Word: swiss
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...These posters are hateful and shameful," says Hafid Ouardiri, a spokesman for Geneva's Islamic Cultural Center and its mosque. "How can this happen in Switzerland, the cradle of human rights?" (See pictures of the Swiss-invented Red Cross...
...Critics say the SVP, the largest party in Switzerland's coalition government, has taken advantage of the country's unique brand of direct democracy to push its populist, anti-immigrant agenda on the Swiss electorate. Citizens have the right to propose new laws in Switzerland - the 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...
...That is 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...
...rally support behind a proposal to deport foreigners who have repeatedly been convicted of violent crimes. The initiative has not yet been voted on in a referendum, but the party scored a major victory in the elections that year, winning 29% of the vote. (Read "Who Decides Who Is Swiss...
...Last year, the SVP proposed another piece of legislation that would give the people, not the government, the final say in naturalization procedures. Its campaign poster depicted five dark-colored hands grabbing a stack of Swiss passports. That initiative was overwhelmingly defeated at the polls, with more than 63% of people voting...