Switzerland versus Libya - Part 2 of "Hannibal" Motassim Bilal Gaddafi

Switzerland versus Libya - Part 2 of "Hannibal" Motassim Bilal Gaddafi with His Wife Alin Skaf/Aline Skaff

Read "Hannibal" Motassim Bilal Gaddafi - Another Belt and Coat Hanger to discover how this story began.

Aisha Gaddafi/Aisha Al-Qaddafi/Kadhafi daughter of Colonel Gaddafi, promised last week, "An Eye of Eye and a Tooth for a Tooth" following the arrest of her brother Motassim Bilal Gaddafi and his wife, Alin Skaf/Aline Skaff. Today we don't see an Eye for an Eye at all, just a series of extreme acts by the Libyan Dictatorship. Aisha has also declared that her brother's arrest was illegal and described it as an act of hatred and anti-Arab racism.

Why is Aisha ignoring the conduct of her brother and his bodyguards over many years, in different European countries (refer to my other post)? Why as a Lawyer, is she ignoring established Laws in Switzerland as well? Her brother and his body guards have a history of violence, attacking police officers and brandishing weapons in public. The Swiss Police acted correctly given her brother's and his bodyguards' history of actions.

It appears Libyans are incapable of adapting themselves and respecting the laws of other countries and their code of civilized behaviour, outside Libya.

Aisha was one of the (20-30) lawyers involved in Saddam Hussein's defence.

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This is not an Eye for an Eye and a Tooth for a Tooth - The Latest News

Since the release on bail of Hannibal Gaddafi and his wife, Aline last week after two of their staff accused them of assault during an incident at a luxury Geneva hotel, Gaddafi not Libya has embarked on delivering "worrying retaliatory measures", against Swiss citizens.

Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi

Libya: Closes Down Swiss Businesses & Arrests Swiss Citizens
The Swiss foreign ministry said two Swiss Citizens have been under arrest in the north African country since Saturday and that Swiss businesses, including the local offices of food group Nestlé and the engineering group ABB, had been ordered to close.

Switzerland: Sends A Delegation
Switzerland sent a delegation to Libya (23 July) to "give explanations" to the Libyan authorities over the arrest and, it said, to "prevent a crisis".

Libya: Sends Gaddafi's Cousins to Protest outside the Swiss Embassy in Tripoli
Dozens of Libyans demonstrated in front of the Swiss embassy in Tripoli calling for an apology. Mostly members of the Revolutionary Committees, which are close to the authorities, they handed a statement to the ambassador reportedly threatening that in the absence of an apology, they would demand that parliament take punitive steps against Switzerland.

Libya: Delivers Threats To Switzerland
These would include the withdrawal of Libyan money from Swiss banks, the barring of Swiss companies from competing for Libyan contracts and a halt in oil sales to the European country.

Switzerland: Oil Dependency on Libya
According to US Department of Energy figures, Switzerland imports more than 20 per cent of its oil from Libya."One cannot completely exclude the risk of having Libyan oil deliveries to Switzerland suspended, but it doesn't look very realistic, because Libya hasn't mentioned this scenario,'' said Jean-Marc Crevoisier, of the Swiss foreign ministry.

The Swiss Oil Association says an embargo on exports would have little impact, even though more than half of Switzerland´s crude oil supplies come from Libya. The association says Switzerland has sufficient reserves, which would allow ample time to arrange supplies from elsewhere.

Switzerland: Swiss Citizens - "Don't Travel to Libya"
The Swiss foreign ministry has told its citizens not to travel to Libya, warning them that they are likely to face arrest at the "slightest irregularities" in their papers.

Libya: Reduce Flights/Air Links between Switzerland and Libya
Libya has also ordered a reduction in air links between the two countries. Swiss International Airlines says it was told it could fly to Libya only once a week, instead of three times.

Libya: Recall Libyan Diplomats from Switzerland
Libya: Stop issuing Visas to Swiss Citizens
Libya has also recalled some of its diplomats in Bern and it has stopped issuing visas to Swiss citizens.

