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LIBYA

Swiss claw back Qaddafi payment

Switzerland said on Wednesday it had recovered a $1.8 million compensation payment that it transferred last year to the Libyan regime after a bitter standoff involving one of Muammar Qaddafi's sons.

The 1.5 million francs sum was transferred to an account in Germany for Hannibal Qaddafi last year as part of a settlement for a row that erupted after he was briefly arrested in Geneva.

But now, “Switzerland has been reimbursed with the money which it had to pay to Libya as compensation in 2010,” said a Swiss foreign ministry statement.

The Libyan-Swiss dispute had erupted in 2008, when Hannibal and his pregnant wife were briefly arrested at a Geneva hotel on suspicion of mistreating two of their domestic staff, prompting Libyan retaliation.

The standoff deepened when the Tribune de Geneve newspaper published leaked Swiss police mugshots of a dishevelled looking Hannibal in September 2008 that were taken at the time of his arrest.

Under a deal aimed at normalising ties that was overseen by Spain and Germany last year, the compensation would only be handed over if those responsible for publishing the photos were not identified.

The money was aimed at securing the release of Swiss businessman Max Goeldi, who had been detained by Libya during the dispute. Goeldi was released in June last year.

Following Libya’s conflict, on February 24, the Swiss government ordered a freeze on any assets that may belong to the Qaddafis and their entourage.

The European Union has also imposed an assets freeze on the regime.

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IMMIGRATION

Libya conference to be held in Sicily in November: Italy

A Libya conference will be held in Sicily in November, Italy's foreign minister said Tuesday, with talks focusing on an "inclusive approach" to stabilising the war-torn north African country while not fixating on a date for elections.

Libya conference to be held in Sicily in November: Italy
The coastline of the Sicilian island of Lampedusa. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP

The peace conference in Palermo on November 12 and 13 will aim to “identify the stages of a stabilisation process”, Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi told the Senate.

The meeting would drive towards “a common solution, even if there are differences of opinion between the parties involved”, he said.

Four key leaders from Libya agreed at a conference in Paris in May to hold landmark polls on December 10 as part of a French-led plan to stabilise the crisis-hit country despite ongoing violence and deep divisions.

France, however, has faced opposition to the election timetable from the United States along with other European Union countries, notably Italy.

Milanesi said he had received “confirmation of interest” in the conference from Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar as well as support from the US, and was planning on discussing the dossier with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Monday.

“No deadlines will be imposed on the Libyans, nor tasks dictated,” Milanesi said.

Italy, a key supporter of the UN-backed government of Fayez al-Sarraj in Tripoli, said in September it wants to “maintain an active dialogue” with all well-intentioned actors in Libya.

The Libyan capital has been at the centre of a battle for influence between armed groups since dictator Moamer Kadhafi was driven from power and killed in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising.

Sarraj's Government of National Accord has been unable to form a functioning army or regular security forces and has been forced to rely on militias to keep Tripoli safe.

Militias formed the backbone of the uprising that toppled Kadhafi.

Since then rival administrations, including one allied with Haftar and based in the remote east, and the militias have competed for authority and oil wealth in the North African country.

Accused by his opponents of wanting to establish a new military dictatorship, Haftar refuses to recognise the authority of Sarraj's Tripoli-based GNA.

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