On September 27, 2026, the Swiss people will vote on an initiative that will have major
implications even beyond Switzerland’s borders:
The Neutrality Initiative aims to define how Swiss neutrality will be interpreted in the future, as the
initiative’s proponents believe that neutrality has been increasingly diluted and eroded in recent years.
According to Walter Wobmann, the president of the initiative committee, neutrality does not only protect Switzerland.
It also serves as the foundation of Switzerland's global peace policy and makes it possible to conduct
peace negotiations, act as a mediator, and provide aid.
Georges Martin, a former Swiss diplomat, explains the significant mediation efforts Switzerland was
able to carry out during his tenure from 1980 to 2017:
"Switzerland's foreign policy has always been one of neutrality.
What does that mean? Countries that were having problems with each other came to us and asked if they could help.
There have been numerous examples in Africa—Chad, Mali, etc.
When I was in Indonesia, the Indonesians viewed Switzerland as the epitome of neutrality.
In Aceh, Indonesia, we helped bring an end to the 30-year civil war following the tsunami.
Switzerland played a helpful role in the Iranian nuclear talks in Geneva.
The Lebanon talks took place in Switzerland and with Swiss assistance.
Switzerland also supported the negotiations in Colombia between the FARC guerrilla group and the government.
After the war between Russia and Georgia, we represented Russian interests in Tbilisi and Georgian interests in Moscow.
There isn't a single continent where we haven't been active.
"Hardly a week went by without reports on Switzerland's activities regarding peace and peace negotiations."
Georges Martin points out that there are not many Western countries left that are still neutral.
Therefore, it is Switzerland's responsibility to show courage in this regard and to keep bringing up
the topics of negotiations, peace, and human rights.
Swiss political scientist and lawyer Prof. Wolf Linder, along with other left-wing and Green voices, is campaigning for
the neutrality initiative on the website swissneutralitynow.ch.
He says: “In my view, neutrality should not be defined merely as a Swiss principle, but as a
guiding principle for foreign policy worldwide.
"And this time, a neutral stance is important not only for Switzerland, but probably for the whole world as well."
Helmut Scheben, a former editor of the left-wing weekly newspaper WOZ and a longtime reporter and news anchor
for Swiss television SRF, also commented on the neutrality initiative in a short video.
In it, he analyzes several statements made at the "No" Committee's press conference by representatives of the FDP,
Die Mitte, and the SP, and points out their contradictions.
Scheben speaks plainly:
Switzerland's tradition and its role as a model neutral country have long since been broken—specifically since
February 2022, when Switzerland adopted the EU's sanctions against Russia with immediate effect.
This has shown the whole world which side Switzerland is on and that it is participating in this war against Russia.
In his view, the so-called peace conference at Bürgenstock, which Switzerland organized, is further evidence of this.
Russia did not participate in it at all.
"What kind of farce is this?" Scheben asks.
Watch the full video below, in which Helmut Scheben critically analyzes and dissects the "No" Committee's press conference.
The video was kindly provided to Kla.TV by Transition TV (TTV).
Help put an end to this "farce":
Share this broadcast and support credible Swiss neutrality—by voting a clear “Yes” on the
Neutrality Initiative on September 27, 2026!
This statement by Ms. Schönenberger is almost reminiscent of George Orwell and
“Newspeak,” where reality is simply turned upside down.
It is said that the neutrality initiative represents a break with our tradition.
In fact, the exact opposite is true.
We broke with that tradition a long time ago.
We organized a peace conference on the Bürgenstock—a so-called peace conference—in which Russia did not participate at all.
What kind of farce are we putting on here? This is unbelievable.
My name is Helmut Scheben. I grew up in Germany, where I studied Romance languages and literature and earned my doctorate.
After that, I worked in Latin America for a long time and, if I remember correctly, came to Switzerland in 1985.
I first worked at the left-leaning weekly newspaper “WOZ,” and then spent nearly 20 years at Swiss
Television, most of that time on the “Tagesschau” news program.
Today I would like to refer to the press conference held on August 17.
Let's take a look at some of the things that were said.
The proponents are selling their initiative as a contribution to our safety.
They claim that a particularly strict interpretation of neutrality protects us from being drawn into military conflicts.
That is incorrect. First, Switzerland is neutral today and does not participate in the military conflicts of other countries.
Whether the initiative passes or not, that won't change a thing.
So the initiative offers no additional protection against being drawn into wars—not a single bit.
That is an outrageous claim.
Switzerland renounced its neutrality in February 2022.
Together with the United States and the European Union, it has allied itself with Ukraine and
imposed sanctions—economic sanctions—to harm Russia.
So there is absolutely no question of Switzerland remaining as neutral as it has always been.
The Neutrality Initiative claims that it protects us from getting involved in wars.
And that's absolutely true.
The Research Service of the U.S. Congress conducted a study in which it found that, since 1990,
the United States has been involved in 251 wars.
251 wars from 1990 or 1991 to the present.
In many cases, NATO was involved in these wars, providing personnel and weapons.
So it is now incredibly naive to believe that intensifying cooperation with NATO would not draw Switzerland into such wars.
The U.S. and NATO have been at war continuously since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
And since February 2022, Switzerland has been involved in these wars that the EU and NATO are
waging against Russia alongside the government in Kyiv.
NATO is heavily involved in these wars—both in terms of personnel and through the supply of weapons and
equipment—even though this has not been formally declared.
Are we still neutral? No, we are no longer neutral.
