Indian ambassador patted down at Jackson airport

The recent Transportation Security Administration pat-down of a foreign diplomat at Jackson-Evers International Airport has upset state hosts and elected officials.
Meera Shankar, Indian ambassador to the United States, was in Jackson last weekend as a guest of the Janos Radvanyi, international security studies chair at Mississippi State University.
But her departure is what has many concerned.
New TSA regulations went into effect Nov. 1 allowing federal security officers at airports to switch to more thorough - but often controversial - "pat-downs" for passengers who require hand searches.
Shankar presented her diplomatic papers to officers and was escorted by an MDA representative and an airport security officer, but witnesses said she was subjected to the hands-on search.
"The way they pat them down - it was so humiliating," said Tan Tsai, a research associate at MSU's International Security Studies center who witnessed the screening. "Anybody who passed by could see it."
Gov. Haley Barbour's spokesman Dan Turner said the governor's office is looking into the incident.
"At this time, we're trying to find out exactly what happened - all of the details," Turner said.
Until the office has done a complete review, Turner said it would be inappropriate to comment on what action may be taken.
The new guidelines do not expressly exempt foreign dignitaries but allow for discretion on the part of TSA officers.
Radvanyi also witnessed Shankar's search.
"I know authorities have established stricter rules for the holiday season, but I don't understand why she was singled out," he said.
Tsai said the ambassador was the only person in a group of at least 30 passengers to be pulled aside.
Nationally, less than 3 percent of passengers receive a pat-down, according to the TSA.
Those who witnessed the ambassador's screening said officers told her that she was singled out because of the way she was dressed. Shankar was wearing a sari - a traditional Indian robe that is draped across the body.
The TSA has guidelines that allow additional screenings when passengers are wearing "bulky" clothing.
"This passenger was screened in accordance with TSA security procedures," TSA spokesman Jon Allen said in an e-mail Tuesday.
08/12/19 Elizabeth Crisp/Clarionledger.com

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Airports Dec 2010, Foreign Dec 2010