public outrage in India over the US humiliation to Indian diplomats has led to demands for a tit-for-tat policy. This could become counter-productive and lead to a messy situation. Presently, the instructions to our Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which is responsible for airport security, is to treat all foreign diplomats—junior or senior– and visiting foreign dignitaries with courtesy. As a result, India enjoys the reputation of treating foreign  diplomats and dignitaries with the courtesies they are entitled to under the Vienna Convention. If we make an exception in the case of US diplomats and authorise the CISF to subject them to body searches under the rule of reciprocity of treatment, we may find it difficult to control the CISF if they adopt these procedures in the case of diplomats of other countries too.

We must look for some other dignified solution in consultation with the US State Department. One understands that in London’s Heathrow Airport if diplomats book the VIP lounge in advance and proceed to the aircraft directly from the lounge accompanied by a representative of the airline, they are not searched. However, if they arrive late and proceed directly to the aircraft from their car, they have to go through normal security procedures. Something on these lines could be worked out. A posting on this from a Heathrow web site is also attached.

ANNEXURE I

The Israeli Incident —Published 13.04.07

PMO vows changes after diplomat is strip-searched

Far-reaching changes have been promised at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to prevent a repeat of the incident where the deputy British ambassador was strip-searched by security officers on her way to a pre-arranged meeting at the PMO last month. — By Charlotte Halle

Far-reaching changes have been promised at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to prevent a repeat of the incident where the deputy British ambassador was strip-searched by security officers on her way to a pre-arranged meeting at the PMO last month.

The incident incensed not only diplomats at the British embassy in Tel Aviv. Israeli Foreign Ministry officials, who issued a formal apology following the incident, are said to be livid that their ongoing efforts to strengthen bilateral ties could be undermined by what they regard as overly rigorous and crudely handled security checks on diplomats. One diplomatic source suggested the Foreign Ministry leaked the story to the media in an effort to pressure the PMO into making sweeping changes to security procedures following the incident.

British Deputy Head of Mission and Consul General Janet Rogan was subjected to what the British embassy called an “intrusive security check” while accompanying a delegation of British treasury officials to a meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s chief of staff, Yoram Turbowicz, and senior policy advisor, Shalom Turgeman. PMO spokeswoman Miri Eisin said the inquiry into the incident had resulted in changes to procedures to accommodate the “special status of diplomats” when entering the PMO. A PMO insider told Anglo File these changes would be “drastic.” Rogan’s complaint also resulted in a formal apology from the PMO for the “indignity” of the incident.

While no one at the Foreign Ministry disputes the gravity of the task facing the Shin Bet security service at the PMO, ministry officials are frustrated that junior officers appear not to understand the importance of treating foreign diplomats sensitively or appreciate the system of diplomatic rankings. “They didn’t understand, or even know, that such a senior diplomat – who serves as charge d’affaires – should not be physically checked at all,” said one ministry source.

The incident, considered particularly embarrassing for Israel due to its wide coverage in the British and American press, did not surprise seasoned Israeli diplomats. One former Israeli ambassador described incidents during his tenure at the Foreign Ministry involving diplomats and foreign officials at the highest levels who were invited to Israel on official missions and yet endured lengthy security checks here that left them “furious.”

“We always complained and it never made any difference,” said the former ambassador, adding that even the intervention of senior politicians on the issue appeared ineffectual. He referred to the wife of a former European premier who possessed a diplomatic passport and vowed never to set foot again in Israel after her “humiliating” interrogation before flying out of Ben-Gurion airport despite an otherwise thrilling visit here. That episode reached the ears of then prime minister Yitzhak Rabin who ordered his staff to remedy the system. “Nothing came of it. Do you really think the prime minister can work against habits [entrenched] in this system? You have to go right to the top of the security system,” added the former ambassador. “I really don’t know why these things happen when everything is coordinated in advance. It’s astonishing. It must be someone very stupid at a low level.”

Others are reluctant to blame underlings in the security system. “It’s too easy to put the blame on the shoulders of young men. Those who invite the guests are responsible for preventing these kinds of problems,” said one Foreign Ministry source. But with reports circulating that the prime minister has on occasion left his office to greet high-ranking guests and ease their entry through security, this solution seems far from satisfactory.

No one familiar with the topic views the current situation or the Rogan incident as a sign of deterioration in the treatment of VIPs in Israel, but rather an indication of inherent flaws in the implementation of Israel’s security systems.

A cursory survey of foreign embassies conducted this week by Anglo File found several missions whose staff has experienced at most only minor problems while passing through security. One European diplomat related that his foreign minister’s visit to the PMO last year went “totally smoothly.” The Czech embassy stated its staff had experienced almost no security-related problems. “If there are some difficulties we understand the security reasons are more important than small problems,” said press attache Robert Rehak. One senior European diplomat pointed out that while diplomats working from his embassy in Tel Aviv experienced only minor problems, those based in his country’s consulate in Jerusalem who make frequent trips to Gaza are subject to much closer scrutiny when inside Israel.