Swiss President Defends Apology in Libya Dispute
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

Yael Levy: Switzerland Plays Neutrality Card
YNET NEWS: Former ambassador to Geneva chides Swiss president for meeting with Iranian president, says country cannot remain neutral in the face of Holocaust denial. Historian Arieh Kochavi explains why Switzerland's neutrality serves its long-term interests

Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz justified his meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday, asserting to his critics that Switzerland is maintaining its neutrality.

The neutrality card failed, however, to win over at least one skeptic, Israel's former ambassador to Geneva, Yitzhak Meir.

"It was impossible to remain neutral in the face of the evil of World War II, and it is impossible to remain neutral in the face of Ahmadinejad," Meir told Ynet.

"As a friend of Switzerland, I believe that the president was mistaken in his understanding of the average citizen's stance in Switzerland today," said Meir, who dispatched a letter to Merz's office in Berne.

"I wrote to him that what he did wasn't just wrong, it was a gross error. I regret this, and it pains me as a man who has seen the other sides of Switzerland."

The former ambassador believes that Switzerland has yet to understand that the neutrality it aspires to is not feasible.

"The committee that Switzerland formed after WWII acknowledged the fact that the country carried out a role that the Swiss couldn't forgive themselves for. They couldn't come to terms with what occurred in their country in the name of 'neutrality' – their policies regarding Jewish refugees. And here, once more the issue of neutrality is on the table."

Meir emphasized that Switzerland does not deny the Holocaust like Ahmadinejad and his ilk, but added that this is what makes the meeting so problematic.

"Holocaust deniers will be able to use the meeting despite Switzerland's stance. This meeting is grave because it creates a sort of banality and laicization of the Swiss attempt not to forget the Holocaust. I see President Merz's choice as an anti-Swiss act." >>> Yael Levy | Tuesday, April 21, 2009

First State Visit to Turkey to Begin
SWISSINFO.CH: Swiss President, Pascal Couchepin, begins an official visit to Turkey today – the first ever visit to Turkey by a Swiss president.

It is the second visit in a week to Turkey by a Swiss government minister and represents an improvement of relations between the two countries.

Couchepin - Switzerland's interior minister who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year - will meet President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his four-day visit.

They will discuss political, cultural and economic relations including energy issues since Turkey is a transit country for oil and gas supplies to Europe, the Swiss interior ministry said in a statement. >>> | November 7, 2008

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