Word: bans
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...Ukrainian government’s policies on swine flu make quarantines and Purell dispensers look like amateur efforts. Due to rising fears about a possible swine flu epidemic, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliya V. Tymoshenko announced a nationwide ban on public gatherings, the closing of all schools for three weeks, and various travel restrictions. The strict measures come at a critical time in the Ukrainian presidential campaign, with Tymoshenko closely trailed by opposition leader Victor Yanukovich in the polls. Although we realize that the spread of H1N1 is a serious health issue, these measures seem extreme and dubious given the election...
Regardless of the intentions behind these measures, though, we have further concerns that these steps may become undemocratic, especially given the ban on public gatherings during an election season. In losing the ability to gather in large groups, supporters of Yanukovich have lost their best avenue to advocate for their candidate. The free and easy public discourse that is vital to a democratic election in this instance seems clearly impaired. Ukraine’s troubling recent history with elections makes it especially vital that this campaign proceed as fairly and smoothly as possible. Otherwise, the same election uncertainties that engendered...
...only thing they need to force a nationwide vote on an initiative is a petition of 100,000 signatures. "Right-wing initiatives like the minaret one can misuse the system," says Marcel Stüssi, a lecturer in human-rights law at the University of Lucerne. He says the ban, should it be approved, "would breach not only freedom of belief, expression and conscience," but also other equality and nondiscrimination laws...
...exactly the message the poster's creators intend to convey. The image that has unsettled many of Switzerland's 310,000 Muslims is part of a campaign by the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) to urge voters to approve a Nov. 29 referendum on whether to ban the construction of new minarets on mosques in the country. The party contends that more minarets - only four mosques currently have them - could inflame extremism and lead to a "rampant Islamization" of the country. (See pictures of Islam's revolution...
...step further, implying that minarets pose a danger to Swiss society by likening them to missiles in the posters. "Everybody understands the message expressed by these posters," SVP member Ulrich Schluehr told the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle in an interview last week. "That's why the opponents of a ban are against the poster and want to forbid it. They want to oppress free discussion - a strength of Switzerland." Ouardiri dismisses the SVP's arguments as "bold-faced lies." "How can an architectural feature like a minaret be perceived as a threat?" he asks...