Swiss peacekeepers get green light to stay in Kosovo

The Swisscoy mission is to be extended to the end of 2003 Keystone Archive

Parliament has extended until the end of 2003 the mandate for Swiss soldiers taking part in a multinational peacekeeping operation in Kosovo.

The Senate on Tuesday followed the House of Representatives in extending the “Swisscoy” mission.

The Swiss force of volunteers will be expanded to a maximum of 220 members. They will be fully armed and equipped with armoured vehicles and a transport helicopter.

Currently, the Swiss contingent, which was deployed in 1999, provides logistical support for the multinational peacekeeping mission (KFor) in southern Kosovo, but it depends on protection by Austrian troops serving with KFor.

Costs and commitments

The Senate decision is in line with a proposal, approved by Swiss voters last June, to arm Swiss soldiers serving on international peacekeeping missions.

Swiss troops, however, are not allowed to take part in combat missions.

During Tuesday’s debate, opponents argued that the Swiss involvement in Kosovo was too ambitious and too expensive. They said reconstruction work should be done by civilian organisations and not by armed forces.

The Swisscoy mission is expected to cost the taxpayer SFr33 million ($20 million) next year and SFr37.5 million in 2003.

But an overwhelming majority of the Senate agreed with the government’s view that Swiss troops enjoyed widespread respect among the international mission in Kosovo.

The Senate also rejected a proposal to limit the size of the contingent because it would compromise Switzerland’s commitment towards the international community.

Martin Bühler of the Swiss defence ministry told swissinfo that it was in Switzerland’s own interest to continue its military cooperation in Kosovo.

“The province is not far away from Switzerland. During the height of the crisis in 1999, about 70,000 refugees fled to Switzerland,” Bühler said.

He added that the aim was not make Kosovo safe in order to enable refugees to return home, but stressed that the cost for Switzerland of providing a safe haven for refugees is far more than funding a contingent of Swiss peacekeepers.

International cooperation

It is not the first time Swiss troops have been involved in international peacekeeping missions.

Between 1995 and 2000 the Swiss army took part in a multinational force in Bosnia-Herzegovina under the auspices of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Switzerland also contributed logistical and medical troops to United Nations peacekeeping missions in Namibia and Western Sahara. Since 1953 it has stationed army personnel on the border between North and South Korea.

In addition, Switzerland is participating in UN observer missions in the Middle East, the former Soviet republic of Georgia, as well as Congo and Kosovo.

by Urs Geiser