Campaign Attacks Country’s Oldest Institution : ‘Left’ Seeks to Disband Swiss Way of Life--Its Army

GENEVA —  It borders on heresy for most of the country, but a campaign is under way to disband the nearly 700-year-old Swiss army.

But there isn’t the faintest chance of Switzerland declaring unilateral disarmament. Armed neutrality has been the Swiss way of life ever since the confederation was born nearly 700 years ago, on Aug. 1, 1291.

The citizens’ army is the country’s oldest institution. Its officer corps amounts to an elite aristocracy. Major deals are done when business, banking, industry and political leaders meet during annual “refresher” military maneuvers, obligatory for all Swiss men from the age of 20 to 50.

“Switzerland doesn’t have an army,” Machiavelli once said. “It is an army.”

Splinter Movements

Behind the army abolition campaign is a coalition of mostly young Swiss from small leftist political groups that would be considered liberal in countries other than deeply conservative Switzerland.

These splinter movements are the Young Socialists, Progressives and Workers’ Party. The last is Switzerland’s version of the Communist Party, although as a former leader, Roger Dafflon, once said:

“We are not Soviet communists, we are not Chinese communists, we are Swiss communists, and that is a very different thing.”

Policy of Peace

Pacifists and environmentalist “greens,” the youngsters have now collected 125,000 signatures supporting their proposal to amend the constitution to state:

“Switzerland does not have an Army. The Confederation, cantons (states), communities and individuals are prohibited from forming or maintaining combat units. Switzerland conducts a global policy of peace, which reinforces the free will of the people and favors solidarity between nations.”

A socialist proposal to dilute banking secrecy was rejected in 1984 by an overwhelming 75% of the voters--and Swiss banks come nowhere near the army as a traditional institution.

The Swiss this year similarly rejected by the same margin a government proposal that Switzerland join the United Nations.

Referendum Possible

The anti-army campaigners admit that their idea is an utterly lost cause, but they want a plebiscite anyway to give young voters a chance to express their opinion.

Switzerland’s system of direct democracy enables any group or individual to put any proposal to a national vote if it is backed by at least 100,000 people, a figure increased from 50,000 in 1977--naturally by plebiscite--to reduce the number of such votes.

At least five years is needed before a referendum is actually held.

First the seven-member Federal Council or government Cabinet has two years in which to consider its position and draft a counterproposal if it thinks that is necessary. Parliament then has two more years to do the same. Then the people have one year in which to make up their minds.

Army Is ‘Only Natural’

“You can imagine that the government and Parliament are not exactly favorable to the idea of abolishing the army,” said one government spokesman with considerable understatement. “Perhaps we should have the plebiscite in 1991 to coincide with the 700th anniversary of the Swiss Confederation.”

“This is one vote we could really do without,” wrote Turi Honegger, star columnist of the mass-circulation newspaper Blick.

“Most people find it only natural that neutral Switzerland needs an army and can’t imagine a real Swiss man without his military gun in the clothes closet.