Xenophobia Not Only in the U.S.

Ueli Maurer, President of the Swiss People's Party SVP


Maybe when Alberto shucked the Geneva Convention - the nation of Switzerland, known for its peacekeeping... decided to let it all go and turn into a xenophobic country... Some people are fighting it, but it looks like the anti-immigration rhetoric is linked to an upcoming election... sound familiar?
-----

Swiss Deportation Policy Draws Criticism
By FRANK JORDANS
The Washington Post
The Associated Press
Saturday, September 1, 2007; 8:17 AM


GENEVA -- 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.

...He explained that his party has long campaigned to make deportation compulsory for convicted immigrants rather than an optional and rarely applied punishment.

The party claims foreigners _ who make up about 20 percent of the population _ are four times more likely to commit crimes than Swiss nationals.

Bernheim said the vast majority of Switzerland's immigrants are law-abiding and warned against generalizations.

"If you don't treat a complicated issue with the necessary nuance and care, then you won't do it justice," he said.

Commentators have expressed horror over the symbolism used by the People's Party to make its point.

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.

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.

...Commentators have expressed horror over the symbolism used by the People's Party to make its point.

Oliver Geden, a political scientist at the Berlin Institute for International and Security Affairs.

...said provocative campaigns such as this had worked well for the party in the past.

"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...

For complete article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/01/AR2007090100226.html

Associated Press File Photo