Berne | Dec 22

DPA -

The crew of the Zhenhua 4 held off the pirates using molotov cocktails and water cannon Photo: AP

Swiss to use military to protect ships against pirates

Switzerland is to protect its ships near the Horn of Africa by military means, Swiss President Pascal Couchepin said in an interview published Sunday in the weekly SonntagsZeitung.

'There is no solution other than to send some soldiers if our ships are threatened,' Couchepin said. 'We have no other choice. Do you want to go to the pirates and say: 'Stop, we're neutral - please highjack that ship over there'?'

Switzerland's merchant navy contains around 35 freighters and tankers with some 600 mariners.

A decision by the government has not yet been made, as the juridical questions have to be clarified. Military personnel participating in such an action, however, would be volunteers.

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