Switzerland arming in preparation for European meltdown?

[durabone]

I read _rt.com with a jaundiced eye. But this? Is this fear mongering or real? Jeez! :/

_http://rt.com/news/switzerland-prepares-europe-unrest-263/

 

[Rich]

I read _rt.com with a jaundiced eye. But this? Is this fear mongering or real? Jeez! :/

_http://rt.com/news/switzerland-prepares-europe-unrest-263/

On SOTT this one: http://www.sott.net/article/252265-Switzerland-arming-in-preparation-for-European-meltdown

Very savy the Swiss so worth keeping an eye out on their actions. Managed to escape 2 world wars despite being right in the middle of it.

 

[durabone]

Thanks Pob; Must remember to search both SOTT and Cass!

Managed to escape 2 world wars despite being right in the middle of it.

I guess financing both sides might kinda help with that!

 

[Finduilas495]

I don't think it's fear mongering - this was published on the Radio Pilatus website, a Radio station in central Switzerland: _http://www.radiopilatus.ch/detail/artikel/116784/schweizer_armee_bereitet_krisen-szenario_vor

Die Schwei­zer Ar­mee be­rei­tet sich auf ein Sze­na­rio vor, das ei­ne dra­ma­ti­sche Es­ka­la­ti­on der La­ge in EU-Kri­sen­staa­ten mit Aus­wir­kun­gen auf die Schweiz vor­sieht. Ge­gen­über der Zei­tung „Der Sonn­ta­g“ sag­te Ver­tei­di­gungs­mi­nis­ter Ue­li Mau­rer, er sch­lies­se nicht aus, dass es die Ar­mee in den nächs­ten Jah­ren ge­ra­de dar­um brau­che. Mau­rer glaubt, dass sich das Po­ten­zial an Ge­walt in den EU-Kri­sen­staa­ten ver­schär­fen könn­te. Zu den Plä­nen Mau­rers ge­hört die Lan­cie­rung von vier Mi­li­tär­po­li­zei-Ba­tail­lo­nen, die mit ins­ge­s­amt 1600 Sol­da­ten st­ra­te­gisch wich­ti­ge Punk­te in al­len vier Lan­des­tei­len schüt­zen sol­len. Ar­mee-Chef An­d­ré Blatt­mann will im De­zem­ber ein ent­sp­re­chen­des Pro­jekt vor­s­tel­len.

The Swiss army is preparing for a scenario that foresees a dramatic escalation of the situation in EU crisis-ridden countries and the impact on Switzerland. Defence Minister Ueli Maurer told the newspaper "Der Sonntag", he wouldn't rule out that the army would be needed in the next few years for that exact reason. Maurer believes that the potential of violence could escalate in the EU crisis-ridden states. Maurer's plans include the launch of four military police battalions, with a total of 1600 soldiers to protect strategically important points in all four parts of the country. Army chief André Blattmann wants to introduce a respective project in December.

 

[loreta]

Surely Switzerland wants to protect the Banks and the money? Because I am sure their banks are full of money. ;)

I thought that Switzerland have not an army. I am very surprised to learn that there is an army in this little country.

Switzerland has maintained an avowedly neutral stance for decades

This is completely false. Switzerland was not neutral during the WWII- Switzerland helped the Nazis grandly. There is an excellent book by Jean Ziegler who deals with this fact: La Suisse, l'or et les morts ("The Swiss, the Gold, and the Dead")

http://www.amazon.com/The-Swiss-Gold-And-Dead/dp/0151003343

So now as before Switzerland will be side by side with the EU, the slaughters masters of Europe.

 

[Finduilas495]

Surely Switzerland wants to protect the Banks and the money? Because I am sure their banks are full of money. ;)

I thought that Switzerland have not an army (and some women, though it is not mandatory for women). I am very surprised to learn that there is an army in this little country.

Pretty much every Swiss man of a certain age is in the army, they even have to go back for training regularly once they've finished their mandatory military service. They keep their uniform, weapon and ammunition at home, so pretty much every Swiss household has a gun.

I'll definitely follow what Mr. Blattmann is going to present in December. If nothing else, it means the Swiss don't buy this whole ESM-and-everything-will-be-peachy story the EU is trying to sell. Their other problem is that they have bought huge amounts of Euros to keep the exchange rate between the Euro and the Swiss Franc at the same level, and they won't be able to keep this up forever.

 

[JGeropoulas]

I'd recently read somewhere that in Switzerland, every citizen was issued a gun and trained how to use it. Wikipedia confirms that's true to a limited extent:

Gun politics in Switzerland are unique in Europe. Switzerland does not have a standing army, instead opting for a peoples' militia to defend their country. The vast majority of men between the ages of 20 and 30 are conscripted into the militia and undergo military training, including weapons training. The personal weapons of the militia are kept at home as part of the military obligations. Switzerland has one of the highest militia gun ownership rates in the world.

