After France,Netherlands and Belgium,Switzerland is on its way to become the fourth country in Europe to impose a ban on the burqa. The lower chamber of the Swiss parliament today voted 101-77 for a far-right move to outlaw face veils in public. The motion titled Masks Off,authored by SVP party lawmaker Oskar Freysinger,seeks to outlaw face-coverings on public transport as well. The bill will become law if it gets majority support in the upper chamber as well. As Switzerland goes to polls in three weeks,rightwing political groups have mounted a strong campaign on the emotional issue of immigration,demanding that foreigners abide by the values of naturalisation. At a time when insecurity is growing in our streets,more and more people are hiding their faces behind a balaclava,a mask or a burqa. This makes it impossible to identify these people,a fact that is particularly troublesome in case of violence or identity checks, Freysinger said. In 2009,Swiss voters approved a ban on the construction of mosque minarets despite the governments opposition,drawing international condemnation.
