Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - A possible thaw in frosty relations between Bern and Tripoli may be in the offing, several observers have been telling Swiss media. Tensions rose between Switzerland and Libya in 2008 when the son of Muammar Qaddafi, Libya’s leader, was arrested in Geneva along with his wife for abusing a member of their staff while they were staying at the Hotel President Wilson.
Geneva sociologist and politician Jean Ziegler, who has had close contact for several years with Qadaffi, told the Tribune de Genève 3 June that there are indications an arbitration committee might be reactivated.
A committee composed of diplomats and lawyers from the two countries met seven times in the autumn of 2008, according to the Tribune, to deal with their differences.
Micheline Calmy-Rey, Switzerland’s foreign minister, visited Tripoli 27-29 May. She accompanied the wives of the two Swiss who have been involuntary guests in Tripoli since 19 July 2008. The Swiss media reaction this week has been prompted by speculation about the success of the trip.
Radio Suisse Romande (RSR) quotes Ziegler as saying that the Libyan government certainly viewed Calmy-Rey’s visit as “courageous.” Le Temps points to the positive effect of Libya’s former foreign minister having been replaced by someone very close to Qaddafi. The Tribune and its sister paper 24 Heures in Lausanne cite Charles Poncet, a Geneva lawyer an international arbitration specialist who represents Libya’s interests in Switzerland, as saying that he believes a negotiated settlement is closer.
At issue is the refusal of Libya to let the two Swiss men, who had been working there, leave the country, as well as a civil suit by Libya against canton Geneva, which is pending. The suit stems from the incident 15 July 2008 when Hannibal Qadaffi, the son of Muammar, was arrested or maltreating his domestic servants. Released on bail, the case against him and his wife was eventually dropped. Libya then brought charges against the canton of Geneva in a civil case worth CHF500,000.
Background: “Geneva demonstration for Swiss hostages in Libya goes ahead“, 17 April 2009, GenevaLunch
This work by genevalunch.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported.
News story, GenevaLunch, 4 June 2009.
Filed under: Politics
Tags: Charles Poncet, Hannibal, hostages, Jean Ziegler, Libya, Micheline Calmy-Rey, Swiss news, Tripoli
June 11th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
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