Letters to the Editor

This is scandalous! Of all newspapers, this very one is being spied on and recorded in a secret file. Unbelievable!

It was with great dismay that I learned in Current Concerns No 22 of 31 October 2023 that this fortnightly newspaper is being monitored by the Swiss Federal Intelligence Service (NBD).
  The contributors of this newspaper all work on a voluntary basis. They are all committed to the common good. They are organised as a cooperative for a reason and do their best to provide readers with comprehensive information in every edition. Despite its still small circulation, the newspaper enjoys an attentive readership.
  Reputable citizens from a wide range of specialised fields are happy to share their experience and knowledge without trying to influence readers or push them in a one-sided direction. There is so much diverse information to read. There is information and there are reports written also by renowned personalities, but which we rarely find in other media. There are challenging topics and complex texts. You learn about the background to conflicts. Sources and facts are cited so that you can form your own opinion. Everything is written in such a way that we readers can understand it. When questions arise, I turn to a friend. This educates me and expands my knowledge. It is enriching and empowering for me. Is education no longer in demand or even allowed? Is it forbidden now?
  As I have contacts with a wide variety of people, I often hear that they no longer want to read newspapers or watch TV programmes because they cannot stand this any longer. You do not know what is true anymore. Topics are blown out of proportion. You hear so many bad things. You are overwhelmed. You feel helpless and bad. Is that the purpose of the media? The result of such reporting is discouragement.
  It is a breach of law to blacklist such a valuable newspaper. It is a blatant violation of the Federal Constitution. The constitution guarantees freedom of expression, freedom of information and freedom of the media. The authorities have a duty to abide by this. If the authorities fail to do so, citizens lose trust, and anyone can imagine what that would look like in a society of that sort. Chaos would ensue. There are enough examples in our world.
  What is wrong with our free country? Do we want to follow a few power-mad people who dictate to us what we may and must not read, which opinions are correct and which are not?
  Mind you, there are already a few countries that are standing up and want to be independent. They have had enough of their colonial past. Examples are the BRICS states, see editorial article in Current Concerns No 22 of 31 October 2023.
  Make up your own mind, this is also about the freedom of expression of other media.

Gaby Ege, Sirnach (TG), Switzerland

Violation of Art. 16 and 17 of the Swiss Federal Constitution

For almost two years now, I have been reading your journal Current Concerns with great interest and profit. This is due to your well-balanced reporting on geopolitics, your humanist stance, as well as your commitment to Swiss democracy, instructive interviews with foreign personalities and book reviews. Your newspaper is therefore a courageous and absolutely indispensable addition to the mainstream press.
  In view of the fact that you often publish controversial facts or “uncomfortable” interviews, I have been wondering for some time when and how any government agencies will try to cause you trouble.
  Your text “On our own account” (dated 31 October 2023) confirms my fears: a document (“Fiche”) from the Swiss Federal Intelligence Service (NDB) dated 29 September 2023, claiming that Current Concerns was spreading Russian “disinformation” and “propaganda”. It should also be clear to anyone for whom the Swiss constitution is and must remain a precious asset that this is a miserable scandal in violation of Articles 16 and 17 of the Swiss Federal Constitution.
  It cannot be ruled out that the commentary on Jacques Baud’s book (“Putin – Master of Events?”) from 31 October 2023 or the interview with Ralph Bosshard will now be held up as “new proof of pro-Russian propaganda” – regardless of the fact that both, as former senior officers in the Swiss army, have international experience, including the UN, NATO and the OSCE.
  In the seventies, I myself was the subject of an army “fiche”: A Russian grammar was found in my rucksack during a revision course – so I was a kind of “spy” in the pay of the USSR ...
  One would have hoped that the intellectual level of the relevant authorities would have improved in the meantime – this doesn’t seem to be the case.
  I send you my best regards in the hope that Current Concerns will be able to continue publishing valuable reports that are hardly available anywhere else without hindrance, despite the Fiche of the NDB.

Serge Linder, Mutrux (VD), Switzerland