One of the perks of diplomatic immunity is being able to ignore the local police most of the time. The non-payment of parking tickets has reached epidemic levels among diplomatic missions assigned to the United Nations in New York. And African nations lead in a newly-published list of offenders, according to AfricaOnline.com.
Egypt and Nigeria top the new "list of shame" published by New York City authorities. The list, of the worst 25 offenders, includes parking tickets going back to 1997, the report said Thursday.
African countries make up 12 of the 25, totaling about $6.5 million in unpaid fines. Egypt has displaced Russia from the top position in the chart, regarded by some as an ironic badge of honor among diplomats amused at New York's frustration with being unable to enforce the fines, said the report.
The problem has been there for long. According to an April 1997 report by CNN.com, New York authorities said that visiting diplomats ticketed disregarded 134,281 summonses the previous year, an 11 percent increase from 1995, and deprived the city of more than $6 million in revenue. – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
