The ejection of the populist politician Christoph Blocher from the Swiss government in December 2007 gave rise to hope that Switzerland could restore its tainted image and that the country’s “splendid isolation” on the international stage might soon be over. In an opinion piece for “NZZ am Sonntag” on 30 December 2007 I wrote: “Switzerland will not have a glorious future by isolating itself from the European Union and the wider world. In our globalized world (…) you cannot isolate yourself if you want to be heard. Swiss diplomacy can only return to its former strength if the Federal Council and the parties supporting it once again represent an open-minded Switzerland.”

Who would have thought that this call would be heeded so quickly, but in such an unexpected direction? Two weeks ago, Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey appeared, veiled in a headscarf, at the side of Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad to seal an enormous deal with the National Iranian Gas Export Company. She did so on behalf of a private Swiss company, “to safeguard Switzerland’s own strategic interests,” as she put it.

Back home, Calmy-Rey said that she had pressed Tehran on issues such as human rights or the nuclear program. The Iranian newspaper “Tehran Times” phrased it somewhat differently: “Calmy-Rey appreciated Iran for its cooperation with the IAEA. She also called for the continued Iran-Switzerland dialogue on human rights.” It became clear immediately that the visit by the Swiss foreign minister was a propagandistic triumph for the mullahs.

A few days after the Iranian gas deal, Calmy-Rey’s Foreign Affairs Department secured the election of Jean Ziegler as special adviser of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Ziegler, a self-declared human rights activist, is best known as campaigner for dictators such as Colonel Khaddafi of Libya, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe or Fidel Castro of Cuba.

Brushing aside all criticism leveled against Ziegler by respected international personalities and organizations, Calmy-Rey got her preferred candidate elected by forging alliances with the many Asians and Africans represented on the council – the same countries that rarely miss an opportunity to bash Israel for defending itself against the attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah. Incidentally, it was Jean Ziegler who in 2006 claimed that Hezbollah in Lebanon was not a terrorist group, but a “national resistance movement”. He even expressed understanding for the kidnapping by Hezbollah of the two Israeli soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, who have not been released until this day.

In early March, Micheline Calmy-Rey personally appeared before the Human Rights Council to advocate a one-sided resolution, sponsored by Islamic countries, condemning Israel for its operations in the Palestinian territories – operations that are aimed at protecting Israel’s citizens from the constant rocket attacks by Hamas supporters. While all European Union countries on the council abstained, Switzerland voted in favor of the one-sided resolution, yet the Human Rights Council failed to condemn the deadly terrorist attack at a Jerusalem rabbinical seminary which had occurred shortly before.

There is nothing wrong with governments defending their national interests, but such actions should be centered around certain basic principles, i.e. those of democracy, peace and human liberties.

There is nothing wrong with criticizing Israel, provided equal measures of judgment and criticism are being applied to all countries.

What is horribly wrong, though, is Mrs. Calmy-Rey’s flawed foreign policy. It makes Switzerland a hostage to countries that, rather than respect human rights, pay merely lip service to them. This is especially true of international bodies like the UN Human Rights Council that has lost its credibility in the record-breaking time of 18 months.

Only days after the manipulated parliamentary election in Iran, Mrs. Calmy-Rey chose to lend public support to the Islamist regime in Tehran, whose declared aim is the eradication of Israel, while at the same time strengthening Israel’s (hypo-)critics at the United Nations in Geneva. But beware: placating the mullahs in Tehran comes with a heavy political price tag.

Micheline Calmy-Rey has gravely undermined the efforts of the international community, in particular the five permanent members on the UN Security Council and Switzerland’s neighbor Germany, to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power eventually capable of wreaking havoc on Israel and the entire Middle East. How on earth can we expect the sanctions regime to achieve results if a UN member – host country to many UN bodies – makes a mockery of the United Nations?

The current Swiss government has chosen to reduce the country’s natural gas dependence on Russia by helping a Swiss company to clinch a deal with another (the Islamic Republic of Iran).

The Swiss Jewish Community Federation is right to point out that Mrs. Calmy-Rey’s trip to Tehran sends out all the wrong signals. The US government is correct in criticizing Switzerland for setting a bad example for the rest of Europe.

It would be naïve to believe that Micheline Calmy-Rey’s announcement of a “human rights dialogue” with the rulers in Tehran will lead to any concrete improvements of the situation in Iran. The hanging and stoning of dissidents, students, homosexuals and other regime critics; the rigging of elections; the anti-Israel campaign sponsored by Tehran and its allies Hamas and Hezbollah that is violent both in words and in action; the denial of the Holocaust; the apparent quest for nuclear weapons: all that will continue, not only in spite of, but perhaps also because of the gas deal.

