VIPs to be screened at airport

Accra, July 10, GNA - The Ministry of Aviation in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is instituting mechanisms at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) to screen diplomats and their correspondence, as well as other VIPs.

Mr. Ahmed Hassan, Chief of Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced this in answer to a question by Mr. Igor G. Degtyarev, Minister Counsellor of the Russian Embassy, about the legitimacy of such a system in the face of the Vienna Convention of 1961.

This followed a meeting hosted by Mr. Akwasi Osei-Adjei, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and NEPAD to brief members of the diplomatic corps on the outcome of a recent conference on Africa and Ghana's upcoming elections.

Article 27 of the Vienna Convention of 1961 on Diplomatic Correlation prohibited the opening and searching of diplomatic correspondence and packages and the detaining of diplomats at entry points.

But Mr. Hassan explained that the process would be purely automated screening and not physical opening of diplomatic pouches, adding that it was for security reasons.

"This is done in many countries around the world even by airline operators. In these days when illegal substances can be packaged into all kinds of stuff by all kinds of people we need to protect the national interest," he said.

Mr. Hassan assured the diplomats that measures were being put in place at the new VVIP lounge to ensure that the screening process was smooth and quick with very few persons involved to maintain some level of diplomatic privacy.

The screening process would allow security agents to see foreign and illegal substance and nothing else, he added. "We have already sent a circular to the various foreign missions and we are collating responses before we take a position on exactly what the process should entail. But I must say that we have received some positive responses already," he said.

Mr. Osei-Adjei told the diplomats that the government would ensure that the upcoming presidential and parliament elections, scheduled for December 7, 2008 were free and fair and held in a stable and peaceful environment.

He said efforts were underway to ensure that all conflict areas, particularly in the Northern part of the country, were stabilized to ensure that citizens could freely exercise their democratic franchise.

Mr. Osei-Adjei noted that as a sign of the President's commitment to handing over power peacefully, transitional plans were activated earlier in the year with a Special Cabinet Session at Akosombo devoted to discussing smooth transition.

"Democracy is the path we have chosen and it is the path we shall maintain," he said.

The Minister said till date, government had released a total of GHc13,844,130 to the Electoral Commission as part of the GHc42,618,504 required for the 2008 elections.

He said the EC was yet to apply for the remaining GHc28,774,374 adding that government would, on its part, ensure the timely release of the amount.

Mr. Osei-Adjei also briefed the diplomats about the outcome of some regional deliberations including the 34th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of States and Governments of ECOWAS, the 11th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of States and Governments of the African Union and the 19th NEPAD and ninth African Peer Review Summits.

He noted that issues of major concern at all those conferences were those of peace and security in individual states, world food crises, soaring world oil prices, the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and how to facilitate the process of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Africa state.

Mr. Osei-Adjei noted that at all those conferences, African leaders declared their commitment to improve the economic lot of their peoples through the vehicle of integration and called on the international community represented by the members of the diplomatic corps to support Africa in that effort.

"You should understand that Africa's economic development and the survival of democracy on the continent are linked to Africa's unity. If Africa unites it will be in the interest of the global economy," he said.

He said African leaders also used the summits to call on the European Union not to pressurize individual African states into signing the interim EPA ahead of a critical examination of the details of the full EPA.

He said the heads of states charged the African Union Commission to study the EPA critically and report to the AU Assembly before a final decision would be taken. "One High point of the AU Summit was President John Agyekum Kufuor's farewell address to his colleagues since it was his last as President of Ghana. He called on his colleagues to pursue the objectives of achieving a union government and ultimately the United States of Africa," he said. The briefing session was the first of its kind and the Minister assured the diplomats that it would be held regularly.