BERNE, Switzerland, Sept. 7 A major Swiss political party has launched an anti-immigrant campaign that worries U.N. anti-racism officials.
One poster produced by the Swiss People's Party, or SVP, shows three white sheep and one black one standing on a Swiss flag -- and one of the three white ones is using its hind legs to kick the black sheep off the flag, The Independent reported.
The party, which holds the largest number of seats in the Swiss Parliament, is pushing a number of controversial proposals, including a law that would expel an entire immigrant family if a child under 18 commits a crime. Ulrich Schluer, one of the party's leaders, wants to ban the building of minarets attached to Muslim mosques.
About 25 percent of the Swiss workforce consists of immigrants, although they are for the most part guest workers who cannot gain citizenship for themselves or their children.
Doudou Diene, the U.N. special rapporteur on racism, expressed concern about the SVP rhetoric. He said earlier this year that a "racist and xenophobic dynamic" appeared to have moved from extremist politics to the mainstream in Switzerland.
Copyright 2007 by UPI
