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 Göldi, imprisoned in Libya for almost two years, could prove the catalyst for renewed relations. Let’s look back on how this peculiar situation began, and what the future might hold ...
By Sven Gallinelli
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 Président 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 was reported at the time. In addition, they were offered asylum in Switzerland on humanitarian grounds.
With the servants retracting their accusations against the Gaddafis, officials were forced to close the investigation because, as Geneva’s district attorney Daniel Zappelli stated, “minor assaults are not a criminal offence”.
Humiliation – especially on an international scale – is something that the Libyan government is rarely willing to accept.
After even the smallest slight to the Gaddafi family honour, the Libyan leader will be merciless to save face and restore his family’s dignity.
Turning off the taps
Of course there was something else at his disposal to strengthen the Libyan position: Libya has remarkable oil reserves, and it was these that formed the basis of former business relations
between Switzerland and Libya. But other European countries have also established similar relations with Gaddafi. He is fully aware that this demand for oil gives him extraordinary power – and he’s not afraid to use it.
Therefore, cutting the oil flow to Switzerland was one of the very first actions the Libyan leader took in retaliation for Swiss treatment of his son. While Switzerland could cope with this move, Gaddafi went on to imprison two Swiss citizens, accusing them of “violating visa regulations”. The two Swiss, chosen by chance, were Rachid Hamdani and Max Göldi.
Both men worked for large Swiss companies operating in Libya. Following their arrest, Göldi and Hamdani were kept in Libyan prisons, before later being permitted to stay at the Swiss embassy in Tripoli.
Merz on a mission
In August 2009, then-president of the Swiss Federal Council, Hans-Rudolf Merz, tried to broker a deal. Taking the initiative, he travelled to Libya, without informing the rest of the council. He apologised for the Swiss action towards Hannibal and drafted a contract to re-establish the bilateral relations between Libya and Switzerland.
According to Merz, this would have been the solution to the whole crisis and he could have brought Göldi and Hamdani back to Switzerland. But something unforeseen happened: A Geneva newspaper, the Tribune du Genève, published two pictures of Hannibal from his time in Geneva police custody. It’s still not clear how the pictures made it to the press, and Muammar Gaddafi’s displeasure was considerable.
Merz returned home on an empty plane – with only two suitcases belonging to Göldi and Hamdani for company. In a further twist, Merz earned a great deal of criticism for acting alone, rather than in agreement with the six other members of the Federal Council.
Tighter controls
After Merz’s diplomatic mission failed, Switzerland changed its strategy and struck back at Libya by tightening visa restrictions for around 190 Libyan officials. These restrictions not only applied to Switzerland, but also to other EU countries in the Schengen area, of which Switzerland is a member. The ban on Libyans entering Europe did nothing to brighten the mood of the Libyan leader; however, the measure turned out to be highly effective and is considered instrumental in bringing Rachid Hamdani back to Switzerland this February, following a 19-month incarceration.
In spite of this, the move fuelled controversy within the European Union, with bigger EU countries placing Switzerland under pressure to lift the restrictions. In the end, Swiss officials relented and the controls were removed. This intervention by the EU proved to be a blessing, as the Swiss-Libyan conflict gained international attention, and the EU promised to help find a solution.
With a little help from friends
Raising international awareness and getting the EU involved in the conflict was essential, notes Amnesty International Switzerland’s press secretary Manon Schick. Amnesty International has extensive experience in dealing with countries such as Libya. Human rights violations are common under totalitarian regimes, and Libya is no exception, Schick claims.
While many people disappear into the dangerous claws of the Libyan forces, Max Göldi and Rachid Hamdani had one advantage: “The international community was closely watching what was going on,” Schick says. Aside from eventually securing both men’s release, the increased scrutiny also resulted in Göldi being relocated to a better-quality prison for the last four months of his sentence.
Freeing Göldi
Over the weekend of June 12, Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey travelled to Tripoli with the Spanish Foreign Minister. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (in his own words a “close friend” to Gaddafi) arrived shortly afterwards. The trio then met with Gaddafi in his Bedouin tent. As of our press deadline, specific details of the meeting hadn’t yet been revealed. However, the outcome was that Max Göldi was finally allowed to leave Libya on June 13, putting an end to his almost 700-day-long incarceration.
The media immediately speculated that not only had Gaddafi demanded – and received – another assortment of apologies for the many Swiss injustices; but also that the Swiss foreign minister cut a deal with Gaddafi, which could mean that an independent arbitrational tribunal will once again investigate what happened to Hannibal in Geneva.
Whatever the outcome of this tribunal might be, one point seems clear: The only verdict that will please Gaddafi is if his son is completely cleared of any wrongdoing.
Gaddafi’s repertoire
Holding two Swiss citizens hostage was not the only way Gaddafi punished Switzerland. Libya also banned Swiss flights from landing in Tripoli and Swiss ships from dropping anchor in Libyan harbours. The North African country ceased all economic connections with Switzerland (a measure that included the closure of Libyan ABB and Nestlé subsidiaries) and banned Swiss export and import trade. Furthermore, the Libyan government withdrew five billion Swiss francs from Swiss banks, implemented a visa ban on Swiss citizens, and stopped all oil deliveries. The latter is especially interesting, considering that Libya owns the petrol-station-chain Tamoil, which has a tight network in Switzerland.
For Gaddafi, it was a “Jihad” – a holy war – against Switzerland. Whether he can ever forget what happened, and move forward, remains unclear. The Swiss government always claimed that it wanted to “re-establish the bilateral relations with Libya”. The likelihood of such an outcome – after two years of continual tension – remains uncertain, and possibly depends on the findings of the arbitrational court.
However, from the Swiss perspective, the conflict has been resolved: The government’s main goal was always to free Hamdani and Göldi. Although the situation looked desperate for a long time, Göldi’s return happened quite quickly in the end: On Thursday, June 10, he was released from prison, and then allowed to leave the country only three days later. There must have been immense efforts taking place behind the scenes to make this outcome possible.
Before he became a scapegoat in this international showdown, Göldi spoke positively about Libya and his time working there. But as he finally boarded the airplane bound for home, he sounded a little different: “I will never return to [Libya] again,” he said.
