Libya Vs. Switzerland: Arrest Of Qaddafi's Son Leads To Oil Embargo

TRIPOLI, Libya — Libya has halted all of its oil deliveries to Switzerland and barred Swiss ships from its ports to protest the arrest of Moammar Gadhafi's son in Geneva, a state-run shipping company said Thursday.

Libya's General National Maritime Transportation Company stopped oil shipments to Switzerland on Wednesday, said the head of the company, Ali Bilhajj Ahmed. The company says it is the only Libyan-based firm supplying oil to Switzerland.

Libya supplies more than 50 percent of Switzerland's crude imports, which totaled some 2.5 million tons in 2007, according to the latest available Swiss government figures. Nonetheless, the Swiss Petroleum Association said the country could cope with any cutoff and arrange to buy the oil elsewhere.

The oil freeze was Libya's latest action in response to the arrest last week of Hannibal Gadhafi and his wife. Police arrested them on July 15 at a luxury hotel in Geneva for allegedly beating two of their servants, according to their lawyer. They were released on bail two days later and left the country.

Libya has recalled some of its diplomats from Switzerland, suspended the issuing of visas for Swiss citizens, reduced the number of flights to Switzerland and has detained two Swiss nationals on various charges, the Swiss Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

Switzerland, in turn, warned its citizens not to travel to Libya.

Ahmed, of the Libyan shipping firm, would not provide a figure on the amount of oil involved, but he said the cutoff was appropriate, calling it the "least we should do."

The Swiss Foreign Ministry and the Swiss branch of Libya's state-owned oil company Tamoil declined to comment Thursday on the oil cutoff.

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The Swiss Petroleum Association said the country could cope with a halt of oil deliveries from Libya.

The association's managing director, Rolf Hartl, said he has so far not received confirmation of a Libyan cutoff. He said any halt in supplies would not result in long lines at Swiss fuel stations and that sealing off the Tamoil refinery in Collombey in southern Switzerland would take two weeks.

In addition, the amount of oil coming from Libya could quickly be purchased elsewhere, Hartl said. Switzerland also has oil reserves that could be used, he added.

Also Thursday, the Libyan government organized a demonstration by employees of the Libyan shipping company in front of the Swiss Embassy in Tripoli. About 500 people chanted slogans and distributed flyers calling for an official apology to Gadhafi, his son and all the Libyan people.

The company also said Swiss ships will be prevented from entering Libyan ports and from unloading their goods.

"Unless the coming hours witness a closure of this file, which is a fabricated and an illegitimate, and unless the Swiss authorities issue an official apology to Gadhafi, his son and the Libyan people, escalating measures will be taken," the company said in a written statement.

The daily Tribune de Geneve has reported that two of Gadhafi's domestic servants claimed Gadhafi and his wife repeatedly beat them at the hotel with a belt and a hanger. It said a Tunisian woman was hospitalized.

Lawyer Alain Berger has said Gadhafi and his wife reject the allegations.

The 32-year-old Gadhafi has had previous run-ins with the law for violent behavior in Paris.

The two Swiss nationals detained in Libya since Saturday have been charged with breaching immigration and residence rules, the Swiss Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

They could be held for up to 20 days, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Philippe Jeannerat.

Electrical engineering company ABB Ltd. has said one of its employees is among the two Swiss nationals detained. The other person has not been identified.

Both individuals were being held in a cell with around 20 other people and being treated like illegal immigrants in Libya, he said. Jeannerat said their situation was difficult and that the ministry was giving highest priority to working toward their release.

Switzerland has dispatched a diplomatic delegation to Tripoli to give the Libyan authorities more details on the arrest of the Libyan leader's son. The Swiss Foreign Ministry said Thursday that the delegation was positively received.

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Associated Press writers Maggie Michael in Cairo, Egypt, and Eliane Engeler in Geneva contributed to this report.

Comments

[MagisterLudi]

Poor baby was traumatized by bad ole Swiss.....
Papa of Islamic socialism will make it feel better ....
Hope Papa doesn't take interest in Olympic Games again....
Last time Papa Gaddafi sponsored an Olympic event , it was a Palestinian terrorist attack during Munch Olympics.

[dadw5boys]

THAT IS WHAT IS IN STORE TO THE USA!!!!!!!

THIS OIL ADDICTIONS MAKES THE AMERICANS "THIER WHITE SLAVES".

THAT IS WHAT THE SAUDI'S CALL AMERICANS!!!!!!

[speakingtruth2power]

The very rich and privileged must protect their right to beat servants who perform poorly.

If this act of egalitarian justice is allowed, who knows what will follow from the masses.

[ManassasMan]

Aren't we lucky that WE never had a president whose son acted with impunity and thumbed his nose at rules ?

[Geauterre]

Libya's reaction to the arrest of Qaddafi's son, should be taken as a wake-up call. Switch to alternate sources of energy or you'll be s-o-r-r-y....

[MarkInEugene]

No joke....this is exactly one of the major reasons why the west needs to put it's ingenuity to work and find alternatives as soon as possible.

[tony2008]

Libya needs to be bombed again. Dictators should never be allowed to be part of the civilized world.

[MarkInEugene]

A classic case of a Democratic society interacting with a dictatorship. In Libya the Godhafi's are Gods in that country who can do no wrong. If they beat their servants, the Gods have the right to claim they deserved it.

What to do? It's a fascist state butting up against the laws of a Democracy where people are treated as equals. The Libyan people have not yet attained that level of civility.

[brendanm]

Those belligerent Swiss, always starting fights with other countries. This is why the Swiss are so hated around the world, for their arrogance and threatening diplomatic rhetoric.

[tony2008]

Ghadafi is a dictator. Switzerland is a free nation that runs by rule law. If Ghadafi's son breaks the law, his behind should go to jail.

[Sylmason]

And you American idiots don't want Obama as president. What a pity.

[hoopesaz]

You've posted to the wrong thread.

[MagisterLudi]

Flag as Abusive and do not respond.
Would you talk to a rabid dog?

[EyesWideOpen]

It's also stupid to put yourself on public record as supporting someone who beats his servants, particularly if he's your son, who, one would think, should be held to an even higher standard than an average Libyan citizen, particularly since the guy has a prior record of of violence.

For the Libyan government to insist that Switzerland should make an official apology to someone like this thug is pure delusion

I seriously doubt the Swiss would have made a decision to put Gadhafi's son and daughter-in-law in jail if there were not clear evidence to support their guilt. I congratulate the Swiss on their courage to not let them off easy, knowing what the consequences might be.

Witness by contrast the 'hands-off' treatment accorded celebrities in the US, all the way from Robert Novak to Mel Gibson and other film stars. For the most part, they get nothing more than slaps on the wrist, Martha Stewart being an exception.

[strandwolf]

Some stoopid moves by the Libyans, considering that they most likely got their $ in Swiss banks....