Libya: Interrogate Foreigners working for Swiss Companies in Libya
Robin Tickell, a Nestlé spokesman, said the general manager and sole employee of its representative office in Tripoli, an Egyptian national, was questioned by police on Sunday and released shortly afterwards. But the office was subsequently sealed by the authorities and remains shut.


How is the Swiss Media Reacting to Libyan Extremism?

The newspapers have taken the opportunity to look at the nature of the Libyan regime – and Moammar Gaddafi's system of government is shown in a bad light.

Hannibal's sister, Aisha, warned last week that Libya would respond on the principle of "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth", as Le Temps of Geneva recalls.

"Gaddafi takes Swiss hostages!" declares the tabloid Blick and goes on to ask: "Does this desert dictator think he can do what he wants with Switzerland?"

"The Gaddafi clan takes revenge," is the headline in Bern's Bund newspaper.

"In Libya the Gaddafis see to it that might prevails," says the Tages-Anzeiger of Zurich. It goes on to describe Libya as "a paradise for shadowy foreign businessmen" who appreciate the fact that there are "no clear laws". In its editorial the paper says that Gaddafi is reacting "as if the law was not the same for everyone in Switzerland".

For the Lausanne-based Le Matin too, the action taken by the Geneva police against Hannibal deserves praise. "It's easier to pick up a few Roma beggars under a bridge and dump them at the border than to arrest the son of a dictator in a five star hotel." "We would have been glad to avoid the retaliatory measures taken by Libya," it says. "But that's the price to pay if we want to remain credible. If we want to make sure our laws are respected by all, including the rich tourists so beloved by our luxury shops and hotels."

Le Matin has its own take on the situation inside Libya. "Even the Gaddafi family knows it is not the Swiss police who have humiliated Libya. It's their little brother who has tarnished the image of their country. His older brother, Seif al-Islam, a good communicator who is working seriously to modernise and open up the country, can't be at all pleased. Let's hope he'll find a way to mend fences with Bern."

The Bund says that despite the fact that Washington has dropped Libya from its list of rogue states, the country remains a dictatorship. "Democracy, division of power and human rights are foreign words there."

Le Temps describes the conflict as one of "values and cultures". It says that although "Arab oil potentates" seem to get away with many of their "escapades" in western capitals, the violence of which Hannibal Gaddafi has been accused is a different matter. "The tacitly accepted impunity accorded to the rich and powerful no longer applies when it comes to human rights and respect for women," the paper comments. It points out that disregard for women is one of the West's strongest criticisms against Islam.

The papers do not want the Swiss to bow to Libyan pressure.............
"It would be too high a price to deny democratic principles for the sake of a short-term success," says the Bund.

The Tages-Anzeiger takes the same line for more pragmatic reasons. It is adamant that even the fact that two Swiss citizens have been "effectively taken hostage" should not make any difference, since this would only expose Switzerland to similar pressure should similar circumstances arise again. "Gaddafi has shown for decades that he is incapable of learning, and he certainly shows no signs of improving," it says. "Switzerland shouldn't make itself dependent on such an unpredictable country."

Is Switzerland dependent on Libyan oil?..................

Blick quotes Rolf Hartl, managing director of the Swiss Oil Association, who says on the one hand that Switzerland has plenty of reserves, and on the other that it would be "absurd" for Libya to turn off the oil tap, since the Libyan state owns two refineries and over 300 filling stations in Switzerland and would be damaging its own interests.

Nevertheless, the Tages-Anzeiger has some advice about the Swiss energy supply. "Gaddafi's act of revenge should encourage us to purchase our oil elsewhere instead of concentrating it so one-sidedly," it comments.

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Some News Articles

Gaddafi's revenge riles Swiss press - 24 July 2008
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/front/Gaddafi_s_revenge_riles_Swiss_press.html?siteSect=105&sid=9367493&cKey=1216892728000&ty=st

Swiss World Radio - News in Brief -24 July 2008
http://www.worldradio.ch/wrs/news/rundown/swiss-news-at-a-glance-170.shtml?11248

Gaddafi arrest brings anti-Swiss backlash - Financial Times - 24 July 2008
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/19878efe-5917-11dd-a093-000077b07658.html