100,000 roses were sold in Switzerland on Saturday, 12 March, as a symbol of the campaign against violence in the world. The action brainchild of the Swiss press agency APIC forms part of the ecumenical campaign promoted for Lent this year on the theme: “We believe. Violence will never have the final word”, launched by the charities Pain pour le prochain, Action de Careme and Etre partenaires. According to the project’s promoters, the roses represent the right of each person to moral and physical integrity. On 12 and 13 March “these roses will be visible in 100,000 places, wherever people meet: on sidewalks, in front of churches, in the main shopping streets”. Groups of volunteers have sold the flowers at a token price of 5 francs in over 300 cities and towns in Switzerland. The proceeds will be devolved to the funding of projects for the prevention of violence. Also in Switzerland, the three national Christian Churches in Switzerland (Federation of the Protestant Churches, Catholic Bishops’ Conference and Christian-Catholic Church) and the Federation of Jewish have appealed in a joint communiqué addressed to the Council of States for the right of asylum to be restricted no further in the course of the planned reform of the law on asylum due to be debated in the spring session of the Council of States (chamber of the Swiss parliament). “Our country write the religious representatives is faced today as never before by a situation of emergency in terms of asylum. That’s why the religious communities are asking the members of the Council not to “restrict the right of asylum any further”. In the view of the religious leaders, replacing the term “humanitarian admission” with “provisional admission” means shifting “the admission of the right of asylum to the right of foreigners, which contradicts the already acquired concept of refugee status and isolates Switzerland from the European context”. The representatives of the religious communities in Switzerland also note that “emergency aid” cannot “be reduced or refused without violating fundamental rights” and art. 12 of the Federal Constitution, according to which “every human being in a situation of difficulty has a right to assistance”. Lastly, the communiqué emphasises that the procedure for right to asylum cannot be refused to persons without documents since “those who are really persecuted often cannot present travelling documents within 48 hours of the presentation of their application”.