The concept of Swiss neutrality has a long tradition, but Switzerland’s credibility as an honest broker in international diplomacy has been badly bruised. Mrs. Calmy-Rey has sold out her government’s international credibility in return for 5.5 billion cubic meters of Iranian natural gas and perhaps for some new friends in the radical Muslim world – definitely not a good investment! The next months will show if this Swiss diplomacy will be able to undo the damage that has been done.

Iran Wants Compensation for UN Sanctions – Iran is demanding compensation for what it says are unlawful sanctions imposed by the UN for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080327/ap_on_re_ca/un_iran_nuclear_2&printer=1;_ylt=AljnphvyXQOr5hT5Ucpf_f05bg8F

Cheney: Iran Trying to Enrich Uranium to Weapons-Grade Levels – Vice President Dick Cheney charged in an interview with ABC that Iran is “heavily involved in trying to develop nuclear weapons enrichment, the enrichment of uranium to weapons-grade levels.”
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-cheney26mar26,1,7973825.story

Washington Accuses Iran banking System of Money Laundering - The US Treasury is warning banks worldwide to think twice about doing any business with 51 state-owned and seven private Iranian banks involved in foreign operations.
http://www.smh.com.au/cgi-bin/common/popupPrintArticle.pl?path=/articles/2008/03/28/1206207408596.html#

United States Seeks Copy of Iran Gas Contract; WJC Slams Swiss-Iran Deal – The US intends to examine whether the deal violates UN sanctions against Iran. WJC President Ronald S. Lauder criticized the deal as “shabby” and as “flawed” foreign policy.
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/news/social_affairs/United_States_seeks_copy_of_Iran_gas_contract.html?
siteSect=204&sid=8912377&cKey=1206964379000&ty=nd
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080331/switzerland_iran_deal.html?.v=1&printer=1

CIA Chief: Iran Has Nuclear Weapons Program - CIA Chief Michael Hayden expressed his personal belief that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons program. The fact that it defies UN sanctions shows that it has something to hide.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gRbpL8Gdzu3lQj1bmGxroaNs6UAA

Iraqi Troops Find Cache of Iranian–Made Rockets South of Baghdad
Iraqi soldiers uncovered Iranian–made armor-piercing roadside bombs south of Baghdad, supporting US accusations of Iran arming Shiite extremists in Iraq.
http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=14727

Iran Incites cold War with US in Lebanon Stalemate - During six months of paralysis in electing a Lebanese president, Iranian and Syrian support for Hezbollah has flourished while the US has tried to keep its ally Fouad Siniora from being ousted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aaxUpuq5jM_w#

Russia Calls on Iran to Drop Resistance to Nuclear Talks – Russian UN Ambassador Churkin has urged Iran to drop its opposition to talks with six key nations trying to ensure that its nuclear program is peaceful.
http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/news/globalnews/gn_archives/2008/04/gn_080401_iran2.html

Iran-backed Hamas Insults to Jews Undermine Peace Effort – Intended to indoctrinate children and young people to its brand of radical Islam, Hamas sermons and media programs preach hatred and violence to the next generation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/01/world/middleeast/01hamas.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=print
http://www.iht.com/bin/printfriendly.php?id=11565256

Tehran Pushes to Join Central Asian Alliance - Seeking to break out of its diplomatic isolation, Iran has applied for membership the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, an alliance dominated by China and Russia which is seen as challenging US security interests in Central Asia.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080402/FOREIGN/408033658/1003&template=printart

Americans View Iran, Hamas, PA as Extremists- Jerusalem Post, April 2, 2008 – According to an Israel Project poll, 84% of Americans view Iran as extreme, and 65% think America would be less safe if Iran develops a nuclear bomb.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1206632378779&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter

Iran Set Up Listening Stations in Syria to Intercept Israeli Communications -Israeli security officials say that Iran has set up listening stations in Syria in recent months to intercept Israeli military communications.
http://www.iht.com/bin/printfriendly.php?id=11614427

IEAE Gets China’s Iran Intelligence – China, as well a list of other nations, has given the IAEA intelligence about Iran’s nuclear program despite Beijing’s opposition to UN Sanctions on Iran. This could be assign of growing unease about Iran’s denials that it never tried to make nuclear weapons.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080402/ap_on_re_eu/nuclear_iran_3&printer=1;_ylt=AvJstIOlHQtT3TDtPhJJl2pbbBAF

