Six environmental activists blocked the freeway in the canton of Uri on Good Friday. Altercations, traffic jams and police intervention - this is «non-violent» mobilization, when so many legal and effective tools exist, particularly in Switzerland.
After the incidents surrounding the blockade of a bridge in London last October, which led to the deaths of two women, one might have thought that this type of action would be less common in future. But on Friday morning, six activists from the environmental movement Renovate Switzerland blocked the freeway in the canton of Uri. Altercations broke out between motorists and activists. The cantonal police were able to calm tensions and took around 30 minutes to clear the section. However, with departures due to the Easter weekend, this operation exacerbated traffic jams and waiting times at the north portal of the Gotthard road tunnel.
Renovate Switzerland, whose official mission is «to lead a campaign of non-violent action to insulate one million houses in Switzerland and give the country a future», is no newcomer. The modus operandi is always the same: activists literally stick to the pavement. It's fair to ask whether this is a series of «non-violent» actions, when they provoke anger, disruption and - in this case - scuffles.
Switzerland, a strange place for this kind of action
Arrested and denounced, these six activists could remember that in Switzerland, they have different ways of taking action without defying the law and the patience of motorists. There are many democratic means of taking an active part in political life. These include the popular initiative, which (if a sufficient number of signatures are collected) enables a change to the Constitution to be put to a popular vote. In addition, Swiss citizens are free to elect their representatives at every level (communal, cantonal, federal) and can stand for election themselves.
But that's not all. All inhabitants of the country are also entitled to set up associations to make their causes heard, with freedom of expression guaranteed by fundamental texts. And then there's the right to petition, available to anyone, regardless of age or nationality, and which obliges the federal authorities to take note - in most cases, they even respond. It is astonishing, not to say appalling, that individuals who believe they alone hold the definition of truth and goodness do not use these rights and violate those of others. Respecting the laws in force in a modern society is essential.
Write to the author: max.frei@leregardlibre.com
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