VZCZCXYZ0009
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSW #0655 3581630
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 231630Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY BERN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5555

C O N F I D E N T I A L BERN 000655 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CEN (A.KRAAIMOORE) AND EUR/CE (Y.SAINT-ANDRE) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/23/2018 
TAGS: EAID PGOV PREL NU SZ
SUBJECT: SWISS REACTION TO CALL FOR FREEZING 
NON-HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO NICARAGUA FOLLOWING 
FRAUDULENT ELECTIONS 
 
REF: SECSTATE 132044 
 
Classified By: Acting POL/E Counselor Chris Buck; reasons 1.4(b) and (d 
). 
 
¶1. (SBU) Poloff shared reftel talking points with Nora 
Kronig, Regional Coordinator for Central and South America at 
the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (EDA), and 
Mathias Domenig, South American Desk Officer for EDA, on 
December 22.  In response to the USG call to freeze 
non-humanitarian assistance to Nicaragua following the 
fraudulent municipal elections of November 9, Kronig said 
that Switzerland had been concerned about the elections and 
that the GON should have allowed international observers to 
monitor them.  She added that, because Switzerland now holds 
the rotating presidency of the Donors Group of Nicaragua, the 
GOS had sought dialogue with the GON regarding this issue. 
She did not offer results of this attempt for dialogue. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Kronig stated that the allocation of Swiss budget 
support to foreign countries, including Nicaragua, was 
decided at the Federal Council (Executive Cabinet) level, and 
that policy recommendations in this regard were prepared by 
the EDA in collaboration with the Swiss State Secretariat for 
Economic Affairs (SECO). 
 
¶3. (C) Given the high-level at which budget support decisions 
are made, Kronig was therefore unable to give a definitive 
answer regarding whether the GOS would freeze 
non-humanitarian assistance to Nicaragua.  Off the record, 
however, Kronig said that she saw this step as unlikely, 
noting that the GOS prefers to address such problems through 
direct dialogue with the recipient country.  Kronig added 
that the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) 
also has a program focused on Nicaragua, and that she did not 
personally think that assistance would be halted by SDC 
either. 
 
¶4. (U) Kronig said that she would advise poloff of the 
coordinated GOS response to reftel demarche once available, 
noting that she would not likely have an answer before 
January 2009. 
CARTER