Switzerland: Tamils - forced repatriation
01 January 1991
Switzerland: Tamils - forced repatriation
artdoc May=1994
A treaty between the Swiss and Sri Lankan governments which will
bring about the forced return of Tamil refugees whose
applications for asylum have been refused is being seen as a
precedent for other European countries to follow. The Swiss
government justifies the accord, signed in June 1993, on the
grounds that it stipulates that repatriation must take place `in
safety and with dignity'; that no refugee can be sent back to Sri
Lanka without valid identity papers; that Sri Lanka has promised
to abide by certain rules, in particular, that it will not send
refugees to war zones, and that a Human Rights Committee will
oversee the repatriation programme and any appeals (Le Nouveau
Quotidien 12.8.93).
New proposals to imprison asylum-seekers
The Swiss cabinet have put forward proposals that would give
judges the power to imprison asylum-seekers and illegal
immigrants for up to a year without trial and authorise the
judiciary to jail asylum-seekers who stray out of their
designated canton. Throughout the spring, debates raged in
Switzerland over what to do with asylum-seekers found guilty of
a criminal offence. Monika Weber of the Independence Party of
Zurich opened the debate by demanding that all criminal asylum-
seekers be sent immediately back to their home country, quoting
statistics from the canton of Zurich which estimated that 33% of
people arrested on charges of drug dealing were foreigners,
including asylum-seekers. The Radical Party then went on to
propose a bill which involved, amongst other things, the
withdrawal of the right to appeal for asylum-seekers found guilty
of a criminal offence, and their subsequent repatriation. The
president of the Christian Democrats, Carlo Schmid, initially
described the Radical Party's proposals as `inhumane' but later
went on to propose that barracks be used to incarcerate guilty
asylum-seekers. In response, Franz Steinegger, president of the
Radical Party, said his proposals were not based on xenophobia,
and accused his critics of `humanitarian kitsch'. Arnold Koller,
head of the Department of Justice and Police, said that the
government should consider the possibility of creating detention
centres in the Klonten and Cointrin airports in order to
facilitate expulsions. The new plan also includes a proposal for
the internment of asylum-seekers in military camps (Le Nouveau
Quotidien 31.7.93,16,30.8.93, 6,24,28.9.93, Le Courrier
16,23.8.93, 4,5,,24.9.93).
Asylum prison at Klonten airport
The State Council of the canton of Zurich has approved the
construction of a `prison for removal' at Klonten airport. 110
spaces will be created for foreigners at the cost of 18.9 million
francs. Prisoners to be held at Klonten include asylum-seekers
found guilty of drug trafficking; refused asylum-seekers and
criminals awaiting repatriation following completion of their
sentences (Le Nouveau Quotidien 27.8.93; Le Courrier 23.9.93).
Refugee bureau won't act in refugee discrimination case
The Federal Bureau for Refugees (OFR) has refused to intervene
in a case in the commune of Bauma, Zurich, in which an asylum-
seeker from the Congo alleged that lifeguards at a local swimming
pool refused entry to asylum-seekers, save one evening a week
under the supervision of a social worker. The justification for
the ban, it seems, was the need to `preserve peace for Swiss
swimmers'. The OFR claims that `What happens in Bauma is a local
affair and to intervene at a higher level won't change anything'
(Le Nouveau Quotidien 2,3.8.93).
Racist literature in local campaign
Following a local election in the commune of Lancy, Geneva,
Martine Boimond, a member of the far-right Democratie Suisse, put
out a leaflet entitled `Shame at the town hall of Lancy', citing
the election of Gervais Gahigiri, a black candidate from the
Socialist party (Le Nouveau Quotidien 12.8.93, Le Courrier