Cassis, on the other hand, urged Parmelin: Federal Council gossip about fighter jet munitions for Qatar again Swiss hotels significantly more occupied

While Switzerland – or at least parts of local politics – still can’t bring themselves to support Ukraine by supplying war material, another successful arms deal is now causing a stir.

At the end of September last year, the Swiss government announced that some 6,000 rounds of ammunition for fighter jets could be supplied to the desert state of Qatar. Following the deal, the “SonntagsBlick” requested the publication of the federal government’s internal documents, on the principle of publicity.

These reveal interesting things: before the approval there was a month of back and forth between the two Federal Council services EDA (Foreign Affairs) and EAER (Department of Economic Affairs). As a result, EDA, which reports to FDP Federal Councilor Ignazio Cassis, strongly opposed the approval of the ammunition supply. Qatar has long been under fire for its poor human rights record.

Discrimination against Asian migrant workers and the questionable situation regarding LGBTQ+ rights in the country were discussed during the FIFA World Cup last December. But the desert emirate also has some catching up to do in terms of freedom of expression and women’s rights by Western standards.

EDA with numerous concerns

According to “SonntagsBlick”, the FDFA also expressed concern about regional stability in the Gulf region. There is huge conflict potential there with the competition between Iran, Iraq and the various Emirates for supremacy in the region, the armed conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemeni rebels and the longstanding dispute between Israel and Palestine.

Due to the current discussions about Ukraine, the reference to the principle of neutrality is also noteworthy: the supply of jet fighter ammunition is not compatible with the Swiss policy of neutrality. “An export of offensive war material to a country that has been directly involved in regional conflicts in recent years and continues to support armed groups (…) could jeopardize Switzerland’s credibility as a neutral, humanitarian actor,” the EDA documents said. . to “SonntagsBlick”.

In the discussions about supplies from Switzerland to Ukraine and the release of supplies from other countries to the country attacked by Russia, similar arguments about neutrality are made – for example, by exponents of the SVP.

Qatar as the top Swiss arms customer

It is therefore paradoxical that the Economics Department of SVP Federal Councilor Guy Parmelin assessed the situation in the Qatar case completely differently. According to the report, the State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (Seco) stated that it was “not able to follow the reasoning of the EDA”. The problems outlined in terms of regional stability are “hypothetical risks”.

Unlike Ukraine, Qatar is not officially at war, but parts of parliament believe that the points mentioned constitute a violation of the War Material Act. For example, under this law it is not allowed to supply weapons to a country that systematically violates human rights. rights injured. This is exactly what the Gulf state of Qatar was certified to do in a 2019 EDA analysis.

Whether the fact that Qatar was the world’s top buyer of Swiss war material in 2022 played a role in the assessment has not been confirmed.

Parmesan predominates

Since the EDA experts and Federal Councilor Cassis were not convinced by the Economic Service’s arguments, the full Federal Council had to decide whether to approve the delivery. There, Parmelin clearly had the upper hand – on September 23, the Swiss government waved the deal through. (con)