- The group for a Switzerland without an army (Gsoa) passed a resolution “against the billion-dollar rearmament plans of the bourgeoisie” at its general meeting in Solothurn.
- Instead, she calls for “a sober threat analysis”.
- The participants also decided to support the initiative to ban nuclear weapons.
The Swiss Army’s rearmament plans are not based on a realistic threat, but rather empty security promises, writes Gsoa Secretary Jonas Heeb in a press release. Instead of “haphazardly pumping billions into rearmament,” the Gsoa is calling for a security policy that is based on “realistic threat scenarios such as disaster control or the climate crisis.”
Support the nuclear weapons ban initiative
The 50 participants in the meeting had previously decided to support the text of the nuclear weapons ban initiative. This is scheduled to be launched in the summer. She calls on the Federal Council to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
The popular initiative was initiated by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). Switzerland is a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1970. It includes the ban on the proliferation and the obligation to disarm nuclear weapons as well as the right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Federal Council against Switzerland’s accession
Last year, the TPNW came into force alongside the NPT. It contains a comprehensive and explicit ban on nuclear weapons, i.e. prohibits the use, threat of use, production, storage, acquisition, possession, stationing, transfer and testing of nuclear weapons and the support of these prohibited activities.
Legend:
The Gsoa held its general meeting on Sunday in Solothurn.
SRF
Switzerland is not a member of this treaty. At the end of March, the Federal Council decided not to sign and ratify the agreement. He judges the treaty’s impact to be low because it is not recognized by nuclear weapons owners, but also by almost all Western and European countries.
Confiscation of Russian oligarch funds
The Gsoa passed two further resolutions at its general assembly: on the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and on the war between Hamas and the Israeli army in Gaza.
Switzerland’s role in the Russia-Ukraine war – also due to the law of neutrality – does not lie in the weapons issue, but in the sanctions against the Russian power apparatus and in financial support for Ukraine, writes the Gsoa. This means that war profits and oligarchs’ money would have to be consistently skimmed off, frozen and confiscated. In particular, they should go to the reconstruction of Ukraine.
In the Middle East, Gsoa is calling for an immediate stop to violence, the release of all hostages and imprisoned Palestinians and an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories. In addition, Switzerland must fully continue payments to the Palestinian relief organization UNRWA and stop all arms sales in the Middle East region.