Diplomatic Briefing
Your exclusive news aggregator handpicked daily!Archive for March 8, 2011
Newsline: Britain upgrades status of Palestinian diplomats
Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague announced the U.K. will upgrade the status of Palestinian representatives in London, ahead of talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Hague is scheduled to meet with Abbas in London on Tuesday and said he would also raise his concern over the lack of progress on resuming talks on the Middle East peace process. He told lawmakers that the Palestinian representation would be recognized as a full diplomatic mission, rather that its previous status as a delegation. The change is largely symbolic and representatives will not have diplomatic immunity or other privileges accorded to those working on behalf of nations Britain recognizes as independent. However, members of the Palestinian mission will have a simplified visa regime. “Given the extent of our aid to the Palestinian Authority and our work with them, we will join many other countries in upgrading the status of the Palestinian delegation to London to the level of a mission,” Hague said. After peace negotiations with Israel broke down last year, the Palestinians have embarked on a campaign to win international recognition for a state in all of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem — territories Israel captured in the 1967 war. So far ten countries have complied, all of them in Latin America. In January, the Irish government announced it would upgrade the Palestinian diplomatic status to that of an official embassy. France and Spain have also made similar gestures.
Newsline: US cop held for stealing from Jamaican diplomat
A United States policeman was taken into custody by his colleagues in Atlanta after he was interdicted for stealing US$2,000 from the purse of a Jamaican diplomat. The policeman, who is now under investigation, is reportedly to have taken the money when the woman, who is employed to a Jamaican government ministry, left her pouch at the airport in Atlanta. According to a report on Fox 5 news, the diplomat in question is now on assignment in Europe. The network said the Atlanta police are now reportedly in discussion with the Clayton County District Attorney to determine if criminal charges will be pursued against the policeman. The diplomat, who left her bag behind, has also reportedly said she is cooperating with this investigation. The report indicates that the diplomat was making her way through Atlanta’s busy airport, near carousel #7 where she picked up her bags and walked out to the curb to be picked up. According to further police reports, she then realised she had left her black pouch on a seat with her passport and US$2,000 cash inside. She returned inside the airport where a passenger explained to her that the pouch had been turned in at the AirTrans counter. The report further indicates that a person at the counter told the diplomat that an Atlanta policeman, identified as Steven Brown, had taken the pouch and planned to turn it in to Lost and Found. On that advice, she reportedly checked with Lost and Found and was told that they had not received the pouch. Moments later, Brown handed her the pouch, saying he had found it in the bathroom. However, after the diplomat checked the pouch, she found her passport but the US$2,000 was gone. The Atlanta Police Department released a statement saying, “Chief Turner believes that no Atlanta police officer is above the law, and should be held accountable for his or her actions.” The report later states that the diplomat had issued a statement saying that the Atlanta police returned the money to her. Brown also reportedly said through a union spokesperson that he is sorry, regretful and embarrassed that the situation occurred.
Newsline: South Korean diplomat to Bolivia fills ‘lost decade’
Kim Hong-rak, the Korean ambassador to Bolivia, was named last year’s “diplomat of the year.” He was recognized for successfully re-establishing ties between the two countries after Korea reopened its embassy there in 2008. The embassy had been one of 14 that the central government closed down to save money after the onset of the Asian financial crisis. The Korean Embassy in Bolivia was one of the five embassies reopened in 2008. The 59-year-old Kim, who recently visited Korea to meet with entrepreneurs and attend meetings with Korean diplomats working abroad, is considered an expert in Spanish and Latin American affairs.
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