Attempts are made to take Vjosa Osman's phone at Skopje Airport. From allegations to reactions, everything you need to know about the incident
2024-08-03 09:44:10
TiranaPost
An incident involving the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, took place at Skopje Airport.
The Kosovar presidency announced that an attempt was made to take Osman's personal phone by a member of the Skopje Airport security, in violation of international practices and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Through a long reaction, the Presidency of Kosovo said on August 2 that instead of apologizing, the Macedonian MIA "fully justified the request of the airport security to take and scan the personal phone of the President of Kosovo , which is used by the head of state for official communications on national security issues.
On the other hand, the Macedonian Ministry of Internal Affairs has stated that on August 1, while Osmani was going through the border control, when he was asked to put down his phone and go through the scanner, "a person from her security pulled the employee to TAV, in order for her to pass without a scanned phone and hand luggage".
The Presidency has made the dynamics of the created situation and adds that the authorities of Skopje must treat this event seriously and take measures against the persons responsible.
"In fact, today Skopje Airport, as well as the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Macedonia itself, admitted that the order was given by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of North Macedonia for such a control, which completely contradicts the rules of treatment of heads of state according to practices diplomatic", it was said in the reaction of the Kosovo Presidency.
The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, among other things, protects the diplomatic status, privileges and immunity of heads of state and members of their staff in the territory of other states. In this convention, when talking about travel, it is said that persons who have diplomatic status, and their staff, should be allowed free movement.
The presidency said it is "scandalous" to claim that Osmani had "something suspicious in her bag".
"Not only is it a big untruth, but this is simultaneously the most serious accusation and the most serious propaganda ever made by the media in North Macedonia towards the Republic of Kosovo. Even more scandalous is today's statement of the Ministry of Internal Affairs that the interior minister of North Macedonia had some information, which led to the request to check the personal bag and the phone of the president", it was said in the reaction.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora said that it has submitted a note of protest to the Macedonian authorities, asking for a full explanation of this event.
Also, the Kosovar chief diplomat, Donika Gërvalla, on the evening of August 1, called the Macedonian ambassador to Kosovo for an explanatory conversation.
The Macedonian side said a day ago that it has started the investigation of this case. The Ministry of the Interior of North Macedonia stated that after Osmani passed the border control, "a person from the security of the Speaker of the Assembly, Afrim Gashi, [policeman] came with two other people [policemen] and started threatening the airport workers and asking who has caused problems for the president".
On August 1, the Kosovar Presidency said that it had informed Speaker Afrim Gashi about the incident, thanking him for his help.
Gashi, on August 2, clarified that he intervened only to "avoid a diplomatic incident".
However, he added that if anyone exceeded the authorizations, they should be held accountable.
From the TAV company, they said that the security department, as part of its responsibilities, has carried out a standard security check.
However, the Kosovar Presidency said that international practices for heads of state should also be respected by private companies that manage airports, as he said, it also happens at Pristina Airport.
Representatives of the Albanian parties in North Macedonia also reacted to the incident of August 1. The Democratic Union for Integration and the Alliance for Albanians have condemned the case.
Kosovo and North Macedonia have diplomatic relations and so far there have been no incidents of this nature.
