Sinister Symbol: Communist Warns Switzerland
From the desk of The Brussels Journal on Wed, 2007-12-05 16:07
A quote from the European Parliament’s Socialist Group

[color="navy"]In response to concerns about the rise in extreme right ideology and racist, anti-semitic and homophobic incidents in Europe, Socialist MEPs [Members of the European Parliament] have set up a taskforce to monitor activities and make sure that these issues are taken seriously on the European political agenda. The taskforce […] is [color="navy"]planning a key debate on tackling the extreme right in the parliament's December sitting in Strasbourg. […]

Taskforce chief, Bulgarian Socialist Kristian Vigenin [a member of the former Communist Party], expressed alarm at the campaign tactics of the Swiss People's Party in the country's recent general elections. One of the SVP's campaign posters depicting three white sheep booting out a black sheep brought the condemnation of the United Nations which called for the poster to be withdrawn. For Kristian Vigenin, the poster was a "sinister symbol of the rise of a new racism and xenophobia". Although not members of the EU, Switzerland is in the European Economic Area and has a range of bilateral agreements with the EU. [color="Navy"]Mr Vigenin warned that the Council of Europe and the UN Human Rights Council should be alert to developments in Switzerland.

http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/2744