Editorial
Switzerland, Libya and the butterfly effect
The retaliation and counter-retaliation by Libya and Switzerland involving countries in the Schengen area is a classic case of the butterfly effect in politics. The phrase refers to the idea that a butterfly's flapping wings in one part of the world creates tiny but incremental changes in the atmosphere that lead, ultimately, to their altering the path of a tornado in a different part.
In July 2008, Muammar Gaddafi's son and his heavily pregnant wife were arrested and placed in custody by the Swiss police for alleged assault on their servants. Libya immediately retaliated with reprisals against Swiss companies in Libya, cut oil shipments to Switzerland and withdrew billions of dollars from Swiss bank accounts. The Swiss then dropped the charges against Col. Gaddafi's son. In April 2009, the Gaddafis sued the Swiss government over the wrongful arrest of the couple and demanded compensation. By December 2009, two Swiss businessmen in Libya had been sentenced to jail terms on conviction of immigration offences. On February 7 this year, the case against the businessmen was dismissed by a Libyan court.
There the matter might have rested. But, since the two businessmen had still not been released, Switzerland drew up a visa blacklist naming 188 high-ranking Libyans, including Col. Gaddafi himself and his family, denying them visa entry permits. Libya then decided to stop issuing visas to citizens from EU countries forming part of the Schengen zone in retaliation against Switzerland, which is not an EU member state.
For those countries, such as Malta, Italy and Austria and others with close business and other links with Libya, the effects of this game of tit-for-tat are serious. Italy and Austria are investing heavily in Libya's oil sector and Italy has established new-found "friendship" with the North African country after agreeing to compensate it financially for its colonial past.
Italy and Malta are, however, also inevitably in the EU front line with Libya. Maltese businessmen working in Libya have found themselves barred from entry there and at least one was kept locked up for up to 20 hours before being sent back to Malta.
The situation cannot therefore be described in any other way but as being unacceptable and disruptive to Malta-Libya relations. Ironically, this situation emerged just weeks after it was announced that Col. Gaddafi would be visiting Malta in March.
Although, following a meeting bet-ween the Foreign Ministers of Italy, Malta and Libya in Rome on Wednesday, there seemed to be some hope of breaking the deadlock, the situation remains worrying for Malta at several levels.
Maltese interests have been caught in the crossfire between Libya and its European neighbours once more. Libya, which tends to enjoy exerting its influence on the world stage - almost regardless of the consequences, some may want to add - insists on being placated. The treatment of the two Swiss businessmen has, as expected, caused outrage in Switzerland.
In the final analysis, reason as well as realpolitik must prevail. In achieving this, it is important to ensure that EU solidarity is not again undermined. The EU - although itself affected by the fall-out - must seek a resolution to the problem, which finds common ground between two non-EU countries, based not on narrow, legalistic interpretations of the Schengen agreement, but on humanity and common sense.
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Joe Vella
Feb 22nd 2010, 06:08
Mr. Cassar.
May I ‘correct’ please?
Under the current ‘financial earthquakes’ mainly caused by Ex USA administration useless wars sanctions unlikely to take place as there are long queues of Chinese and USA companies waiting to replace! I have had almost 9 years of experience working in oil-related business in Libya, this goes back when Libya was still under the UN’ sanction. Despite the hard time the Libyan oil companies had (mainly lack of supplying spare parts for refineries) we used to have a hi-tic know- how from many Arab other countries mainly Lebanon, Tunisian and Egyptians...Etc. While I agree on most of the points you have raised I can comfortably assure you that Libyans aren’t actually relaying in USA or Chinese companies as by now they have own nationals to replace any prospective emergencies.
Matin Cassar
Feb 21st 2010, 03:16
Solidarity with Switzerland? My foot. The EU is all about MONEY. Period.
The EU's slogan of unity towards Switzerland will evaporate the minute an important t business relations are put at risk..
Could the EU impose sanction on Libya and interrupt the Libyan oil industry? Under the current ‘financial earthquakes’ mainly caused by Ex USA administration useless wars sanctions unlikely to take place as there are long queues of Chinese and USA companies waiting to replace!
Mr. Gadaffi knows that his oil pipes are long enough to divide the EU. Mr. Berlusconi's is retaliating from his Alpine neighbor too over a row connected with bank secrecy. What about the troubled Greece and its secret debits with Wall Street? Mr. Gaddafi reads all this quite well indeed.
Switzerland knows whom they're dealing with, so if you play hard, be prepared for it. Swiss just wants more business; they don't care for human rights. So Switzerland black list some Libyans VIP’s including Gaddafi meantime let North Korea's leader’s families to stay in Switzerland to study and live. This is called hypocrisy and goes to prove that human rights are another useless EU slogan.
Muscat Pat
Feb 20th 2010, 17:39
But Switzerland is not part of the EU ! I always believed that special relations between the EU and non EU members were impossible. I heard this in 2003 last , has it changed or were we taken for a ride? I am not saying that some venerable politicians lied, but still I am confused, given that only a butterfly flap is responsible for all this chaos in the Med !
Michael Bartolo
Feb 20th 2010, 13:15
The Gaddafi incident you refer to was actually a classic case of Swiss politics and administration too. This incident happened in Geneva and by the time the Federal Government intervened unsuccessfully with the Geneva police to find a solution the incident had already been balloooned out of proportion. The 'tornado' could not be contained since the Federal Government did not have the authority to make the police in Geneva reconsider the charges. Should there have been a reason for retaliation by the Libyans it should have been better aimed at Geneva and not the whole of Switzerland. And certainly now not against all of Schenghen Europe.
John Azzoaprdi
Feb 20th 2010, 12:37
I can understand why Malta is so concerned in this situation. Although our government usually bends to please the Libyans due to economic reasons as well as the threat of Gaddafi to open it's gates and allow all it's migrants to cross over to Europe, Switzerland has nothing to lose in this situation. And they are right in what they are doing. They are not allowing a country that is in the forefront of abusing human rights to keep getting away with it. Where is the EU leadership on all this. Rarely hear a beep. the EU beaurcrats should be in the forefront and talk about human rights violations in this case.