Skopje Airport reacts again to the President's case: Ministry requested standard control, only official guests are exceptions

Skopje Airport has come up with another reaction to the incident involving Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani. TAV, the company that manages this airport, has said that there are no accusations that their employee has attempted to get Osman's phone..

From this company they say they have respected the rules, or that the Ministry of Internal Affairs has instructed the delegation to undergo standard control at the airport. In response, all passengers, cabin luggage, and personal items traveling on a commercial flight are reportedly subject to security control, Express reports.

Exceptive guests.

We flatly dismiss accusations that our employee from the security department tried to get the phone. The phone is required to submit to mandatory security control through the rentgen device. Based on ECAC's 30th Document (Doc.30) and the National Civil Aviation Security Programme, all passengers, cabin luggage and personal items travelling on a commercial flight, such as in this case, are subject to security control. If we're not harmonised with these rules, the flight pilot will refuse to board a passenger plane. The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations rules out security control only the official guests of the Republic of Northern Macedonia government and the airport operator receive official reports of such exceptions from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The instructions our Department of Security received from the Department for the Protection of Some Persons and Objects clearly state that members of the delegation should undergo a standard security check in accordance with specific procedures”, says TAV's full announcement.

Bekim Kupina, Media Adviser at the presidency, has declared Gazeta Express that the security of Skopje Airport has tried to get the president's personal phone, which Osman has not allowed.

According to Kupina, security has later physically attempted to push off the president and then have reacted to Kosovo police to pave the way.

We oppose international practices and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the security of Skopje Airport has attempted to get the president's personal phone. The president has not allowed such a thing, because it would be a serious offense. Despite explaining the rules that the President's team has revealed to the airport official, he has physically attempted to push the President by cʹrast has been forced to react to the Kosovo Police to open the way to”, Cupina said.

However, the Macedonian side has taken the president's personal hand bag.

This behaviour of the Macedonian airport official is contrary to any international practice, under which when state leaders travel, they are protected with diplomatic privileges and immunity. Contrary to these rules, the Macedonian side has taken the president's personal hand bag. Although this was against the rules, the President's team has allowed the president to enter the airport, namely, in the VIP hall, which was reserved with verbal marks of our Embassy, such as the practice of traveling heads of state. However, because of security, it was by no means allowed to turn in personal phone”, Cupina said.

Kupina said the security behaviour was unprecedented and there was nowhere else happening to President Osmani, except at Skopje Airport.

The arrogant and violent manner of Skopje Airport official is unprecedented and has never occurred on a trip to the president anywhere in the world, including in non-recognitional states. Clearly, in the case in question there was a tendency to provoke the delegation of the Republic of Kosovo and cause incident”.

He said the president has announced this diplomatic scandal caused by the Macedonian side by Parliament Speaker Africa Gashi, “, which he thanks for the assistance offered”.

Later, the president's cabinet has had to contact Slovenia because Skopje Airport has declared it has not allowed the commercial aircraft to leave for more than an hour, with the pretext that the Slovenian state is not allowing the launch. But that was denied by Slovenians.

“Ven is noted that after the President's entry into the plane, Skopje Airport has not allowed the commercial aircraft to leave for more than an hour, with the pretext that the Slovenian state is not allowing the launch, because it would not be ready for landing. The President's cabinet has contacted the Slovenian side who informed us that this absolutely is not true and that the plane could land at the scheduled time. The presidency considers any assault and irregular treatment in opposition to international conventions of top state officials as attacking the state of Kosovo itself. The Republic of Kosovo, never in its history, has dealt with President/Presidentship, Prime Minister or Ministers of Northern Macedonia, nor of any other country, nor will it ever allow such a thing”, Cupine told Gazeta Express.

In the case, the Northern Macedonia Interior Ministry was declared. They say one of President's security members has intervened in order for her to pass without a scanned telephone and hand luggage.

In response, one person from Gashi's security and two police officers has also reportedly begun threatening TAV workers.

“Today (01.08.24) around 10:00 at Skopje International Airport, as Kosovo's president was crossing border control, the moment she was asked to pass her phone through the scanner, a person from her security has left TAV's employee in order to pass it without a blank phone and hand luggage. But then the trunk turned and went through a scanner. After half an hour, a person came from the security of Parliament Speaker Gashi (cop) with two other people (cops) and began threatening TAV workers and asking who caused the problem to the president. At the same time, he also pushed a police officer working at the border. The Department for Internal Control, Criminal Investigations and Professional Standards has immediately been announced and measures are being taken to clarify the case in co-ordination with the PTHP for the QKK, after which the respective paraonents” will be handed over, said at Macedonia's MPB announcement.

The cabinet of the North Macedonian Parliament Speaker, Africa Gashi, has denied involvement of members of his personal security in the incident.

Their announcement said members of the Chief Parliamentary Gashi security team have only been present to calm the situation created by a misunderstanding between the security of Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani and airport security members.

“The personnel of the security of Chief Parliamentary Gashi, who are employed in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, have intervened to calm the situation and instruct their colleagues on security procedures during the visit of V persons. IP.

In this case we point out that any reporting that suggests the opposite is biased”, the report says.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora has reacted to the incident and to the president's undignified treatment.

MPJD has said that through the Kosovo Embassy in Skopje, it has started collecting information and that early in the evening it has requested official clarification from the North Macedonia Embassy in Pristina and the Northern Macedonia Foreign Affairs Ministry.

“MPJD will keep the public informed of further actions, clarifying this situation and ensuring that such incidents do not occur in the future in relation to our heads of state”, it was said in response.