Swiss may send soldiers to guard ships off Somalia
GENEVA, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Switzerland is considering using soldiers to protect Swiss ships from pirates off Somalia, President Pascal Couchepin was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Couchepin, who is also interior minister, said the Swiss cabinet had not taken a final decision on the question, but its position was clear.
"We are ready in principle to send Swiss soldiers to Somalia," Swiss weekly SonntagsZeitung quoted him as saying.
"You can't ignore this problem. Now we have to clarify what legal, financial and practical consequences this would have."
A Swiss freighter was pursued by pirates off the Somali coast last week, but they abandoned the chase, Swiss weekly NZZ am Sonntag reported.
Couchepin did not give details of the possible operation, which could involve putting Swiss troops on Swiss ships, or deploying them in the troubled Horn of Africa state.
The SonntagsZeitung said the Swiss cabinet was considering whether Switzerland should take part in an anti-piracy air-sea operation off the coast of Somalia that the European Union agreed to launch earlier this month. In return the EU would escort Swiss ships.
On Tuesday the U.N. Security Council authorised countries fighting piracy off the Somali coast to take action inside the country and in its airspace, with the consent of the government.
Pirates have caused havoc in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes this year, hijacking dozens of ships, including a Saudi Arabian supertanker loaded with $100 million worth of oil.
NATO ships began anti-piracy operations off the Somali coast in late October, but they have failed to stop the hijackings, and other nations are now pitching in.
On Saturday China's official news agency Xinhua said Beijing would send two destroyers and a supply vessel to the seas off Somalia to back international efforts to fight piracy, and Iran said it had dispatched a warship to the Gulf of Aden to protect Iranian vessels.
Although Switzerland is neutral, it has a history of taking part in international peacekeeping efforts. The landlocked country has a merchant fleet of about 35 vessels.
"We don't have a choice," Couchepin said. "Do you want to tell the pirates: 'Stop, we're neutral, please don't hijack that ship over there!'" (Reporting by Jonathan Lynn; Editing by Katie Nguyen)
