No Progress in Switzerland-Libya Feud

The sending of a Swiss diplomatic mission to Libya last week yielded no immediate results.

The Swiss government has been seeking to cool tension with the Libyan government, which had a severe reaction following the arrest in Geneva of Kaddafi's son, Hannibal and his wife for the alleged mistreatment of a hotel employee. The Libyan response was swift and draconian with economic and travel restriction measures, essentially affecting the Swiss.

Libya has been looking for an official apology, which was required to come from the Geneva authorities. However, despite pleas from the Swiss government, the Geneva authorities remained insensitive to the request and continue to insist that the arrest of Hannibal was legitimate. In a press release, the Libyan government insisted that the Swiss government must recognize that "the treatment of Hannibal was unjustified and unlawful with respect to Swiss laws.” Note that the Libyans do not mention in their official releases the name of Hannibal, but use instead the word Diplomat.