Swiss Authorities Start Considering Ways of Dealing With the Asmara regime and Refugees

2016-09-20 10:57:26 Written by  EPDP Information Office Published in EPDP News Read 3531 times

For several years now, hardly a week passes without the Swiss press covering Eritrea in the German, French and Italian dailies or weeklies. Yesterday, 19 September, was the turn of the Tribune de Genève 2 to write an Eritrea-related story involving the Swiss Parliament's Commission on Administration whose deliberations, always kept confidential, were on how negotiations with the Asmara regime could be realized on the basis of the 13 September decision of the 200-member Swiss National Council (lower house).

 

Proposed by the right-wing Liberal Radical party, the decision of the National Council, which still requires action by the senate (the Council of States) intends to start negotiations with the Eritrean regime. The aim is for Switzerland to provide funds for "development projects" in Eritrea if the regime agrees 1) to respect human rights by taking concrete measures like allowing visitations to prisoners in the country, and 2) readmit international organizations to work in Eritrea.

The Tribute de Genève reporter speculated that the administrative commission could have discussed not only how the difficult negotiations with Eritrea could be handled but also on what could be done with Eritrean asylum seekers who are refused political protection Switzerland. It said many of them can be returned to Eritrea, and those allowed to stay in Switzerland would be able to travel out only after notifying to Swiss authorities their destinations.

However, it is widely reported that the Swiss minister for foreign affairs, Mr. Didier Burkhalter, affirming that there is no hope of succeeding in any negotiation with the Asmara regime based on the conditions decided by the Swiss parliament.    

Last modified on Tuesday, 20 September 2016 13:02