Calmy-Rey defends use of dialogue

Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey has made a strong plea for dialogue as part of Switzerland's foreign policy.

In a speech to the annual conference of Swiss ambassadors, which opened on Monday, she defended the idea of holding discussions with groups that were considered by some as “beyond the pale”.

“The only force we have ever had is that of words,” she said.

She commented that groups such as Hezbollah, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) or the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam “could not be ignored in the search for a settlement” in their respective conflicts.

However, although she posed the rhetorical question of dialogue with Osama Bin Laden, the foreign ministry later clarified that there was no question of it proposing dialogue with al-Qaeda.

The minister also said dialogue did not mean “accepting the unacceptable”. She said it sometimes caused problems and frustration, as had been the case with Swiss facilitation efforts in Colombia.

She noted that over the past years dialogue has helped Switzerland gain in political weight.

However, she said there were obstacles to Switzerland’s role in the world. She pointed out that the rotating Swiss presidency every year was not well understood abroad.

She added that the non-membership of Switzerland in the European Union weakened Switzerland’s ability to decide on the programme of international dialogue.