BERN, SWITZERLAND – Swiss citizens will have a chance to vote on keeping the country’s obligatory military service for men, but there is no support for a change from the political bodies.
The upper house of parliament joined the lower house and the Federal Council Tuesday 5 March in rejecting the popular initiative called “GSsA”, saying that abandoning conscription will leave Switzerland without an adequate army in which the population has faith.
Switzerland is a neutral country but military defense includes playing a role in the case of a major epidemic, for example, upper house members noted during the debate that preceded the 34-7 vote in favour of retaining conscription.
Arguments against the initiative included pointing to the experience of Germany, which has found it difficult to recruit enough volunteers, and to the possibility that a volunteer army would be composed largely of unemployed people and “Rambo” fans.
Military training also provides a number of soldiers with useful skills in their civilian lives, others pointed out.
The GSsA initiative was registered with the Chancellerie 5 January 2012 after getting the necessary 100,000 signatures needed to put it on a ballot. The Federal Council recommended in September that it be put to a vote, recommending that citizens vote against it.
A date has not yet been set.
http://genevalunch.com/2013/03/05/swiss-military-conscription-must-remain-says-parliament
