Ladies and Gentlemen Federal Councillors
As Swiss citizens, we would like to express our indignation and disappointment at the Federal Council’s policy. Our country’s foreign policy in particular has completely lost its profile and is now being deconstructed further and further, for example with the continued rapprochement with NATO. Switzerland holds a seat on the UN Security Council this year and next year, supposedly to make a difference in terms of peace policy. However, our country seems paralysed and remains passive to an unbearable degree. It sits at the table of the powerful and dutifully nods off the proposals of the major powers, above all the USA. Where is the civil courage to actively launch initiatives as a neutral country that serve peace and promote a culture of dialogue in the conflicts of our world? With its pandering attitude, Switzerland is increasingly losing its self-confidence as a neutral state and the global political weight it once had.
The decline of Swiss neutrality began 30 years ago and has gradually continued ever since. Switzerland, once a major diplomatic power committed to peace, was already losing influence long before the war in Ukraine. This war and the actions of the Federal Council have made this particularly clear. And now the Middle East conflict, which has been going on for 75 years and which the world public keeps forgetting. “The Jewish people and the Palestinian people – both are victims!” This was emphasized by the Palestinian peace activist Sumaya Farhat-Naser during a recent lecture in Switzerland. The problem is the Jewish and Hamas governments, which both want to destroy each other. According to Farhat-Naser, the escalation of the conflict – the extent of the violence is beyond human imagination – was to be expected in view of the daily harassment and discrimination of the Palestinian population by the Israeli government and army in the occupied territories.
Switzerland would have to maintain or establish contact with all parties to the conflict and do everything in its power to achieve a ceasefire and call for peace negotiations. It would have to stand by Qatar in its efforts. Only through this offensive pressure could Switzerland save face, otherwise it would petrify even more into a figure that compliantly supports the game of power. By regaining its contours as a peace-promoting, neutral country, Switzerland will also be able to support and protect the ICRC’s activities even better in this sense. The ICRC does not make headlines for world politics, but rather cultivates quiet diplomacy and continues to achieve a great deal, but its work is increasingly being obstructed, criticised and even attacked.
Switzerland must finally become more active in the Middle East conflict and rebuild its foreign policy profile. We urge you, as Federal Councillors, to take an unequivocal stand, to denounce and condemn the wars as such. Have the courage to stand firm and once again raise the voice of reason and humanity clearly and unambiguously, even if this means swimming against the tide of the powerful.
Switzerland does not have to choose “one side”, but as a neutral country must spin the thread of peace dialogue in the face of the madness of war. The position of a credibly neutral country has never been pleasant, but the Swiss people will stand behind you, that is our conviction!
Elfy and René Roca,
Oberrohrdorf-Staretschwil,
Switzerland 29 November 2023
(Translation Current Concerns)
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