By Tamer Abulainain
BERN, Aug 28 (KUNA) -- Requests by a visiting Kuwaiti parliamentary delegation for the Swiss government to host international talks on applying the Fourth Geneva Convention on Palestinian civilians were met with the wholehearted support of two senior Swiss lawmakers.
Felix Gutzwiller, president of the Swiss Council of States (upper house) foreign affairs committee, said Thursday there was consensus on viewpoints regarding Switzerland's role as a nation that is a trustee of the Geneva pact, on the right of civilians under occupation in calling for an international conference.
The Swiss government has begun taking tangible steps in this regard, he added, with the Foreign Ministry having made contact with nations around the world on the request, made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in July.
Switzerland hopes that the talks would be held in a manner which suits the significance of the convention and the magnitude of the crisis in Gaza, he said.
Emphasising his point, he said the Swiss government is concerned with ensuring the talks do not turn into a stage for the exchange of accusations or the delivery of hostile speeches aimed at settling political scores, thus leading to the conference straying away from its aim.
Gutzwiller went on to praise an analysis of the political situation in Gaza, Syria and Iraq provided by Kuwait National Assembly Speaker and the head of the delegation Marzouq Al-Ghanim, which he described as deep, objective and informative, adding it was important for this perspective to reach lawmakers in the West.
Meanwhile, Carlo Sommaruga, president of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council (lower house), said that his extreme conviction during a recent visit to the West Bank had assured him of huge consensus on the importance of such talks.
This should inspire Switzerland to work towards realizing these demands, he said, adding he would be striving towards the goal through political channels with Kuwait and other nations, which expressed enthusiasm in attending such talks, not only for the Palestinians alone, but for the Arab world and the international community as a whole.
Both Swiss parliamentarians also stressed the depth of bilateral relations with Kuwait due to their common stances in support of global peace and stability.
Their meetings with the Kuwaiti delegation had taken place a couple of days ago during the visit which ended yesterday. (end) ta.sd