ASSOCIATED PRESS: BERN, Switzerland — Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz defended his apology to Libya for the arrest of Moammar Gadhafi's son, saying Friday it was the only way to secure the release of two Swiss citizens detained by Tripoli.
The apology was heavily criticized in the Swiss media, but welcomed by companies eager to do business in the oil-rich North African country.
"My mission was to ensure that we can work through what happened in Geneva, to get the two Swiss out of Libya — that was my primary aim," Merz told reporters in the capital Bern.
Tripoli cut business and diplomatic ties with the Alpine nation after Hannibal Gadhafi and his wife were arrested July 15, 2008, in a Geneva luxury hotel for allegedly beating up two of their servants. The servants later withdrew their complaint after receiving compensation from an undisclosed source.
Four days after the arrest Libya also detained two employees of engineering company ABB Ltd. — Max Goeldi and Rachid Hamdani — for alleged breaches of immigration rules. Swiss media have described them as "hostages" that Tripoli was using to force an apology from Switzerland. >>> Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press | Friday, August 21, 2009
NZZ ONLINE:
Flugzeug nach Libyen unterwegs: Landung in Tripolis vor 18 Uhr zu erwarten>>> sda | Dienstag, 25. August 2009
