Ukrainian refugees – The army will not come to the aid of the cantons

– The army will not come to the aid of the cantons

Some cantons have asked the army to be able to house refugees in barracks. The military establishment has vetoed it.

Published: 11.07.2022, 8:56 p.m.

“Long-term accommodation in military structures is not possible because we use these barracks,” the army said.

KEYSTONE/Jean-Christophe Bott

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Several cantons have asked for help from the army in the context of welcoming Ukrainian refugees, in order to be able to house them in barracks if necessary, the RTS program Forum revealed on Monday. This request is not currently followed by the federal authorities.

Several cantons have made this request to the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), confirmed Jura State Councilor Nathalie Barthoulot, President of the Conference of Cantonal Directors and Directors of Social Affairs (CDAS), on the airwaves of RTS. . She justified this by explaining that in an “extraordinary situation, we must have extraordinary responses”.

According to the RTS, the request was made on June 21 during a working session with the SEM. The cantons thus wanted to anticipate a possible upturn in the arrival of Ukrainian refugees.

The Unyielding Army

To justify its refusal, the army advances the fact that “the needs of the cantons would not be adapted to non-underground military structures. “Long-term accommodation in military structures is not possible because we use these barracks,” military spokesman Stefan Hofer told Forum.

This is not the first time that the army has vetoed this kind of request. Last spring, it had refused requests in this direction from the cantons of Friborg and Vaud, according to the RTS.

In law, the barracks are dedicated to the Confederation and by extension to the SEM. The cantons can have the anti-atomic shelters, but the latter do not want them for the Ukrainian families.

Tense situation

If currently the situation related to Ukrainian refugees is under control, three elements make us fear the worst for next autumn. These are the weakening of the solidarity of individuals, a return of the cold in Ukraine and the current increase in ordinary asylum applications.

These elements make the cantons think that they may not be able to cope with a new influx. The RTS also specifies that the director of the SEM will meet this week with representatives of the Federal Department of Defense to discuss this file.

ATS

Published: 11.07.2022, 8:56 p.m.

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