After relaxing arms exports: GSoA is already preparing a referendum

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The group absolutely does not want to accept that for a Switzerland without an army (GSoA). Parliament now wants to reverse the tightening of arms exports, which Parliament decided only two years ago with the counter-proposal to the correction initiative. After the Council of States, the National Council also approved a relaxation of the War Materials Act.

“Maybe I am naive if I believe that promises will actually be kept,” SP state councilor Priska Seiler Graf (55) said against the decision. “If you agree to the relaxation, you have lost all moral compass.”

However, a majority of the SVP, FDP and Center wanted nothing to do with it and won by 117 votes to 74. They want to strengthen the Swiss arms industry, which came under increasing pressure due to the war in Ukraine.

“Highly questionable from a democratic policy perspective”

But the last word has not yet been spoken. The GSoA announced a referendum against the decision on Monday evening. “The concerns of the initiators are undermined by the decision of the National Council. From a democratic policy perspective, this is extremely questionable,” said GSoA Secretary Jonas Heeb.

Switzerland is currently not allowed to export war materials to a country involved in an armed conflict. The citizenry has wanted to change this for a long time. The Federal Council must be given more room to maneuver again – but only if there are extraordinary circumstances. And when interests in the field of foreign or security policy must be protected.

Removing the exception rule was a ‘mandatory condition’

Just two years ago it sounded very different. The correction initiative at the time called for strict regulations on arms exports after Swiss war materials ended up in several war zones. Also in Yemen, where a civil war is raging. To prevent this in the future, a tight corset should be placed on the Federal Council.

With success: the House of Representatives adopted a counter-proposal in 2021 that incorporates the central demands of the initiators. They subsequently withdrew the referendum. “The deletion of the special arrangement for the Federal Council was a mandatory condition,” Anja Gada of the GSoA emphasized to Blick. Without this they would have stayed with the initiative. But now the parliamentary majority suddenly doesn’t want to know anything about it anymore.

Source:Blick