Swiss vote on pesticide ban and fight against terrorism

Published on : 06/13/2021 – 09:35

The Swiss vote Sunday on several hot topics, such as the ban on synthetic pesticides but also the strengthening of the fight against terrorism.

The polling stations close their doors in the middle of the day because a very large majority of voters have already voted by mail in recent weeks. The results should be known in the early evening.

It was above all the two popular anti-pesticide initiatives that took center stage, after an electoral campaign marked by heated debates between farmers. Especially since the country is home to one of the largest manufacturers of plant protection products, the Basel group Syngenta, acquired in 2017 by the Chinese giant ChemChina.

A first text – “For a Switzerland free of synthetic pesticides” – calls for the banning of these products within ten years. The importation of foodstuffs produced abroad using synthetic pesticides or containing such pesticides would also be prohibited.

Another initiative – “For clean drinking water and healthy food” – calls for the environmental requirements which condition the payment of subsidies from the Confederation to farmers to be tightened.

The text provides that these payments are made only to farms that do not use pesticides, ban the preventive or regular use of antibiotics and are able to feed their animals with the fodder they produce themselves.

Environmentalists and the left have supported both initiatives. The government has fought them fiercely, believing that they would undermine the country’s food sovereignty.

Polls show a rejection of both texts, with a gap between the cities and the countryside.

Terrorism and human rights

Environmental protection is also at the heart of the revision of the CO2 law on which the Swiss also vote on Sunday.

This law includes various measures intended to further reduce emissions of these greenhouse gases by 2030. It encourages climate-friendly behavior through financial incentives, such as the installation of charging stations for electric vehicles and the marketing of vehicles. consuming less gasoline or diesel.

The law also provides for an increase in the tax on fuel oil and natural gas, as well as the introduction of a tax on airline tickets on each flight departing from Switzerland.

According to opponents of the text, these measures are expensive and would mainly affect low and middle incomes and people who like to travel.

The outcome of the vote seemed uncertain according to the polls.

On the other hand, a clear majority of the population is expected to support the law on police measures to combat terrorism on Sunday, despite warnings from many actors, including the UN and Amnesty International.

This law gives the police the means to act more easily as a preventive measure in the face of a “potential terrorist”.

Thanks to the law, the police will be able to better monitor them, limit their movements and force them to participate in interviews. All this from the age of 12. From the age of 15, people can also be placed under house arrest for nine months, with the approval of a court.

Left-wing opponents of the law believe that it does not respect fundamental rights and human rights, and that it endangers the country’s human rights heritage.

The government assures that fundamental rights will be guaranteed and argues that de-radicalization programs are insufficient in the face of the threat posed by some people.

Even if Switzerland was spared from the jihadist attacks which hit Europe, the threat remains “high” according to the authorities, who argued that “in 2020 two knife attacks, probably with + terrorist motivation +, had place “, in Morges and Lugano.

The Swiss are also expected to approve the law against Covid-19 on Sunday, which has given the government additional powers to fight the epidemic and to mitigate its effects on society and the economy.

With AFP