Swiss to step up fight against violence

Football hooliganism is on the rise in Switzerland Keystone Archive

Switzerland is to step up measures aimed at combating hooliganism, racism and terrorism.

The government said it would examine proposals set out by the justice ministry – including the creation of a database of troublemakers, and increased access to information – next year.

Hooliganism has been on the rise in Swiss football grounds over the past few years.

The cabinet said it favoured a proposal to set up a database of known hooligans.

This would allow the authorities to follow the movements of violent fans at both national and international levels.

The government wants this and other measures to be in place for the Euro 2008 football championships, taking place in Switzerland and Austria.

Plans also include travel and stadium bans as well as preventative detention for potential troublemakers.

Anti-racism

Anti-racism measures would be added to existing legislation and mean a ban on racist emblems, such as the Nazi swastika.

But the government decided against a ban on racist groups, saying this idea had met with opposition during the consultation process.

The justice ministry has responded to calls to step up measures against terrorism, extremism, espionage and weapons of mass destruction by creating a project to “reinforce internal security by improving prevention”.

At the heart of this proposal is increased access to information. But the justice ministry said in a statement that any lifting of secrecy would have to strike a balance between security and personal liberty.

A proper control mechanism would have to be in place, it said.

swissinfo with agencies

In brief

The government is advocating three measures to help fight violence.

The first is to crack down on violence at sport events and on the diffusion of material inciting violence.

The second is to reinforce internal security, especially in the fight against terrorism.

The third is to help fight racism by banning racist emblems.