Blocher positively surprised by US trip

Swiss Justice Minister Christoph Blocher (right) and FBI director Robert Mueller Keystone

Swiss Justice Minister Christoph Blocher has held anti-terrorism talks with his United States counterpart, Alberto Gonzales, and FBI head Robert Mueller.

Speaking in Washington, Blocher said that he was “positively surprised that a superpower like the US took the time for such talks”.

The justice ministry said on Wednesday that the meetings had focused on strengthening cooperation in the fight against terrorism and between the law enforcement agencies of both countries, as well as mutual assistance on criminal matters.

For his part, Blocher praised the close security ties between the US and Switzerland which had developed following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

He singled out cooperation with the FBI in particular, with whom “the work was carried out every day and at all levels, including and especially, at the lowest levels from police officer to police officer”.

Blocher said that Alberto Gonzales and Robert Mueller were of the opinion that high-level exchanges should “take place in an informal way and that we should be able to speak to each other on the telephone directly”.

Mutual assistance

Blocher said that he had stressed the need to constantly foster mutual assistance over terrorism because of differences between the two countries legal systems.

But he said that both sides agreed that it was essential to continue efforts to combat terror and improve current measures, which were already beginning to show results.

Referring to the “Operative Working Arrangement” between the two countries to help ease the exchange of information, Blocher said it was a “sensible” agreement that should be continued. The government was criticised for proceeding with the arrangement without first obtaining parliament’s approval.

“I expect that during this year we will have a new treaty,” Blocher told swissinfo. He added that this would be with “certain adjustments”, but gave no further details.

Blocher rejected accusations that the accord had been more profitable to the Americans than the Swiss.

“When we exchange information, it’s the whole international community who profits and when Switzerland has a success in the fight against terrorism, it’s a success for everybody,” said Blocher.

“We are very well respected by the Americans and we are equal partners,” he added.

Guantanamo Bay

However, the minister said that he had not spoken about human rights abuses or the situation at Guantanamo Bay, the US camp in which people suspected of links with Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda group are detained.

Blocher said that this was not a bilateral theme and that many other organisations were concerned with this issue.

He said that Gonzales had told him that President Bush attached great importance to carrying out the fight against terrorism within the rule of law.

This included the recognition of the sovereignty of a country and human dignity. Switzerland’s neutrality posed no problem to the US, added Blocher.

Blocher is due to return to Switzerland later on Wednesday after spending two days in the US.

swissinfo

In brief

Blocher has met US counterpart Alberto Gonzales and the head of the FBI, Robert Mueller for anti-terrorism talks during a two-day trip to the United States.

The meetings focused on strengthening cooperation in the fight against terrorism as well as mutual assistance on criminal matters.