The Russian foreign minister has stated, “Switzerland has abandoned its neutrality and has become an enemy of Russia.”
And U.S. President Joe Biden stated at the time, “Even Switzerland is participating; even Switzerland is
joining in on these economic sanctions against Russia.”
The initiative is a direct response to Switzerland's decision in 2022 to adopt sanctions against Russia and the Putin
regime after the brutal attack on Ukraine—which violated international law—had reached its full scale.
So what is being sold to us here as timeless neutrality is, in reality, an attempt not to
protect the victim, but to protect the aggressor.
As we all know, anyone who treats the attacker and the victim the same is not neutral.
He sides with the stronger party and against what is right.
That sounds very nice. A moral stance.
But it is a moral stance that is nothing more than a bubble.
And that bubble bursts the moment you take a closer look and have even the slightest knowledge of history.
The major powers wage wars.
And they wage these wars without regard for international law, the UN Charter, and so on, whenever
they perceive their vital interests to be at stake.
Major powers such as Russia, China, and the United States wage wars in which the rules of international law do not apply, and
there is absolutely no point in Switzerland standing up and saying, “We insist on international
law, and we want to punish everyone who violates it.”
That's a stance you could almost call megalomaniacal.
Foreign Minister Cassis said, “If rules are broken, if not everyone is willing to
follow the rules, then we must take action.”
However, Switzerland is completely unable to act when major powers are at war.
This applies from Vietnam to Afghanistan to Iraq, from the Balkans to the war in Iran, which is taking place right now.
Has Switzerland punished the aggressor—the so-called aggressor—in every such case?
Did Switzerland take action against American businesspeople with close ties to the government whose assets were
frozen in Swiss accounts when the U.S. attacked Iraq in 2003 in violation of international law?
Did Switzerland try to determine who the aggressor was during the Vietnam War?
What was the U.S. Army doing in Vietnam, anyway?
Did Switzerland punish the aggressor in Afghanistan?
What was NATO doing in Afghanistan, anyway?
And in the Balkans, what about the attack on Serbia, which violated international law?
It is utter hypocrisy to claim that we must support Russia—Russia has attacked Ukraine in
violation of international law; that is true.
– But it’s completely absurd to claim that we have to punish Russia; in all the other major wars that the great powers have
waged, we haven’t taken action, and we can’t take action anyway.
This so-called neutrality initiative weakens Switzerland; it weakens our country.
It represents a clear, dangerous, and serious breach of our neutrality—which we have upheld for
centuries—as well as of our understanding of neutrality.
It actually jeopardizes our security. And ultimately, this initiative undermines our ability to act because
it forces us into a rigid framework and dictates today how we will be allowed to act in the future.
Yes, of course this neutrality initiative is forcing us into a straitjacket.
The Criminal Code, too, is a straitjacket.
The Swiss Constitution, too, is a straitjacket.
It sets out what we consider reasonable and what is in Switzerland's best interest.
This statement by Ms. Schönenberger is almost reminiscent of George Orwell and
"Newspeak," where reality is simply turned on its head.
It is said that the neutrality initiative represents a break with our tradition.
In fact, the exact opposite is true.
We broke with this tradition long ago—in February 2022, to be precise—when we
immediately implemented the sanctions against Russia.
It almost has—if you'll pardon the expression—an erotic quality to it.
The way our foreign minister hugged President Zelenskyy at Kloten Airport.
We've shown the whole world which side we're on—that we're participating in this war against Russia.
We organized a peace conference at Bürgenstock—a so-called peace conference—in which Russia did not participate at all.
What kind of farce are we putting on here? It's unbelievable.
People keep talking about our safety. Our safety is at risk.
All four of Switzerland's major media conglomerates are pushing the same narrative.
Our security is at risk because the Russians are going to attack us.
Defense Minister Pfister has said that we must prepare for a war in the near future.
The EU—the European Union in Brussels—has officially stated that it expects a war against Russia by 2029/30 at the latest.
It seems our NATO allies want to get involved.
Security—this narrative that “our security is at risk”—dates back to the beginning of the Cold War.
That is an ideological belief being spread that is extremely effective in terms of mass psychology.
Namely, the domino theory.
You remember, in Vietnam: “If Vietnam isn’t held, all of Asia will become communist.” “
"If Nicaragua isn't held in check"—under the Ronald Reagan administration—"then Guatemala, Honduras, and
Mexico will fall, and the communists—the Soviet Union—will be right on the southern border of the U.S." "
"If we don't attack Iraq, Saddam Hussein will attack us with his ABC weapons."
This is an extremely effective psychological mechanism that is constantly repeated and constantly reinvigorated. ‘
"If we don't hold Ukraine, Putin will first overrun the Baltic states, then Poland, and before
long Russian tanks will be at Lake Constance."
It's always the same tactic of creating an extreme enemy stereotype that must be drummed into people's
heads so that they will agree to participate in a war.
The public—and parliaments as well—must be convinced that an evil enemy is threatening us,
because only then can the arms trade thrive.
The arms buildup currently underway in Europe, in Brussels, and in Berlin borders on madness.
Debt is piling up as if there were no tomorrow.
That's unbelievable. And our NATO allies apparently want to step up their cooperation with NATO.
That is exactly what Defense Minister Viola Amherd said in 2024.
And Martin Pfister says we need to prepare for a war that will break out soon.
How naive can one be to believe that, if we move closer to NATO, we won't be dragged into these wars?
We are being drawn into this, and the Neutrality Initiative is the only way to ensure that
this does not happen, that it does not occur.