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TechnoratiKadhafi's call for Swiss jihad unacceptable, say France, UN
France, the United Nations and the European Union officials has condemned Colonel Moamer Kadhafi's call for a jihad against Switzerland, after the Libyan leader said that such a move would not count as terrorism. Kadhafi defended the idea of a holy Islamic war on Switzerland after the Swiss government's recent decision to ban the construction of minarets.
Kadhafi's statement is "unacceptable", France's Foreign Affairs Ministry said Friday.
"Differences between Libya and Switzerland should be settled by negotation," said spokesperson Bernard Valero.
"I believe that such declarations on the part of the head of state are inadmissable in international relations," said UN Director-General Sergei Ordzhonikidze on Friday. "And that's to say nothing of actions."
The UN - which has its European headquarters in Geneva - is well equipped to prevent any attempt to breach its security, he added.
An EU foreign affairs spokesman agreed that the statement was "unfortunate".
They were responding to comments by Kadhafi on Thursday in which he defended attacks on perceived enemies of Islam.
"Jihad against Switzerland, against Zionism, against foreign aggression is not terrorism," the Libyan leader said in a speech marking the birthday of Muslim prophet Mohammed on Friday.
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"It’s quite typical of Colonel Kadhafi to make an outrageous statement of that kind, but of course it also reflects his anger and the anger of many Muslims too about the Swiss vote recently to ban the construction of minarets," Middle East specialist George Joffé of the University of Oxford told RFI.
UN or EU condemnations will not worry Kadhafi, Joffé says.
“He will simply wait to see how in fact Europe will react and how Switzerland will react because he is quite certain they will have to concede. […] Europe is very anxious of good relations with Libya because it’s a major provider of energy to Europe and he knows that in the end, despite the rhetoric, the Europeans won’t want this, so it’s a question of him simply waiting.”
In any case, Joffé does not believe there is any serious threat of attacks on Switzerland.
"I don’t think any Muslim country or indeed any group of Muslims would seriously think of jihad against Switzerland. It would make very little sense […] but on a rhetorical level what it’s really saying to all Muslims in North Africa is 'Look, the Swiss are basically opposed to Islam, they’ve demonstrated it through their vote against minarets.' "
Libyan-Swiss relations have been strained since July 2008, when when Kadhafi's son Hannibal and his wife were arrested and briefly held in Geneva after two domestic workers complained they had mistreated them.
Soon after, Libya stopped two Swiss businessmen from leaving its territory. Both men were convicted of overstaying their visas and of engaging in illegal business activities.
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