The Swiss government announced this week that it will adopt the provisions of the U.N. Convention Against Racism which, among other things, will prohibit denial of the Holocaust on Swiss soil.
The Swiss Jewish community has long been lobbying for such action. Groups of Holocaust revisionists from France, who face penalties under French law, have been holding meetings and news conference in Geneva, Lausanne and other Swiss cities.
Hereafter, their activity will be outlawed in Switzerland.
Claire Luchetta, secretary-general of the Swiss chapter of LICRA, the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism, expressed the organization’s satisfaction with the decision.
The Convention Against Racism was adopted in 1965 and has been ratified by 129 countries. Switzerland is not a member of the United Nations.
But the government is seriously concerned over the increased manifestations of racism, especially since the economic recession last year.
As is the case in other European countries, the chief targets are foreigners, especially dark-complexioned and non-white people.
More than 70 attacks on foreigners were reported during 1991. Asylum-seekers have been harassed and one of their hostels was set on fire, in which several Turks and Tamils died.
The new law will also forbid public places to refuse service to anyone because of their race or religion.
Black people are often turned away from hotels and restaurants in small villages. Some hotels in mountain resort towns refuse to accommodate groups of religious Jews.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
