Fighting to Regain Swiss Sovereignty

The Gutmenschen of Switzerland have the same globalist ambitions for their country as other progressives in Europe and North America: they want to subjugate it to unaccountable international bodies, giving them veto power over Swiss law and citizens’ initiatives. In particular, they want to bind Switzerland to the legal regime of the European Union, even though it is not an EU member state.

The Swiss People’s Party has launched a new initiative to resist any further erosion of national sovereignty. Many thanks to Ava Lon for translating the article from Le Matin:

UDC Files Initiative Against Foreign Judges

UDC [Swiss People’s Party, SVP, also known as the Democratic Union of the Center, is a national-conservative political party in Switzerland] filed on Friday its popular [citizens’] initiative “Swiss law instead of foreign judges”, having gathered 116,09 signatures.[a minimum of 100,000 is required] The party accuses the elites of a “coup” against the people.

August 12, 2016

According to the Federal Constitution, the Swiss people and the cantons are the supreme legislator of our country, said Christoph Blocher at a press conference in Bern. But the legislative self-determination of Switzerland is constantly being undermined.

The culprits, according to the tribune of the populist right: Parliament, the government, the administration, justice and law professors. “They formed a worrying alliance in order to slyly remove the constitution.”

Their intentions are clear: these groups are seeking to muzzle direct democracy. “This is nothing short of a coup” against the people and the Constitution, accuses former Federal Councillor Christoph Blocher.

And UDC President Albert Rosti adds: since 2012, several decisions of the Federal Court put international law above the decisions of the Swiss people.

The implementation of the initiative on the expulsion of foreign criminals, the initiative on the confinement for life and on the removal of statute of limitations for crimes of pedophilia: all those examples show how judges of Lausanne, through their decisions, violated direct democracy and separation of powers, according to UDC.

Mother of battles

But the SVP holds the solution, she says; the popular initiative will correct this dangerous course by giving primacy to Swiss law with respect to international law.

Because “we are convinced sovereignists”, echoed the vice president of the UDC and state councilor in Valais, Oskar Freysinger. The question of the superiority of Swiss law is the mother of all battles, all other issues, including asylum and migration, being linked to it.

Denouncing treaties

The text states that the Confederation and the cantons shall respect international law. But the Federal Constitution is placed above, “except for the mandatory rules of international law” (prohibition of torture, genocide and slavery, in particular).

The initiative also states that the Confederation and the cantons do not contract any obligation under international law that is in conflict with the Swiss Constitution. Otherwise, these obligations must be adapted and treaties renounced, if necessary.

Targeting EU

The initiative on self-determination is also intended to prevent the automatic adoption of the EU law or of its “dynamic”. Last week Christoph Blocher launched his campaign against an institutional framework agreement between Switzerland and the EU. According to him, such an agreement would force the country to follow the decisions of the European Court of Justice and put Switzerland under EU guardianship.

The timing of the relaunching the movement against the EU adds to the tight schedule of the implementation of the initiative against mass immigration. No consensual solution has been reached with the EU at the moment. The deadline is February 17, 2017, when Switzerland will have to introduce a unilateral safeguard clause and quotas.

Credibility questioned

The text must still go before Parliament and the Federal Council. But many critical voices could be already heard.

The association Dialogue European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which launched the media campaign “protective factor” to support the Convention, said in a statement that it is not possible. “We can only sign the ECHR completely, or else not sign it at all.”

The parties were quick to denounce the hidden intentions of the UDC, accused of wanting to eliminate the effects of the ECHR for Switzerland. “Without admitting that it would terminate it [the ECHR]. After the Greek military dictatorship, Switzerland is the first European country that would seek a termination of the ECHR,” writes a broad alliance of parties of all stripes.

If Switzerland accepted this initiative, it would send a “very negative signal” to the international community about its commitment to respecting human rights, added the Swiss section of Amnesty International.

Not a “foreign bailiff”

However, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is in no way a “foreign bailiff” but a tribunal appointed jointly by the Member States. “The last resort for those who defend themselves against violations of their rights in Europe,” argues another association Urgent Appeal, which gathered 50,000 signatures online opposing the text of the UDC.

“What a contradiction: just two weeks ago Switzerland celebrated its founding myth, which is based on a mutual promise. Today, the SVP files its initiative to violate treaties,” lamented Operation Libero, a movement launched by young university professors, from the German-speaking part of Switzerland, people who are mostly liberal and progressive.

13 thoughts on “Fighting to Regain Swiss Sovereignty

  1. I’m going to assume that the “founding myth” of Switzerland referred to by Operation Libero is the Federal Charter, honored on 1 August every year (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Charter_of_1291), wherein the three cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden swore assistance mutually and to each other for self-defense against attack. The “liberal and progressive” young university professors must find it necessary to mythologize–rather than respect–the history of their own country. (Mein Gott: doesn’t this sound familiar?)

    Throughout the next 100 years, more cantons joined the Federal Charter. One momentous occasion was on or near 8 November 1307. This was the Rütlischwur (the Oath at Rütli), wherein the Swiss pledged themselves to one another as a people who would rather die than live in slavery (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%BCtlischwur). The Schwur is provided in both German and English at the wiki site I’ve provided.

