SWITZERLAND OPTING FOR PRESSURE (VICE FURTHER

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BERN 000504

NOFORN
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/MAG AND EUR/CE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/20/2024
TAGS: PREL PHUM AORC LY SZ
SUBJECT: SWITZERLAND OPTING FOR PRESSURE (VICE FURTHER
NEGOTIATIONS) IN DEALING WITH LIBYA

REF: A. TRIPOLI 910, B. STATE 117546, C. TRIPOLI 901,

D. TRIPOLI 900, E. TRIPOLI 832, F. TRIPOLI 763,

G. BERN 387, H. BERN 351

BERN 00000504 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: DCM Leigh G. Carter; reasons 1.4(b) and (d).


1. (S/NF) Summary: The Swiss government is opting for
pressure -- rather than further negotiations -- in efforts to
obtain the freedom of the two Swiss citizens who have not
been allowed to depart Libya since the summer of 2008
(reftels). According to Ambassador Jacques Pitteloud
(strictly protect),Head of the Political Secretariat
(Security Policy Division) of the Federal Department of
Foreign Affairs (FDFA),the Libyans have not held up their
part of the August 20 Swiss-Libyan bilateral agreement. The
Swiss government therefore has turned to pressure tactics --
above all, using Switzerland's membership in the Schengen
Area to place visa restrictions on select Libyan government
officials and elites. Pitteloud told DCM November 18 that
the Swiss government is very grateful for U.S. assistance in
the matter, noting that the USG thus far was the only country
that had provided Switzerland with such help. DCM reiterated
the importance of the USG assistance remaining confidential,
in order to be effective.


2. (S/NF) Summary (continued): Asking that the USG treat
this information very confidentially, Pitteloud said that the
GoS had decided to file a complaint at the International
Court of Justice (ICJ) against Libya for "hostage taking."
Pitteloud said that he expected that the plight of the two
Swiss increasingly would be addressed and publicized by such
organizations as Amnesty International and Human Rights
Watch. Separately, Pitteloud said that the GoS had confirmed
that the Libyans had released last month from custody the
Moroccan brother of one of the domestic servants Hannibal
Gaddafi is believed to have assaulted in the July 2008
incident in Geneva. End Summary.

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SWISS USING SCHENGEN
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3. (S/NF) In a November 18 meeting with DCM, Ambassador
Jacques Pitteloud (strictly protect),Head of the Political
Secretariat (Security Policy Division) of the Federal
Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA),emphasized that the
Swiss government was opting for pressure -- rather than
further negotiations -- in efforts to obtain the freedom of
the two Swiss citizens who have not been allowed so depart
Libya since the summer of 2008 (reftels). Pitteloud said
that it was not possible for Switzerland to go further than
Swiss President Merz did during his August 20 visit to
Tripoli, when Merz issued a public apology for what he termed
the "inappropriate and unnecessary" arrest of Hannibal
Gaddafi, son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, in Geneva in
July 2008 (reftel H).


4. (S/NF) The Libyans, Pitteloud said, had not held up their
part of the August 20 bilateral agreement. The Swiss
government therefore had turned to pressure tactics -- above
all, using Switzerland's membership in the Schengen Area to
place select Libyan government officials and elites on a
"watch list" and thereby prevent them from obtaining Schengen
visas. Pitteloud commented that this approach was not
appreciated by some Schengen member countries, but shrugged
off such concerns, asserting that Switzerland had approached
other European countries for assistance early in the crisis
with Libya, but none of the Europeans had stepped up to
assist the Swiss ("now they have no choice, since we are a
member of Schengen").

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GRATEFUL FOR USG ASSISTANCE
--------------


5. (S/NF) Pitteloud said that the Swiss government was very
grateful for U.S. assistance in the matter, noting that the
USG thus far was the only country that had provided
Switzerland with such help. DCM observed that Switzerland
often has provided vital assistance to U.S. citizens detained
in Iran (reftel G). She reiterated the importance of the USG
assistance remaining confidential, in order to be effective.
(Comment: Post greatly appreciates Embassy Tripoli's deft
engagement and excellent reporting on this topic. End
Comment)

BERN 00000504 002.2 OF 002



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NEXT STEP - ICJ
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6. (S/NF) Asking that the USG treat this information very
confidentially, Pitteloud said that the GoS had decided to
file a complaint at the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
against Libya for "hostage taking." He said that the Swiss
government assessed this as an option after Libya held the
two Swiss citizens in isolation at an unknown location from
September 19 to November 9. Pitteloud said that an ICJ
complaint was another way that Switzerland intended to
increase the pressure on Libya.

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INCREASED NGO SCRUTINY ANTICIPATED
--------------


7. (S/NF) Looking ahead, Pitteloud said it was difficult to
anticipate how the Libyans would react to the Swiss approach.
He said that, "if they were rational actors," the Libyans
would allow the two Swiss to depart Libya by the end of the
year, before international human rights NGOs such as Amnesty
International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) issue their
annual reports. Pitteloud said that he expected that the
plight of the two Swiss increasingly would be addressed and
publicized by such organizations as AI and HRW.

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BROTHER OF ASSAULT VICTIM RELEASED
--------------


8. (S/NF) Separately, Pitteloud said that the GoS had
confirmed that the Libyans had released last month from
custody the Moroccan brother of one of the domestic servants
Hannibal Gaddafi is believed to have assaulted in the July
2008 incident in Geneva. According to Pitteloud, the brother
is in Morocco where he is maintaining a very low profile,
presumably to avoid further Libyan reprisals.


9. (U) Minimize considered.
BEYER