Campaigners in the southernmost Swiss canton (state) of Ticino say they have submitted enough votes to force a referendum on banning burqa-style garb in public.
The proposed law would prohibit all clothes intended to cover a person's face in public. Its wording is not restricted to Islamic dress.
But the campaigners admitted that their intent is to combat "Islamic fundamentalism" and the proposal comes months after France introduced a similar measure that was seen as a response to public fears about Islam.
Campaigners claim they have collected 11,316 signatures, over a thousand more the required number to launch a referendum. Canton authorities will check the signatures over the next few days.
As long as at least 10,000 of the signatures submitted are valid, the state government in Italian-speaking Ticino will have to organize a referendum. It will be the first time anywhere in Switzerland that citizens have been asked to express an opinion on face veils and burqas.
The federal government in Bern has rejected calls for a national ban on full-face veils saying their use in Switzerland is "negligible."
source : http://abna.ir/