    And now Brussels, Inc. wants to vitiate over 725 years of Swiss unity and sovereignty? This will be…ah…interesting, and possibly messy, too. The Swiss are traditionally a well-armed people….

    BTW, 2016 is the 825th anniversary year of the founding of Bern in 1191 by Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berthold_V,_Duke_of_Z%C3%A4hringen).

  2. Well said, Cynthia!

    Let’s face it. The reason the Vatican created a Swiss Guard was because the upstart Swiss pikemen proved themselves against the cavalry and foot soldiers of the Hapsburg Empire, to maintain an independence that some might have considered too unrealistic and too difficult to fight for.

    Rather like the outnumbered, outgunned and determined patriots who signed the Declarati0on of Independence, and folks like George Soros would like to bury under globalist rubbish.

    To say nothing of the fact that Schiller’s dramatic tribute gave us William Tell (and Orsini added a great musical theme for the Lone Ranger). And a British drinking song gave us an unparalleled nati0nal anthem.

    It may be mythical, but it’s also real.

    • Perhaps legendary is a more appropriate than mythical. Maybe historical is even better.

    • Way back in the mists of time, when I was a young man (the 1970s), it was alleged that an intellectual was someone who could listen to the “William Tell” Overture without thinking of the Lone Ranger.

  3. To the legalists in Switzerland: note that in Canada, a federation that has some similar characteristics, international law is *not* above national law. But here’s the interesting thing: it’s not above provincial law, either. Even if the federal government signs on to a treaty, if it concerns a provincial power, it must be ratified by the relevant *provincial* governments. Uncontroversial treaties like ones about arbitration are typically ratified by all provinces and the federal government. In some cases, the ratification legislation is slightly different on a province-by-province basis.

    This system in Canada is a bit of a historical accident, coming from the then-Supreme Court wanting to invalidate the Labour Conventions in the 30s (20s?), and using the “excuse” that they were a provincial power.

    Still, I don’t see why the Swiss couldn’t use the same system.

  4. Good luck to the Swiss patriots. I hope they prevail in their fight against the overreach of the totalitarian E.U

  5. If the Swiss find the ECHR to be so compelling, why don’t they support its standards in their laws and avoid foreign interference?

  6. Swiss progressives are not different from any other progressives who impose their visions onto their compatriots without reasoning and without accepting objection. Maybe Swiss progressives are just a bit more conservative in their progressiveness.

    In 1992 progressives decided that Switzerland would not exist. “La Suisse n’existe pas!” was their slogan. The objective was to replace believe and lifelong experience of compatriots by a vision of the progressives that was not even defined. Adolf Muschg, a leader of the movement ridiculed the Swiss that their culture and beliefs would be limited to a credit card convertible to any foreign currency. Muschg dehumanised the Swiss, their believe and culture to a credit card attributing greed as the only feature of his compatriots worth mentioning.

    http://www.srf.ch/play/tv/srf-wissen/video/sevilla-1992–der-schweizer-pavillon-scheidet-die-geister?id=88c94e87-a6c3-4348-8fcc-0003c56c6432

    On another occasion Adolf Muschg negatively humanised the Swiss into an embodiment close to the murderers of Auschwitz asking the Swiss to admit that they are closer to Auschwitz than they ever thought; attributing not only greed but evil to his compatriots.

    https://www.exlibris.ch/de/buecher-buch/deutschsprachige-buecher/adolf-muschg/wenn-auschwitz-in-der-schweiz-liegt/id/9783518120453

    If you now think that Adolf Muschg would accept his own verdict on the Swiss admitting that his own visions could be limited and flawed as well and that his dogmatism towards fellow human beings would be closer to Auschwitz than to the Swiss culture, then you will get disappointed.

    The below link shows Adolf Muschg in his working environment with a view to a place of his desire, namely a Japanese garden that is probably better maintained than the garden of the emperor. Please also take not of the Samurai armour besides the chair celebrating a culture of martial art, blood and honour (imagine the average Swiss would have Swiss armour and exhibits at home).

    http://www.schweizamsonntag.ch/ressort/menschen/2717/

    What is the essence of these lines dedicated to the godfather of Swiss progressives?

    It is not the fact that all of his criticism falls back on Muschg. The point is that Muschg paved the way for today’s policy of progressives in the governments and Bundesrat, which is based on

    – disrespect for the Swiss citizens who are supposed to be greedy and evil;
    – disrespect for the Swiss culture which needs to be replaced, e.g. by a Japanese garden;
    – disrespect for the history and rights of people, since their country does not exist; and
    – respect for any other legislation;
    – respect for everyone else who may want to occupy a country that does not exist.

  7. The Swiss still have guns, don’t they? I remember something vaguely about how every Swiss must have a gun/rifle/shotgun in order to defend the country whenever necessary.

  8. Guns don’t protect culture.
    People protect culture.

    Without brains and a moral compass, guns are useless – even dangerous – tools.

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