According to various newspapers, including Tribune de Genève, some members of Switzerland’s federal government are considering a plan to repatriate Daesh families from the middle east to Switzerland.
The plan, which newspapers say could find support among members of the Federal Council, would involve bringing four mothers and seven children back to Switzerland. Two of the mothers are Swiss and two are foreign, however all of the children are Swiss, some having acquired Swiss nationality via their fathers. All are from the cantons of Geneva and Vaud.
The move would be a u-turn by the government. In March it said it would not repatriate these families. In an interview with RTS, Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter argued that extracting people from a war zone could put Swiss citizens at risk and that adolescent extremists could pose a security risk when they return.
A report broadcast on RTS shows interviews of some of the parents of the people detained in Syria along with interviews of people on the ground. One Kurdish spokesperson interviewed warned of the international danger of leaving people in these camps.
Despite reports in the media of the Swiss government’s possible change of position, Yves Daccord, International Committee of the Red Cross’s (ICRC) Director of Communication, told RTS that he’s not convinced that the Swiss government is about to change its mind.
More on this:
Tribune de Genève article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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