Swiss Politics

Balkan war children in Switzerland for holiday

This content was published on Aug 9, 2000 The children, aged between nine and 12, will spend their time relaxing at a former army camp in Melchtal. A range of activities will be open to them, including excursions to the mountains, the federal capital, Berne and to the transport museum in Lucerne. Many of the young Bosnians and Kosovars sustained serious physical injuries…

Swiss Politics

Israeli ambassador to Switzerland recalled

This content was published on Aug 9, 2000 Mayer, who has been ambassador since 1997, will leave Switzerland in September at the end of his mandate, the Israeli government announced on Tuesday. He is a member of the National Religious Party, which last month left the coalition led by the prime minister, Ehud Barak. Mayer told the Swiss news agency his removal was…

Swiss Politics

Swiss and Polish presidents discuss security policy

This content was published on Aug 8, 2000 The two met at Kwasniewski’s summer residence during the first visit to Poland by a Swiss president. The two-day visit has now ended. The Swiss defence ministry said the two presidents discussed Poland’s experiences as the latest Nato member state as well as Switzerland’s involvement in Nato’s Partnership for Peace programme. Another area of common…

Swiss Politics

Swiss observers upbeat about future of Chiapas

This content was published on Aug 7, 2000 A member of the House of Representatives, Lucrezia Meier Schatz, said that following presidential elections, the delegation had encountered widespread hopes for change. She said belief in the future was tangible. The Swiss mission, including two parliamentarians and the secretary-general of the Swiss Bishops Conference, was the fourth to the troubled region in the past…

Swiss Politics

SBC boss calls for more spending on films

This content was published on Aug 7, 2000 In a speech at the Locarno film festival, Walpen called on parliament and the government to increase spending credits on films. He said SBC had sharply increased its outlay on films in the past year, spending SFr16.5 million compared to SFr9.3 million a year ago. He urged the federal government to match SBC to ensure…

Swiss Politics

Ogi slams right-wing demonstrators

This content was published on Aug 3, 2000 In a strongly worded statement, published on the front page of Thursday’s mass circulation Blick newspaper, Ogi said it was disgraceful that right-wing radicals should have disturbed the speech on the Rütli meadow – the place where Switzerland’s forefathers founded the Swiss Confederation in 1291. Ogi recalled that Switzerland’s wartime military leader, General Henri Guisan,…

Swiss Politics

Ministers stress openness and solidarity on national day

This content was published on Aug 1, 2000 The president, Adolf Ogi, said it was time for Switzerland to join the United Nations. Standing on what he called the “balcony of Switzerland” in Crans-Montana in canton Valais, Ogi said he wanted the country to play a decisive role in world politics. He said it was no longer enough for Switzerland to show solidarity…

Swiss Politics

Ogi calls upon Swiss abroad to share confidence in future

This content was published on Aug 1, 2000 Speaking against a background of church bells in his home town of Kandersteg, Ogi expressed confidence that the Swiss were prepared for the challenges of the 21st century. He expressed confidence in the future of the country. Switzerland is “evolving; it’s moving; it’s progressing,” he said. In his message to the more than 500,000 Swiss…

Swiss Politics

Government to continue repatriating asylum seekers to war-torn Sri Lanka

This content was published on Jul 28, 2000 On Wednesday, the Refugee Council urged authorities to allow Tamils to stay on in Switzerland because of a drastic deterioration in the country’s human rights situation. However, the Federal Office for Refugees said asylum seekers would be returned to the capital, Colombo, rather than to regions in the northeast which are embroiled in the fighting…

Swiss Politics

Fate of indigenous peoples debated in Geneva

This content was published on Jul 27, 2000 Those taking part in the gathering include Lapps and Samis from the Arctic to Australian Aborigines, Canadian Inuits and Kalahari Bushmen. The Geneva talks, held under the auspices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, have been tackling a wide range of contentious issues, including land rights, the use of resources on those…

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Balkan war children in Switzerland for holiday

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Israeli ambassador to Switzerland recalled

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Swiss and Polish presidents discuss security policy

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Swiss observers upbeat about future of Chiapas

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SBC boss calls for more spending on films

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Ogi slams right-wing demonstrators

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Ministers stress openness and solidarity on national day

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Ogi calls upon Swiss abroad to share confidence in future

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Government to continue repatriating asylum seekers to war-torn Sri Lanka

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Fate of indigenous peoples debated in Geneva

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