AS FAR as attacks of "monster parent syndrome" go, it has to be one of the world's worst. President Moammar Gaddafi appears to have declared economic war on Switzerland after it had the temerity to arrest his wayward son.
Hannibul Gaddafi, 32, and his pregnant wife were detained last week at a luxury hotel in Geneva, after reports of an altercation and shouting in their suite.
The Swiss newspaper Tribune de Genève reported that two of Gaddafi's domestic servants
had claimed he and his wife repeatedly beat them at the hotel with a belt and a hanger. It said a Tunisian woman had been hospitalised.
The angry reaction from Tripoli reached a peak yesterday with the announcement that Libya had halted all its oil deliveries to Switzerland and barred Swiss ships from its ports in protest at the arrest. Libya supplies more than half of Switzerland's crude imports, which totalled 2.5 million tons in 2007.
Tripoli had already recalled some of its diplomats from Switzerland, suspended the issuing of visas for Swiss citizens, reduced the number of flights to Switzerland and detained two Swiss nationals on various charges, according to the Swiss foreign ministry. Switzerland, in turn, has warned its citizens not to travel to Libya.
Libya is now threatening to withdraw about £3 billion in funds held in Swiss banks.
In Tripoli yesterday, the Libyan government organised a demonstration by employees of the Libyan shipping company in front of the Swiss embassy. Some 500 people chanted slogans and distributed flyers calling for an official apology.
The company also issued a statement saying Swiss ships would be stopped from entering Libyan ports and unloading their goods. "Unless the coming hours witness a closure of this file, which is fabricated and illegitimate, and unless the Swiss authorities issue an official apology to Gaddafi, his son and the Libyan people, escalating measures will be taken," it warned.
In Geneva, Laurent Moutinot, the head of the Geneva local government, denied Libyan accusations that Hannibul Gaddafi had been mistreated. "No force was used against the Gaddafi couple," he said. "The reputation of Switzerland as a country of human rights demanded that the police intervene."
Hannibul and his wife were released on bail after being interviewed by police last week, but they have since fled Switzerland. It is not known whether they are now back in Libya.
The Swiss are somewhat perplexed by Libya's actions against them. A diplomatic delegation has been dispatched to Tripoli to give the Libyan authorities more details on the arrest "to prevent a crisis between the two countries", the Swiss foreign ministry said.
Chips off the old block?GENEVA has suffered with more than its fair share of international brats over the years, its opulent hotels, strict banking code and careful respect of diplomatic status guaranteeing an allure for some of the world's more undesirable despots and their spawn.
Most famous was Uday Hussein, son of Saddam, hated by most Iraqis more than his father, exiled over beating to death one of his father's aides.
Hannibal Gaddafi already has form for causing trouble in Europe. In 2005, Libya was involved in a diplomatic spat with France after Gaddafi beat up a woman in a Paris hotel, scuffled with police, brandished a gun and falsely claimed diplomatic immunity.
It followed an incident in 2004 in which he was released on the spot by police, who had pursued him as he allegedly drove at 90mph through red lights on the wrong side of the Champs Elysées while drunk.
Four years previous to that, his claim to immunity enabled him to leave Rome unhindered after he attacked three Italian policemen in his hotel with a fire extinguisher.
The full article contains 628 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
