Khatami praises Swiss democratic model
Iran has thanked Switzerland for its aid to the victims of the earthquake in Bam that killed more than 30,000 people.
At a meeting in Bern with his Swiss counterpart, Joseph Deiss, the Iranian president, Mohammad Khatami, also discussed democracy and Switzerland’s efforts to broker a Middle East peace plan.
“I want to say a big thank you to the Swiss government for the help in Bam – and a special thanks to the Swiss people for their solidarity,” Khatami told the Swiss media.
The Swiss have donated more than SFr8.3 million ($6.6 million) to help the victims of the devastating earthquake which struck the southern Iranian city in December, according to the charity, Swiss solidarity.
“We expressed our solidarity with Iran and its people following the Bam earthquake and we confirmed our wish to help in the reconstruction,” Deiss said.
Geneva Accord
On the subject of the Geneva Accord – an unofficial Swiss-backed peace plan for the Middle East launched in Geneva on December 1 – Khatami said Swiss involvement was important for the region.
“The US has a unilateral policy [for the Middle East] and doesn’t really play the role of an unbiased mediator. We are in favour of a bigger role for the European Union and especially for Switzerland,” he said.
Khatami said Switzerland was a role model for Iran when it came to democracy, but emphasised that the forms democracy took could vary from country to country.
“Everyone who promotes the idea of democracy can learn a lot from the way it is practised here in Switzerland – this is one of the freest countries in the world,” Khatami said.
Human rights
Deiss said he and his Iranian counterpart had agreed to continue talks on human rights, which started during Deiss’s visit to Iran in 2002, when he was foreign minister.
“We had an intense dialogue on questions touching the internal life of Iran – the next elections, the path Iran is taking towards democracy and human rights – a dialogue that started in 2002 and will continue,” Deiss said.
But the human rights organisation, Amnesty International, says Iran has not improved its record and is still violating human rights.
“Khatami is a reformer and is interested in making progress, but the situation there is still bad and needs to be improved,” said Amnesty International spokesman Jürg Keller.
In 2002, 113 people were executed in Iran, according to Amnesty.
Nuclear programme
The two presidents also discussed Iran’s nuclear programme, which has recently come under scrutiny by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“We discussed the nuclear question and Switzerland’s desire to fight against nuclear proliferation.
“I hope Iran will continue its collaboration with the United Nations atomic agency,” Deiss said.
Khatami’s next port of call is Davos, where he is due to meet other leaders from the world of politics and business at the World Economic Forum meeting.
swissinfo
After Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Iran is Switzerland’s third most important trading partner in the Middle East.
In 2002, Swiss exports to Iran amounted to SFr480 million; its imports were worth SFr160 million.
The then Swiss foreign minister, Joseph Deiss, travelled to Iran in 2002 to hold talks on human rights.
He was followed by a Swiss delegation in October last year for a first round of talks to discuss the use of corporal punishment.
According to Amnesty International, 113 people were executed in Iran last year.
Mohammad Khatami has been Iran’s president since 1997.
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