THE Swiss Parliament backed a proposal on Wednesday to investigate the country’s relations with apartheid-era South Africa. However, critics say the probe will be toothless. Pia Hollstein, a Green Party member who proposed the investigation, said the study would not have the powers to get to the bottom of the matter. She noted it would not have a mandate to examine the archives of private companies including banks. Parliament rejected a suggestion to create an independent investigative panel similar to one probing Switzerland’s links with Nazi Germany during World War II. Campaigners have accused both Switzerland’s government and companies, especially its famous banks, of collusion with the apartheid regime.