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Swiss Politics

Asylum seekers lose bid to stop forced repatriation

This content was published on Jun 16, 2000 About 60 ethnic Kurds from Iraq handed the refugee office a petition at the end of a one-week protest march from Zurich to the capital, Berne. They said conditions were still too dangerous for them to be repatriated to northern Iraq. But the refugee office dismissed the claim, saying reports from various international organisations had…

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Parliament grants guarantee for national Expo

This content was published on Jun 16, 2000 The Swiss economics minister, Pascal Couchepin, cited Shakespeare when he said there was no intermediate solution between going forward or abandoning the project. “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more,” he said. Most members of the House followed his advice by accepting the deficit guarantee by 115 votes to 34. However, a majority…

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Swiss Politics

Senate debates EU policy

This content was published on Jun 15, 2000 Despite its rejection in parliament, the Yes to Europe initiative must still be put to a nationwide referendum by 2003. The senate also rejected a government counter-proposal, which was narrowly approved by the house, to allow the cabinet to decide on the timing of eventual negotiations with Brussels. The initiative was defeated by 33 votes…

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Swiss Politics

Metzler declares Kosovo refugee repatriation “great success”

This content was published on Jun 14, 2000 Addressing parliament, Metzler said a total of 32,795 people had signed up to return to Kosovo voluntarily. Another 10,500 are obliged to return as part of the controversial forced repatriation scheme which began this month. The refugees were granted temporay asylum in Switzerland after fleeing Kosovo during last year’s conflict between Nato and Yugoslavia. Metzler…

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Swiss Politics

Switzerland raises concerns about Zimbabwe

This content was published on Jun 14, 2000 The Swiss chargé d’affaires, Alexander Wittwer, was accompanied at Tuesday’s meeting in Harare by representatives from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Japan. In a joint statement, the envoys said they were concerned about the attacks on farmers, teachers and health care workers, as well as officials in rural areas and political candidates.…

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Swiss Politics

Political row over English language heats up

This content was published on Jun 13, 2000 The House supported a motion by the Bernese politician, Otto Zwygart, which called for the government to examine ways in which the national languages can be given priority. The vote in favour of the motion was contrary to the recommendations of the cabinet. The interior minister, Ruth Dreifuss, assured the House that it had her…

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Swiss Politics

Swiss promote democratic control of militaries

This content was published on Jun 13, 2000 Swiss officials said the Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces would primarily assist countries in eastern Europe and the Balkans, where armies or militias could pose a security threat to Europe. In a statement, the foreign and defence ministries said the new centre would develop norms and standards for evaluating the democratisation process…

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Swiss Politics

Army reform to cut at least 1,000 jobs, according to military chief

This content was published on Jun 13, 2000 With 8,000 staff (excluding the soldiers themselves), the country’s land forces are the largest employer within the Ministry of Defence. Four thousand of them work in the federal office responsible for military depots, bases and firing ranges, and Corps Commander Dousse said the office could stand to lose a quarter of its staff. He told…

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Swiss Politics

Deiss attends Assad funeral

This content was published on Jun 13, 2000 Among the other foreign dignitaries attending the funeral in the capital, Damascus, are the heads of state of seven Arab countries, as well as the presidents of Turkey, Iran and Bulgaria. The only western head of state present at Assad’s funeral is the French president, Jacques Chirac. The United States, Britain, Canada, Germany, Japan and…

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Swiss Politics

Almost half of voters want EU initiative scrapped, says survey

This content was published on Jun 11, 2000 The survey in the “SonntagsZeitung” comes just days before the Senate is due to debate the “Yes to Europe” initiative, which was roundly defeated in the House of Representatives. Deputies opted instead for a counter-proposal, allowing the government to decide on the timing of eventual negotiations with Brussels. With the Senate widely expected to follow…

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