Uproar Over Swiss Apology to Libya

瑞士舆论不满政府向利比亚道歉

　　Switzerland is in an uproar over the government's decision to apologize to Libyan leader, Muammar Gadhafi, for the arrest of his son and daughter-in-law last year in Geneva for abusing their domestic servants. Libya had demanded an apology as the price of re-establishing normal relations.

　　瑞士总统梅尔茨向利比亚领导人卡扎菲道歉的决定引发瑞士国内强烈不满。去年卡扎菲的儿子和儿媳在日内瓦虐待女佣受到瑞士警方的逮捕。对此利比亚要求瑞士道歉，以此作为恢复正常关系的条件。

　　Criminal charges against Muammar Gadhafi's son, Hannibal and his pregnant daughter-in-law were dropped after the two abused domestic servants reached an out-of court settlement and withdrew their complaint.

　　对卡扎菲儿子汉尼巴尔和他怀孕的妻子的刑事指控被取消，此前受到虐待的两名女佣达成了庭外和解，撤回了她们的申诉。

　　Nevertheless, Libya was quick to retaliate against this insult. It arrested two Swiss businessmen, threatened to cut off crude oil deliveries, withdrew its money from Swiss banks, and told Swiss International Air Lines it could no longer fly to Tripoli.

　　尽管如此，利比亚对受到逮捕的侮辱迅速进行了报复。利比亚逮捕两名瑞士商人，威胁说要切断原油的输送，撤回在瑞士银行的存款，并告知瑞士国际航空公司，有可能禁止其航班飞往的黎波里。

　　Mr. Gadhafi demanded an apology for the so-called unjustified arrest of his son and daughter-in-law as the price for letting the Swiss nationals return home and for ending economic sanctions.

　　卡扎菲要求就逮捕他儿子儿媳的所谓不公正行为而道歉，以此作为瑞士商人返回祖国以及结束经济制裁的代价。

　　The government resisted this demand for more than a year. But, finally gave in. The Swiss president Hans-Rudolf Merz went to Tripoli to personally apologize to leader Gadhafi.

　　瑞士政府抵制这种要求一年多后最终同意了利比亚的要求。瑞士总统梅尔茨亲自前往的黎波里向卡扎菲表示了歉意。

　　Under an agreement signed by the two sides, a three person independent arbitration panel will be set up to decide whether the Geneva police handled the arrest appropriately.

　　根据两国签署的协议，将由一个三人组成的独立仲裁小组来判定日内瓦警察的逮捕行动是否适当。

　　Swiss People's Party Member of Parliament, Luza Strom is incensed at the way the government has handled this matter.

　　瑞士议会人民党的成员斯特朗姆反对政府在这个问题上的处理方式。

　　"I had the feeling the Geneva police did not make any mistakes. And, if that is the case, it is a scandal that we apologize," said Strom. "I am afraid that Switzerland made concessions just because of two individuals who are in a really difficult situation. And, the country should not do that because if the country starts to do this, any terrorist in the world could start hijacking somebody and then our country would be forced to make concessions."

　　他说：“我的感觉是日内瓦警察没有做错。如果真是这样的情况，我们作出道歉就是一个丑闻。我担心瑞士作出让步就是因为那两个人处境非常困难。我们的国家不应该这么做，因为如果我们这样做了，世界上任何恐怖分子都可能开始劫持什么人，然后迫使我们的政府妥协。”

　　As it is, Swiss president Merz is being criticized for leaving Libya without the two detained Swiss citizens in tow. Libya says they would be released soon.

　　同时，瑞士总统梅尔茨离开利比亚时没有随身带回两名受到关押的瑞士公民，受到国内舆论的严厉批评。利比亚说，这两名在押人员很快将会得到释放。

　　This has not been a good week for Switzerland. The Gadhafi affair follows concessions by Switzerland's biggest bank, UBS, to turn over data on 4,500 wealthy American clients suspected of tax evasion to U.S. authorities.

　　这个星期对瑞士来说非常不利，卡扎菲事件之前，瑞士最大的银行--瑞士联合银行同意向美国当局提交4500名有逃税嫌疑的非常富有的美国客户的相关信息。

　　And now, the government is being criticized for groveling before leader Gadhafi.

　　现在瑞士政府又因为向利比亚领导人卡扎菲低头而受到严厉的批评。

　　One dissenting voice is Libya's Geneva lawyer, Charles Poncet, who says he is very happy that Bern and Tripoli have managed to overcome their differences.

　　不过，一个不同的声音是利比亚在日内瓦的律师庞赛特发表的看法，他说，他对伯尔尼和的黎波里能够努力克服各自面临的难题感到高兴。

　　"In my view, this could have been handled with a little bit-you know, a little bit of skill. This would have been over a long time ago," said Poncet. "And, I am just surprised that it took so long quite frankly."

　　他说：“我看，这个问题本可以处理得更为技巧，应该在很久以前就得到解决。坦率地说，此案拖了这么久，我真的感到吃惊。”

　　In the aftermath of their arrest, the Gadhafi couple filed a civil suit against the Geneva police. Poncet says a hearing due next month would be suspended as a first step and then withdrawn.

　　卡扎菲的儿子儿媳被逮捕后，这对夫妇对日内瓦警方提出了民事诉讼。庞赛特说，定于9月举行的聆讯可能会取消，随后进而撤销这一诉讼。