Swiss reject proposal to scrap army

‘‘The initiative... aims to abolish an outdated institution that is a man’s world where blind obedience and hatred of women still rule,’’ the campaigners said.

With votes in from more than half the Swiss cantons (states) by mid-afternoon, the proposal had been formally rejected, though the majority was not yet known.

Referendum issues must be accepted by a majority of voters overall and by a majority of cantons.

The plan would have added the phrase ‘‘Switzerland has no army’’ to the federal constitution, going on to say that the country’s national security policy is built around reducing the injustices that lead to conflicts, both within the country and abroad.

Switzerland declared itself neutral in 1515 and the last battle against a foreign power was when Napoleon invaded in 1798.

The country remained neutral throughout both World Wars and is not a member of the United Nations or Nato.

Campaigners questioned the purpose of an army for a population of 7.2 million surrounded by countries of the European Union. ‘‘No military power is threatening us... Against whom are we supposed to defend ourselves? The European Union? Nato?’’

They pointed out that the army costs Switzerland 9 billion Swiss francs (£3.8bn) per year out of a total government budget that in 2000 was 47 billion francs (£20bn).

To justify the expense, opponents said, army chiefs find other jobs for soldiers, such as civil defence, disaster relief and anti-terrorism efforts - jobs that could be more efficiently and more effectively handled by civilian organisations.

Voters also rejected a separate referendum that would have created a voluntary service of people trained to solve conflicts without violence.

The proposals attracted little support from lawmakers.

‘‘To guarantee the right of citizens to live in a country where peace, freedom and independence reign, Switzerland must be able to fight off a military attack,’’ said the government in its formal letter to voters urging them to reject the proposal.

An earlier referendum on the issue, in 1989, was rejected by 64.4% of the population, but the support of almost a third of Swiss electors prompted lawmakers to trim the army.

Switzerland, a nation of 7 million people, currently has 350,000 soldiers, most of them reservists. All men are conscripted at age 20 and undergo 15 weeks of basic training followed by regular two to three-week training sessions.

All reservists keep their rifles at home, ready for instantaneous mobilisation in the case of attack. Only 1% of the Swiss army is professional.

Women can enlist in the army, but only in noncombatant roles.

Under the government’s ‘‘Army XXI’’ plan, from 2004 the army will be reduced to 220,000 140,000 active and 80,000 reservists with a higher proportion of professional soldiers.

Today’s referendum has attracted little attention in national news media, especially in the light of a series of disasters that has struck the country in recent months.

In September, a gunman opened fire in the regional parliament in the central Swiss state of Zug, killing 14 lawmakers before shooting himself; the following month saw the temporary grounding of financially troubled national airline Swissair and a deadly fire in the Gotthard road tunnel under the Alps; and last week 24 people were killed when a Crossair plane from Berlin to Zurich came down in woodland short of Zurich Airport.