Word: svp
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Dates: during 2002-2002
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Some here say the country not only can stay out but should. The populist Swiss People's Party (SVP), a longtime proponent of isolationism that has a strong following in some rural areas, argues that U.N. membership would jeopardize Switzerland's cherished neutrality, sovereignty and democracy and turn it into a lackey of bigger, more powerful nations. As a member state, the party warns, Switzerland could be forced by the Security Council to take part in international sanctions and military actions. "We would also lose the right to have our own foreign policy and diplomatic relations," says Ulrich Schl...
...latest polls show U.N. supporters with a big lead. Last June voters approved a controversial initiative allowing Swiss troops on peacekeeping missions to carry weapons, despite SVP's cries that such a move would compromise the country's neutrality. The government is hoping the same open-minded attitude will lead to a "yes" vote on March 3. "If it doesn't," Nordmann says, "the world would not understand why we insist on keeping our head buried in the sand." Given Switzerland's geography, that is particularly hard...