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Reply to comment

Momo

1 December 2009 - 11:28am

What "rights" are you talking about? If the European Constitution is anything like the American you have the right to freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, etc.

The European Convention (not constitution btw) gives us the right to “manifest one's religion or beliefs” AND not to be discriminated against (and there is a court in Strasbourg watching over these rights). A ban on minarets, but not church steeples, is clearly discriminating Muslims. I bet that Strasbourg will say the same. The Swiss voters are already screaming sovereignty and so on, but they did sign the Convention, and are bound by it.

But even if they hadn’t: we are talking about rights that are usually considered unalienable, remember? Can they be subject of a referendum? I should think not. On the other hand, where do unalienable rights derive from, if not from democratic decisions?

Do you honestly believe that you are wiser, more tolerant, and more progressive than the majority of the Swiss people?

Yes, of course, Jay. Do you honestly believe I would give you any other answer? :-)

There is a Swiss attitude that has always astonished me: Swiss men are actually proud that they decided to let women vote too. They say that this gives women’s vote in Switzerland more legitimacy than the German one which was declared in the November-revolution. No man was asked here, they were simply told that we have equal rights, and that’s how it should be: asking for rights means acknowledging that somebody has the right to refuse them.