Seven politicians have formed a committee to fight against the anti-burqa initiative, saying such a law would restrict individual freedoms.
The popular initiative ‘Yes to a ban on concealing the face’ calls for it to be made illegal for anyone to cover their face in public, with some exceptions including for local customs, the weather and health and safety reasons.
The initiative, which would effectively ban women from wearing the burqa in public, in September succeeded in getting the required number of signatures to push it to a federal referendum.
Now, seven MPs on both the left and right wing of politics have formed a committee to campaign against the initiative.
Speaking to Le Temps, Liberal-Radical Andrea Caroni, who heads up the group, said he was opposed to the initiative by “liberal conviction”.
“The state does not have to legislate on the clothes of citizens,” he said, adding that the proposed law “would not sort out the problems it claims to combat. It would only generate bureaucracy and limit individuals’ freedom and private lives”. [The Local] Read more
