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Swiss To Vote On Making Citizenship Denials Secret

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The New York Times

Published: June 1, 2008

ADLISWIL, Switzerland - Milikije Arifi has lived in Switzerland for more than 30 years, since she was 18, and raised a family here.

The town council in this Zurich suburb denied her and her husband citizenship for the third time in April. Although the law encourages a vote in public and requires a detailed explanation, the council made its decision in private and gave no justification for the denials beyond "insufficient integration."

"We did not break the law. A local community can never be forced to naturalize anybody," said Martin Koller, a member of the council and its immigration committee.

Arifi said she plans to challenge the ruling in court.

"I am Swiss, whether they give me the passport or not," she said. "They cannot take that away from me. But I demand my pride back."
Swiss citizens are voting today in a referendum on whether to give municipalities the final say on granting citizenship and allow townspeople to vote in secret on whether foreign members of their community can receive Swiss passports.

Such votes were declared unconstitutional in 2003, but the practice continues in some pockets of the countryside, according to several lawyers. The ballot measure also would make it unnecessary for elected officials or townspeople to justify their decisions, and it would deny rejected applicants any recourse.

Some lawyers fear that if the referendum succeeds, more random decisions and discriminatory rulings will occur.

Almost 22 percent of Swiss residents are foreigners. Some say the Swiss rate is so high because very few foreigners get Swiss passports.

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