The Swiss army has long been a militia trained and structured to rapidly respond against foreign aggression. Swiss males grow up expecting to undergo basic military training, usually at age 20 in the Rekrutenschule (German for "recruit school"), the initial boot camp, after which Swiss men remain part of the "militia" in reserve capacity until age 30 (age 34 for officers).

Each such individual is required to keep his army-issued personal weapon (the 5.56x45mm Sig 550 rifle for enlisted personnel and/or the 9mm SIG-Sauer P220 semi-automatic pistol for officers, medical and postal personnel) at home. Up until October 2007, a specified personal retention quantity of government-issued personal ammunition (50 rounds 5.56 mm / 48 rounds 9mm) was issued as well, which was sealed and inspected regularly to ensure that no unauthorized use had taken place. The ammunition was intended for use while traveling to the army barracks in case of invasion.

When their period of service has ended, militiamen have the choice of keeping their personal weapon and other selected items of their equipment. In this case of retention, the rifle is sent to the weapons factory where the fully automatic function is removed; the rifle is then returned to the discharged owner. The rifle is then a semi-automatic or self-loading rifle.

The government sponsors training with rifles and shooting in competitions for interested adolescents, both male and female.

The sale of ammunition – including Gw Pat.90 rounds for army-issue assault rifles – is subsidized by the Swiss government and made available at the many shooting ranges patronized by both private citizens and members of the militia. There is a regulatory requirement that ammunition sold at ranges must be used there.

The Swiss Army maintains tight adherence to high standards of lawful military conduct. In 2005, for example, when the Swiss prosecuted recruits who had reenacted the torture scenes of Abu Ghraib, one of the charges was improper use of service weapons.

 

[Finduilas495]

Yes, this taking home the rifle bit is interesting on public transport... I was on a train from Geneva to Zurich recently, and at some point a recruit got on, carrying his rifle. He ended up sitting in the boot next to me. A gun in this close proximity made me feel rather uneasy to be honest, but everyone else seemed to think it was perfectly normal.

 

[chaps23]

I'd recently read somewhere that in Switzerland, every citizen was issued a gun and trained how to use it. Wikipedia confirms that's true to a limited extent:

Hi Geropoulas,

It seems that not every citizen but every man once coming of age joins the army for manditory service. I found a few paper articles relating with some interesting figures.

_http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/13/swiss-reject-gun-law-reform

Swiss voters have rejected a proposal to tighten the country's relaxed gun laws.

With final official results yet to be released, a majority in at least 18 of Switzerland's 26 cantons voted against the proposal to ban army rifles from homes and impose new requirements for buying other guns.

The proposal would have ended the Swiss tradition of men keeping their army rifles at home – even after completing their military service. Supporters of the reform argued this would have reduced incidents of domestic violence and Switzerland's high rate of firearms suicide.

"This is an important sign of confidence in our soldiers," said Pius Segmueller, a lawmaker with the Christian People's party and former commander of the Vatican's Swiss Guard.

The government had argued that existing laws were sufficient to ensure some 2.3m weapons in a country of fewer than 8 million people are not misused.

Opposition against the proposal was strongest in rural and German-speaking parts of the country, which tend to be more conservative and where shooting clubs are popular.

French-speaking cantons in western Switzerland backed the plan, but women and young people – who according to opinion polls favour more restrictive gun laws – failed to turn out in sufficient numbers.

"Women in Switzerland have only had the vote for 40 years, and yet they aren't engaging in politics, even when the issue concerns them," said Martine Brunschwig-Graf, a national lawmaker with the left-of-centre Social Democratic party.

Doctors, churches and women's groups launched a campaign four years ago to force ex-soldiers to store their military-issued firearms in secure army depots. They also want the Swiss government to establish a national gun registry and ban the sale of fully automatic weapons and pump action rifles.

Gun enthusiasts say limiting the right to bear arms would have destroyed a cherished tradition and undermined the citizen army's preparedness against possible invasion by hostile neighbours.

Dora Andres, president of the Swiss Sport Shooting Association, told the Associated Press this week that the measure would have killed off many of Switzerland's 3,000 gun clubs, which she said are a pillar of community life in many villages.

Both sides used graphic images to make their point, with proponents producing posters showing teddy bears oozing blood below the slogan "Protect families". Opponents' posters have featured muscular cartoon criminals threatening the nation's law-abiding citizens.

About a quarter of Switzerland's 1,300 suicides each year involved a gun, according to federal statistics. The exact number of military-issued weapons involved is disputed, but those calling for tighter rules claim they account for between 100 and 200 suicides a year, mostly among men.

Advocates for tighter gun control noted that since Switzerland cut the size of its army in 2004, the number of firearms suicides among men aged 30-40 has been halved.

It is not known how many military-issued guns are involved in homicides each year, though Switzerland's gun murder rate is relatively low – just 24 in 2009, or about 0.3 firearms homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. By comparison, the US rate in 2007 was 4.2 per 100,000 inhabitants.

Swiss referendums require a majority of both votes and cantons to pass.