|
Server : Apache/2.4.62 System : FreeBSD fbsdweb2.web.rcn.net 14.1-RELEASE FreeBSD 14.1-RELEASE releng/14.1-n267679-10e31f0946d8 GENERIC amd64 User : www ( 80) PHP Version : 8.3.8 Disable Function : NONE Directory : /domains/roger.dnai/96Pictures/94Book/ |
Upload File : |
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//SoftQuad//DTD HoTMetaL PRO 4.0::19971010::extensions to HTML 4.0//EN"
"hmpro4.dtd">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META NAME="GENERATOR"
CONTENT="Mozilla/4.03 (Macintosh; I; 68K) [Netscape]">
<TITLE>Dr. Laurent Carrel...Swiss Views on the Blue Helmets and the
Partnership for Peace</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" BGPROPERTIES="FIXED">
<CENTER><FONT SIZE="+4"></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+4">Swiss
Views on the Blue Helmets and</FONT></FONT></CENTER>
<CENTER><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+4">The Partnership for Peace</FONT></FONT></CENTER>
<CENTER><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+3">Prof. Dr. Laurent F. Carrel
</FONT></FONT></CENTER>
<CENTER><I><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+2">Swiss Ministry of
Defense</FONT></FONT></I></CENTER>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">At the NATO Workshop, I was
repeatedly asked to explain the Swiss popular vote of June 1994 that
rejected our country's participation in the Blue Helmets. To be frank, I
find it increasingly hard to explain the rationale behind the negative
decisions made by a majority of the Swiss people concerning the U.N., the
European Economic Space, and the Blue Helmets--decisions that I do not
share at all. In fact, I strongly support Switzerland's opening up to
Europe. In my opinion, the formula "Neutrality = Security" is
dead and must be replaced by "Security Through Cooperation or
Integration."</FONT></FONT> </P>
<CENTER></CENTER>
<CENTER><B><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+1">THE NEGATIVE VOTE ON
BLUE HELMETS</FONT></FONT></B></CENTER>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">With that introduction, I would
like to present the perspective of the Swiss Ministry of Defense and the
General Staff regarding the Blue Helmets and Partnership for Peace.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">The Swiss Minister of Defense,
the Chief of General Staff, the government, and the parliament were
committed to the proposed participation in the Blue Helmets. Yet, 57.2% of
the people voted no. What happened? Perhaps we have carried direct
democracy and the control of the Armed Forces to the extreme: we vote on
defense budgets as well as on concrete armament proposals. We do so not
only in parliament but, when called to a referendum, nationwide as well.
Such was the case for last year's vote on the F/A-18. The airplane passed,
but the Blue Helmets did not.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">Perhaps it was a combination of
fear and the issue of our neutrality status. It is a historical fact that
mercenaries once provided a principal source of our income, since we had
no natural resources (and still have none). These soldiers--up to 1
million men--served in every major army in Europe. This trend culminated
in Swiss battalions fighting bloody battles against Swiss compatriots
serving under a different flag. Therefore, one of the core ideas in the
origin of our neutrality was "Do not get involved in foreign
quarrels." It was no surprise that this plea was again used
extensively in the propaganda against the Blue Helmets to evoke a
deep-seated fear of getting entangled abroad. This fear includes a related
concern about unsettling the delicate balance within Switzerland, of
tearing apart the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious fabric of
our culture. In the eyes of many Swiss, our neutrality greatly affects our
internal stability which, in turn, is a distinctive feature of our
neutrality concept.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">Timing was very bad indeed.
Opponents got a free ride on TV: they said, "Look at Somalia and at
Bosnia; just turn on your TV every evening and you will see where we will
end up."</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">I have been asked about my
reaction to the Herald Tribune cartoon in which an egotistic Swiss
firefighter declines to pass on the water bucket while declaring himself
neutral. Of course, I felt terrible. But we are in a contradictory
situation: in Switzerland, there is a deep humanitarian tradition. For
example, the International Red Cross finds plenty of Swiss volunteers to
serve in dangerous missions. Young Swiss get killed every year in
humanitarian missions sponsored by the Red Cross. Yet, there is no public
debate about this, since we accept the risks as the price of humanitarian
aid.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">My conclusion is that we should
not lament, but carry on instead. We lost a battle, but have not lost the
war. Eventually, we will join Europe. But it will take time, just as it
did to give equal rights to women. And let us remember the vote was on
armed Blue Helmets; it was not on Blue Berets or military observers
serving in the former Yugoslavia, the Middle East, or Korea; it was not on
medical units (such as those we sent to Namibia or the West Sahara) nor on
material, logistical, or financial support of U.N. operations. We will
continue providing such assets to U.N. peacekeeping operations.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
<CENTER></CENTER>
<CENTER><B><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+1">PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE
(PFP)</FONT></FONT></B></CENTER>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">The Swiss Minister of Defense
and the Chief of General Staff have shown great interest in joining the
Partnership for Peace. The military has many reasons for joining,
including the fact that our security policy doctrine gives the armed
forces a clear mandate to support peacekeeping efforts. Nonetheless, the
decision lies with the Swiss government.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">The Swiss military understands
the limitations and risks of the autonomous defense capacity of a small
neutral state. To counter a variety of new risks, broader cooperation is
indispensable. We are trying to overcome our present handicap of isolation
in many ways, including bilateral agreements, exchanges of views and
officers, and standardization of weapons. Joining PFP would, in many ways,
be a useful additional step toward overcoming our limitations. But we are
aware that PFP is a two-way street. To PFP, we could bring Blue Berets,
medical units, military observers, NBC Specialists for Arms Control
Verification, unarmed logistical support, expertise in humanitarian
operations and disaster relief, international training programs, etc., but
no Blue Helmet riflemen. PFP has an operational aspect but also a
political dimension. We fully share and support all the goals and values
set forth in the Framework Document.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">In the June 15, 1994, edition of
a Swiss newspaper (Der Bund), Ambassador von Moltke voiced NATO's hope
that Switzerland would join PFP in spite of the vote rejecting the Blue
Helmets. He argued that Switzerland could contribute to PFP with its other
assets. We felt very encouraged by this lifeline thrown to us by NATO.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0"><A HREF="Carrel.htm" TARGET="_document">Go
to Top of Page</A></FONT></FONT> <BR><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0"><A HREF="/94Book/94Workshop.htm">Return
to Os '94 Page</A></FONT></FONT> <BR><A HREF="../index.html">Return to Home Page</A> </P>
</BODY>
</HTML>