Lettera aperta a Cassis – 55 ex diplomatici scioccati dal “silenzio” della Svizzera su Gaza

Translated Interview:

>__Open letter to Cassis – 55 ex-diplomats shocked by Switzerland’s “silence” on Gaza__

>In a joint letter, 55 former diplomats have expressed their shock at Switzerland’s “silence and passivity” regarding Israel’s war crimes in Gaza. They call for immediate measures to be taken against the country. Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis must take tougher action against the Israeli government and campaign for compliance with international law. Laurent Goetschel, Director of the Swiss Peace Foundation Swisspeace, has been monitoring the situation in the Middle East for a long time. He categorises the demands of the ex-diplomats.

>>Infobox:

>>Laurent Goetschel is Professor of Political Science at the University of Basel and Director of the Swisspeace Peace Foundation. He specialises in peace and conflict research and European integration. He previously worked as a journalist for the AP news agency and as a political advisor to Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey.

>__SRF News: What is the significance of this appeal?__

>Laurent Goetschel: I don’t see it as a vote of no confidence. However, I see it as a deep expression of concern. Concern about what is happening on the ground and that Switzerland is relatively silent.

>__Do you think the demands are justified?__

>Overall, I think the direction of the demands is entirely justified. You can always argue about the details. But the fact that, from a humanitarian point of view, terrible things are currently happening in Gaza and that Switzerland should take a stance on this or, as the depositary state of the Geneva Convention, say something, I think is more than justified.

>>Infobox:

>>__More on the open letter to Federal Councillor Cassis__

>>The 55 former Swiss diplomats who have signed the letter to Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis include two former Swiss ambassadors to Germany, Paul Seger and former National Councillor Tim Guldimann. The former ambassador to the USA, Urs Ziswiler, the two former special envoys to the Middle East, Didier Pfirter and Jean-Daniel Ruch, and the former ambassador to Iran, Philippe Welti, have also signed the letter.

>>In the letter, the ex-diplomats express their shock at Switzerland’s “silence and passivity” regarding Israel’s war crimes in Gaza. They call for immediate measures to be taken against the country. Switzerland must immediately reject Israel’s plan “to expel the civilian population from Gaza and for Israel to reoccupy the territory militarily”. These are “forms of ethnic cleansing and genocidal processes”, the ambassadors write in the open letter to Mr Cassis.

>>Switzerland must also immediately recognise the state of Palestine in the sense of a two-state solution, as 148 other UN member states have already done.

>__How should Switzerland behave as a neutral country, but also as a depositary state of the Geneva Conventions?__

>Switzerland’s neutrality plays no role in this context because, from a Swiss perspective, we are only dealing with one state under international law: Israel. Switzerland has not yet recognised the so-called occupied Palestinian territories as a state.

>This concerns Switzerland’s stance on very important issues of international humanitarian law and the behaviour of states in warlike combat situations. There can be no silence for reasons of neutrality – on the contrary: one could even argue that because a state is neutral, it must speak out on these issues.

>__If Switzerland were to position itself more clearly, would it still be able to offer its good offices and mediate between the parties?__

>We should not overestimate Switzerland’s capabilities. Despite all justified wishful thinking, it is currently the case, and probably has been for some time, that one state in particular, namely the United States of America, could exert a decisive influence on Israel if it wanted to. But there is also a lot to be done in the humanitarian field. A lot can be achieved here, even if peace is not yet “ante portas”.

>__In your opinion, is Switzerland doing enough at the moment?__

>You can always say: when in doubt, give the accused the benefit of the doubt. In that sense, you could assume that Switzerland is doing much more than outsiders realise. However, I have certain doubts that this is true. My impression is rather that Switzerland is currently punching below its weight, in other words that it could actually be doing much more than it is.

>A year and a half ago, most relations with Palestinian civil society were cut, and a few weeks and months ago decisions were also taken to cut all civil society relations within Israel, so to speak. Switzerland is now really only active in the narrow humanitarian field and I think that’s a great pity.

>__The interview was conducted by Iwan Lieberherr.__