Neutral Swiss Hurt by Libyan Row
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

Under ‘Super-Sarko’, France Refinds Its Commitment to Human Rights
TIMESONLINE: President Sarkozy will meet Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in Libya today as he seeks to reap political, economic and diplomatic benefits from his role in the medical workers’ release.

The French President, who is claiming credit for ending their eight-year ordeal, will want to enhance the international stature he has acquired since his election in May. He is also hoping to foster a special relationship with Libya that would pave the way for lucrative contracts for French companies with the oil-rich African state.

Having earned his Super-Sarko nickname after an active first two and a half months in office, he moved swiftly to capitalise on what is being portrayed in France as his latest triumph. “I promised to obtain the liberation of these women and that man and we have obtained it,” he said, while his advisers told journalists that he had been up all night finalising the deal.

President Sarkozy said that he had intervened out of compassion and a sense of duty that came from being at the head of a country claiming to be the birthplace of human rights. “The nurses, in my heart, were French,” he said. “They were French because they were unjustly accused and because they suffered and because we had to get them out of there.” He paid tribute to his wife, Cécilia, who visited Tripoli twice before flying the five nurses and the doctor to Sofia in the presidency’s Airbus 317. “Cécilia did a quite remarkable job,” he said. Super-Sarko flies to the rescue (more) By Adam Sage in Paris

SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL:
Why Did Cecilia Sarkozy Go to Tripoli?

Mark Alexander