Libyan minister: Missing Swiss are "doing well"

Oct 25, 2009, 13:30 GMT

Zurich - A top Libyan minister, in remarks to the Zurich paper Neue Zuricher Zeitung (NZZ) Sunday, said that two Swiss nationals missing for weeks in Libya were 'doing well' and rejected Swiss claims they had been kidnapped.

Amid the rising diplomatic tensions between the two countries and accusations levelled by Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Khaim commented for the first time on the case of the two Swiss nationals.

Interviewed by telephone, he told NZZ the two were 'doing well, considering the circumstances, even though they would prefer to be in another place.'

He rejected Calmy-Rey's allegations that the Libyan government was the problem and that the two men, who were first arrested by Tripoli 15 months ago, had been kidnapped.

'The two Swiss were not kidnapped,' Khaim said, while then referring to a 'precautionary measure' which had been taken with regard to the two.

He said two men were not being held in prison, 'but rather in a house' in a place 'where nobody can touch them.'

The brief remarks were the latest development in a war of words between the two countries over the fate of the two men.

Christoph Moergeli, member of parliament for the Swiss Peoples Party (SVP), called in a newspaper interview Sunday for Switzerland to quit the United Nations.

'What this is about is a kidnapping by a state. This state - Libya - currently holds the presidium of the UN General Assembly,' Moergeli told the Sonntag newspaper on Sunday.

He demanded that Switzerland must go to the UN 'and demand that Libya loses the presidium.' If the UN did not agree, 'then Switzerland must draw its conclusions and pull out of the UN.'

On Friday, power engineering concern ABB said it was concerned for the fate of one of the two men, ABB country manager Max Goldi, who has not had any contact with the firm in five weeks.

   'ABB is deeply concerned at the disappearance of the company's Libya country manager Max Goldi. ABB is very disturbed that it has not heard from Mr Goldi or received any sign of life for five weeks,' Joe Hogan, the chief executive officer, said in a statement posted on the company's Website.

   His comment came a day after Switzerland's government said it was disappointed with 'the systematic refusal' of Tripoli to cooperate on an agreement signed two months ago to restore diplomatic relations between the countries and return two detained Swiss nationals.

   The two, taken 15 months ago, were initially in contact with the embassy and their families, but have now not been heard from since September 18. The government in Bern has said their whereabouts are unknown.

   'The problem is not with Switzerland, the problem is with Libya,' said Micheline Calmy-Rey, the Swiss foreign minister a day earlier, terming the two as 'kidnapped.'

   The row started in the summer of 2008, when the Geneva police arrested Hannibal Gaddafi and his wife. The couple were accused of beating their servants at a high class hotel.

   Gaddafi, the son of the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, was released back to Tripoli two days later. But trade between the two countries dwindled to a trickle, flights were canceled and generally bad relations ensued. And the two Swiss nationals were arrested.

   In August, Swiss Finance Minister Hans Rudolph Merz, who also holds the rotating presidency, traveled to Libya and signed an agreement to restart diplomatic ties. But, although the two-month deadline passed this week, no tangible progress has been made.