If anyone has been hurt by the Libyan row, it is Libya itself, because it has shown itself to be just what it truly is: a rogue state. – © Mark
THE TELEGRAPH: Neutral Switzerland has had its reputation as a global mediator dented as weaknesses in its foreign policy are exposed by its escalating row with Libya, analysts said.
Relations between Bern and Tripoli have been strained since July 2008, when one of the sons of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Hannibal and his wife were arrested in Geneva after two domestic workers complained they had mistreated them.
Libyan [sic] retaliated by blocking two Swiss businessmen from leaving its territory while Switzerland imposed visa restrictions on some Libyans, effectively blocking them from entering Europe's Schengen 25 nation travel zone.
But the row reached new heights this week when Gaddafi called for jihad against the alpine state over a recent Swiss ban on the construction of minarets.
Hasni Abidi, the director of the Geneva-based Study and Research Centre for the Arab and Mediterranean World, said the tussle with Libya was "bad publicity for the Swiss in the Arab and Muslim world," where Switzerland had traditionally played a role in mediation.
Bern was a middleman in ending decades of hostility stemming from World-War I-era massacres between Turkey and Armenia, leading them to sign historic protocols estabilishing diplomatic ties.
Switzerland also represents US interests in Iran and Tehran's interests in Egypt.
However, "this speciality is very certainly weakening given the situation linked to the Libyan crisis," added another analyst, Frederic Esposito, from the European Institute of the University of Geneva.
Abidi added that this was amplified by a Swiss referendum vote last year to ban the construction of new minarets, a move that drew worldwide criticism and which Kadhafi seized on to call for jihad.
Gaddafi knew that Switzerland's role as a mediator is "based on its image of neutrality and impartiality and openness," said Abidi, and therefore he has attacked this image.
Swiss handling of the Libyan crisis has exposed broader weaknesses in its foreign policy, said analysts. >>> Hui Min Neo and Alix Rijckaert, in Geneva for AFP | Monday, March 01, 2010
