Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Some CHF8 million in Swiss bank accounts must be released to the family of former Congo (Zaire) leader Mobutu Sese Seko, the Swiss penal court in Bellinzona, Ticino has ruled. The accounts were ordered to be frozen by the Swiss government and on request from the new government of the DR Congo after Mobutu’s death in 1997, the only money from illegal sources that could be traced. Mobutu, who ruled as a dictator for 32 years, was famous for his expensive lifestyle, which contrasted sharply with the extreme poverty of his country.
Micheline Calmy-Rey, who was then president of Switzerland, met with DR Congo leader Joseph Kabila in July 2007 and asked him to apply for the return of the money before the statute of limitations ran out, but Kabila was reported at the time to be disappointed at the size of the amount and action was not taken immediately.
Collombey, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The large Tamoil refinery in Collombey, canton Valais, announced Wednesday 10 June that it is closing. Police from the cantons of Valais and Vaud had raided the offices of the refinery 9 June, citing repeated violations of environmental laws.
Libyan-owned Tamoil is one of Switzerland’s major providers of crude oil, importing 2.5 million tons, or 20% of Switzerland’s needs, according to federal government figures in 2008. Oil imports from Libya were halted for several weeks following the July 2008 arrest of Hannibal Qaddafi, the Libyan leader’s son, in Geneva. Relations between the two countries have been tense since then, with two Swiss engineers held in Tripoli, Libya for nearly a year, despite diplomatic efforts that include a visit by Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey in May 2009.
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. Read more…
Updated 22 April 08:00 Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey told the Durban Review Conference in Geneva Tuesday that host country Switzerland is “pleased” that the conference was able to adopt unanimously a document that insists on “freedom of expression and the rights of women, that recalls the Holocaust – a tragedy from the past that must serve as a lesson for the future – and that rejects slavery and colonialism.” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon also praised the decision, saying it would give hope to millions, and asking countries that had walked out of the conference to rejoin the group.
Bern, Switzerland and Washington, DC, USA (GenevaLunch) – US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner Monday said that Switzerland and the US would begin 28 April to renegotiate their 1996 tax treaty. The announcement was made as part of a list of US actions that will follow the G20 summit in London in early April. Switzerland, for its part, is making it clear that a new treaty with the US is a top priority. Pre-negotiation talks have apparently been underway since the end of March, as part of Switzerland’s move to begin renegotiating treaties with several countries.
Wittfoht architects' sketch for WTO extension
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The World Trade Organization (WTO) is to have an improved and larger home in its present location, and pedestrians who like to stroll along the lakefront, or fans of the nearby William Rappard Park need not fear: the lakefront will remain open and none of the magnificent old trees will be cut down. Plans for the extension were unveiled officially Monday March 23 by the city, canton and federal government, who are all participating in the CHF130 million project.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – “We are ready to study ways to widen the scope of mutual cooperation” in the matter of fiscal fraud, Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey told US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a Friday evening meeting in Geneva. High on the list of topics the two leaders covered was Switzerland’s new role, which went into effect 5 March, of providing interest sections to Georgia and Russia, representing the interests of each with the other.
