| Submit your comments on this article |
| Europe |
| Swiss to deport lawbreakers & families |
| 2007-09-01 |
| GENEVA (AP) - Consider the source, the Antiamerican Press The campaign poster was blatant in its xenophobic symbolism: Three white sheep kicking out a black sheep over a caption that read "for more security." The message was not from a fringe force in Switzerland's political scene but from its largest party. The nationalist Swiss People's Party is proposing a deportation policy that anti-racism campaigners say evokes Nazi-era practices. Under the plan, entire families would be expelled if their children are convicted of a violent crime, drug offenses or benefits fraud. Now I know what country Rantburg is in. The party is trying to collect the 100,000 signatures needed to force a referendum on the issue. If approved in a referendum, the law would be the only one of its kind in Europe. That shouldn't take long. But it may spur immigration from other EUropean ex-countries. "We believe that parents are responsible for bringing up their children. If they can't do it properly, they will have to bear the consequences," Ueli Maurer, president of the People's Party, told The Personal responsibility? Whoa. Ronnie Bernheim of the Swiss Foundation against Racism and Anti-Semitism said the proposal was similar to the Nazi practice of "Sippenhaft" - or kin liability - whereby relatives of criminals were held responsible for his or her crimes and punished equally. Nazis, the Swiss are all Nazis, like the Amerikkkans Similar practices occurred during Stalin's purges in the early days of the Soviet Union and the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution in China, when millions were persecuted for their alleged ideological failings. This is serious, the AP is even bringing up Stalin in an unfavourable light. Next thing you know they'll be damning Fidel or Hugo with faint praise. "As soon as the first 10 families and their children have been expelled from the country, then things will get better at a stroke," said Maurer, whose party controls the Justice Ministry and shares power in an unwieldy coalition that includes all major parties. Wow! Might the same thing be true for illegal immigrants to the US? The party claims foreigners - who make up about 20 percent of the population - are four times more likely to commit crimes than Swiss nationals. But it's only an unsubstantiated claim from those well known prevaricators in Switzerland. Commentators have expressed horror over the symbolism used by the People's Party to make its point. "This way of thinking shows an obvious blood-and-soil mentality," read one editorial in the Zurich daily Tages-Anzeiger, calling for a broader public reaction against the campaign. Ja, dees are Neo-Nazis or Neo-Soviets. Zey haf oferrun our beautiful Switzerland. So far, however, there has been little popular backlash against the posters. "We haven't had any complaints," said Maurer. Sheeple The city of Geneva - home to Switzerland's humanitarian traditions as well as the European headquarters of the United Nations and the U.N. Refugee Agency, or UNHCR - said the campaign was likely to stir up intolerance. The UNHCR said the law would run contrary to the U.N. refugee convention, of which Switzerland is a signatory. I suspect the Swill will take that under consideration for when they get to the BFC items on the agenda. But observers say the People's Party's hardline stance on immigration could help it in the Oct. 21 national elections. Dja think? In 2004, the party successfully campaigned for tighter immigration laws using the image of black hands reaching into a pot filled with Swiss passports. "It's certainly no coincidence that the People's Party launched this initiative before the elections," said Oliver Geden, a political scientist at the Berlin Institute for International and Security Affairs. "The symbol of the black sheep was clearly intended to have a double meaning. On the one hand there's the familiar idea of the black sheep, but a lot of voters are also going to associate it with the notion of dark-skinned drug dealers," said Geden. Sure have been a lot of lynchings and carbecues in Geneva lately. The party also has put forward a proposal to ban the building of minaret towers alongside mosques. And one of its leading figures, Justice Minister Christoph Blocher, said he wants to soften anti-racism laws because they prevent freedom of speech. Brush up your German, Start practicing now. Brush up your German If you won't kow-tow. |
| Posted by:Nimble Spemble |
| #7 |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-09-01 21:49 |
| #6 |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2007-09-01 14:33 |
| #5 |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-09-01 14:20 |
| #4 |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-09-01 13:59 |
| #3 |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-09-01 13:29 |
| #2 |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-09-01 11:32 |
| #1 |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2007-09-01 11:30 |