Bad start for Swiss at Earth summit
The Swiss delegation to the Johannesburg Earth summit has lost one of its key members on the conference's opening day.
Rosmarie Bär has arrived back in Switzerland after being attacked by an armed robber in her hotel room on Sunday. She will not be replaced.
Former Green party parliamentarian, Bär, had been scheduled to speak at a seminar at the Swiss sustainable development platform in Johannesburg.
Security has meanwhile been stepped up at the Swiss delegation’s hotel – the Sandton Village House – after Bär was shot at by a robber who broke into her room. Her attacker fled empty-handed after the bullet missed.
The South African authorities expressed their regret over the incident. Intelligence minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, said no arrests had been made but that an investigation was underway.
Extremely lucky
Harry Sivec, spokesman for the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), whom Bär was representing, said she had been extremely lucky.
He added that Bär had decided to return to Switzerland, where she wanted to spend some time alone.
But Sivec maintained that the delegation would continue its work despite Bär’s departure.
“The delegation will stay in Johannesburg. Aid organisations will have a voice through NGO representative, Madeline Bollinger.”
Attacks
Bär was not the only Swiss delegate to be attacked on Sunday. Another delegate from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in Johannesburg was also robbed earlier by the same attacker while she slept in her room.
A guest said the incidents were almost certainly isolated cases of robbery and were not being perceived as politically motivated attacks on the Swiss delegation.
Daniele Waldburger, spokesman for the Swiss delegation in Johannesburg, said all the delegates were in shock but remained determined to continue with the country’s programme of seminars and activities at the United Nations summit.
“Of course this is quite a grave incident,” Waldburger told swissinfo. “But we do not believe this was aimed at Switzerland or the Swiss delegation,” he added.
Rudolf Schaller, the Swiss ambassador in South Africa, told swissinfo there is always a risk of attack in one of the world’s most crime-ridden cities.
“It’s disappointing that this has happened at the world conference,” Schaller commented, “particularly because we have read so much about the security preparations, and it just goes to show that nobody can guarantee 100 per cent security.”
Tighter security
Waldburger has called on the summit organisers to make sure that security is tight not just at the conference venues, but also at all official hotels being used by international delegates.
“This incident is certainly not the result of a lack of circumspection on the part of the Swiss Embassy [in Pretoria],” Waldburger explained.
“It was the Johannesburg World Summit Company which was in charge of the booking and which is responsible for security,” he added.
The Sandton Village House hotel – located around 20 kilometres from the summit’s main conference centre – was deemed to be one of safest hotels in the area.
Safety precautions
The Swiss Embassy is currently reviewing safety precautions with South African government officials.
Security in Johannesburg has been stepped up for the summit, with the deployment of at least 10,000 additional police and troops.
Their role is to protect delegates and to prevent the violent mass demonstrations that have marred recent gatherings of global leaders in Seattle, Genoa and elsewhere.
Waldburger also made it clear the attack would not affect Switzerland’s schedule at the summit, including the arrival of the head of the delegation, Swiss foreign minister Joseph Deiss, next week.
by Ramsey Zarifeh in Johannesburg
Rosmarie Bär has arrived back in Switzerland, leaving the Swiss delegation one short.
Two Swiss delegates were attacked at gunpoint.
Attacks occurred in Sandton Village House, recommended for being one of the safest hotels in the area.
Switzerland says conference schedule remains unchanged.
Rosmarie Bär, a member of the Swiss delegation to the Earth Summit is Johannesburg has returned to Switzerland after being attacked at gunpoint in her hotel room.
South African officials expressed regret about the incident.
The Swiss delegation has decided not to replace Bär, a key member.
Earlier, another Swiss delegate was robbed in her room by the same assailant.
The attacks were not perceived as politically motivated.
Switzerland has demanded better safety precautions for its delegation.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.