Libya vs. Switzerland: is a happy ending in sight? Muammar Gaddafi is the most powerful man in Libya--and he has taken a very strong dislike to Switzerland. The souring of relations between the two countries eventually developed into a major diplomatic crisis; however, the mid-June release of Swiss citizen Max Goldi, imprisoned in Libya for almost two years, could prove the catalyst for renewed relations....
| Auteur | Gallinelli, Sven |
Switzerland may be a neutral country, but this hasn't stopped Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, from repeatedly calling for its destruction. He even has a pretty good idea how the endeavour should be managed: split up Switzerland according to regional language groups and allocate these to neighbouring countries. This way, Ticino would become a region of Italy; the Suisse Romande would belong to France and the German-speaking community would have to integrate into Germany.
This is just one of many ideas from the Gaddafi clan for demolishing their unlikely Helvetic foes. Gaddafi's son Hannibal has even said, "If I had a nuclear bomb, I would erase Switzerland from the map".
These two rather unorthodox "solutions" indicate that relations have been far from good between Switzerland and the North African dictatorship. While officials in the Swiss government call it an "affected relationship", the media has described it as the "Swiss-Libyan crisis". It is a crisis of rampaging Gaddafi sons, unlucky Swiss politicians, embargoes, Swiss hostages in Libya and lots of absurdity.
Undiplomatic behaviour
The crisis began two years ago on July 15, 2008. It was a sunny Tuesday in Geneva; the famous fountain was sending its jet of water skywards. It was just a normal summer morning in what is probably Switzerland's most international city; however, for two of Geneva's countless hotel guests, that day was anything but ordinary. Those people were the son and daughter-in-law of the Libyan dictator.
In an early-morning raid, 20 policemen entered Hannibal Gaddafi's suite at the prestigious President Wilson Hotel. They arrested him and his wife, Aline. Hannibal was brought to a holding cell, ready for interrogation the following day. Later on, he would refer to this experience as "humiliating".
The police responded to a telephone call from two of Hannibal's servants, who filed a report claiming they were being "abused" and "threatened" by the Gaddafis; indeed, police found evidence of fresh injuries--as well as older ones--substantiating the servants' claims. With the Gaddafis officially named as the perpetrators, the police had reason to act.
Charges dropped
Eventually, Hannibal and Aline were released on bail, after paying a bond of SFr 500,000. Pending further investigation by the Geneva prosecutors, the couple returned to Libya. In the meantime the two servants retracted their accusations--after receiving "appropriate compensation" from an unknown source, it...
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