Geneva, Switzerland (Le Temps, Fre) – Geneva has approved a permit for a demonstration at the Place des Nations in support of two Swiss men being held in Libya. It will take place 23 April, when the Durban review conference on racism will be in full swing in Geneva. The organizer, Stephane Valent, a right-wing UDC representative for the commune of Vernier, says that Libya’s refusal to allow the two men to leave the country is racist.
“It’s not an anti-Qaddafi or anti-Libya demonstration, but a show of support for two Swiss hostages who are being held arbitrarily,” says Valent, who is calling for demonstrators to remain respectfully silent.
The two men, who were working in Libya at the time of the arrest of Hannibal and Aline Qaddafi in Geneva in July 2008, have now been held for 263 days at the Swiss embassy in Tripoli.
Related: Letter to The Tribune de Geneve from Stephan Valent, Fre
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News story, GenevaLunch, 17 April 2009.
Filed under: Politics
Tags: Democrats Abroad, demonstration, Durban II, hostages, Kadhafi, Libya, Politics, Stephane Valent, Tripoli