Ambassador Dan Gillerman, “Libya and Iran are Unacceptable,” New York Daily News, March 31, 2008 – Though only three months have passed since Libya joined the security Council, Libya’ membership already shames the UN, severely undermining the Council’s ability to maintain international peace an security.
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2008/03/31/2008-03-31_libya__iran_are_unacceptable.html?print=1&page=all

Douglas Bloomfield, “Washington Watch: Haman is a Crybaby,” Jerusalem Post, March 29, 2008 - Today’s successors to the Persian Haman remind the world almost daily that they still want to destroy the Jewish people, but when their intended victims intend to strike back, they run crying to the United Nations.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1206632361811&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

David Charles Waddington, “Iran’s Meddling in Iraq,” Washington Times, March 31, 2008 – When accused if interfering in Iraq, Iran has always professed innocence. General David Petraeus blames Iran squarely for rocket attacks into Iraq’s Green Zone.
http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=14722

Amir Taheri,” The Basra Battle: Signs of Iran,” New York Post, March 31. 2008 –The media has portrayed the latest battles for Basra as a power struggle between Shiite factions but in reality it is a war between Iran and the new Iraq.
http://www.nypost.com/php/pfriendly/print.php?url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/03312008/
postopinion/opedcolumnists/the_basra_battle__signs_of_iran_104323.htm

BBC Poll:” Israel’s Bad Influence Second only to Iran’s,” Jonny Paul, Jerusalem Post, April 2, 2008 –Israel and Iran have received the lowest ratings for the second year running in a BBC poll. Nevertheless, negative views of Israel declined over the past year.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1206632388476&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter

Michael Young, “Don’t Push Hamas to the Table,” Washington Post, April 3, 2008 – Some diplomats think that there should be “engagement” wherever there is a problem. Not always is this thought through and may, in fact, be unwise. particularly in the case of Hamas. Negotiating with Hamas will also mean indirectly negotiating with Iran and Syria—who have their own agendas to advance. http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/michael_young/2008/04/dont_push_hamas_to_the_table.html

Iranian Dissident’s Case Throws Light on Key Defection – A diplomatic standoff over the fate of an Iranian dissident temporarily detained at a Turkish airport reveals new clues about the defection of a high-ranking Iranian military official in late 2006.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-

Iran Police Checkpoints Keep Strict Gender Separation- Strict gender segregation laws were imposed by stopping vehicles with mixed gender occupants on a main highway to near Caspian sea shore.
http://www.ncr-iran.org/content/view/5045/1/

Iran Suppressive Forces Open fire on People Protesting Water Shortage – More than 1,000 residents of southern Iran who were protesting against a water shortage on March 30th were fired upon by the State Security Forces.
http://www.ncr-iran.org/content/view/5037/1/

Iran Inflation Rate Rising Ten Times Faster than National Growth – The government’s economic record offers a poor showing, considering that the state generated an all-time high income of $75 billion, mostly from gas and oil.
http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/print.php?storyid=14741

Hunt for British Exile in Iran Arms Probe – A wealthy Dorset businessman is at the center of an international investigation for illegally selling aircraft parts to Iran.
http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=14724

Belarus Seeks Iran Ties - Shunned by the West and facing an energy crunch after a reduction in aid from Russia, Belarus is looking to Iran for its energy needs.
http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/print/200803270326minsktense.html

Swiss Foreign Minister Defends Relations with Iran – Following criticism of the Ronald S. Lauder, president of the WJC, Swiss foreign minister Calmey-Rey has again defended her country’s gas deal with Iran.
http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/news/globalnews/gn_archives/2008/04/gn_080401_iran.html

US Treasury Says Top Global Banks Shunning Iran – The world’s top banks have largely stooped dealing wit Iran in response to Us and UN sanctions, and industrialized countries are working on further steps to combat financing for weapons proliferation.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/reuters_ids_new/20080401/r_t_rtrs_bs/tbs-u-s-treasury-says-top-global-banks-s-796e4e8_1.html?printer=1
http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/news/globalnews/gn_archives/2008/04/gn_080402_iran2.html

Iranian Economy Unwisely Helped by Germany - Without Germany adhering to tough sanctions there cannot be sufficient pressure on the Iranians to modify their behavior. As Iran’s second largest source of foreign goods and services, Germany needs to take more steps to keep Iran from achieving its nuclear ambitions.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?print=yes&id=25598