BERN, June 22, 2025 (WAFA) – In the largest demonstration of its kind since the outbreak of the Israeli war on Gaza, between 10,000 and 20,000 people took to the streets of the Swiss capital, Bern, on Saturday.
The national protest, organized by a wide coalition of civil society groups, called for an immediate, permanent, and internationally monitored ceasefire in Gaza and urged a fundamental change in the Swiss federal government’s position on the ongoing war.
This massive demonstration drew the participation of prominent Swiss political figures, including former President of the Federal Council Ruth Dreifuss, Socialist Party leader Cédric Wermuth, and Senator Carlo Sommaruga, a member of the upper house of the Federal Assembly.
The protest was organized by nearly thirty organizations, among them the Swiss Trade Union Federation (USS), Amnesty International, the Socialist Party (PS), the Green Party (Les Vert-e-s), and the campaign platform Campax. In a joint statement, the organizers emphasized that “the repeated official silence is no longer acceptable. Switzerland must move beyond superficial neutrality and adopt a principled stance.”
Addressing a large crowd at the Federal Square in central Bern, Ruth Dreifuss, the first woman to head the Swiss Federal Council, openly criticized the government’s inaction. “We are tired of this war, of these massacres, of the lives being crushed day after day,” she declared.
“What we expect from our government is not hesitation, but a clear condemnation of war crimes and crimes against humanity—from both sides, but especially now, from the Israeli side.”
Dreifuss was briefly interrupted by some demonstrators but responded firmly, saying, “We will get nowhere this way. Unity and mutual respect are what give us strength.”
Socialist Party leader Cédric Wermuth also voiced strong criticism of the Swiss Foreign Ministry, led by Ignazio Cassis. “Enough with hiding behind a false policy of neutrality. Neutrality does not mean silence in the face of genocide. If the government remains silent, it becomes complicit,” he said.
Wermuth accused the Swiss government of “political complicity with the occupation,” asserting that the current Israeli leadership consists of “war criminals and should be treated as such.”
Senator Carlo Sommaruga, a noted human rights advocate, urged the Federal Council to take a decisive and courageous stand. “Silence or ambiguous positions only serve the aggressor,” he warned, calling on the Swiss Foreign Ministry to urgently push for a comprehensive ceasefire.
He stressed that continuing to hide behind historic notions of neutrality in the face of massacres amounts to “a form of moral complicity.”
Demonstrators called on the Swiss government to publicly condemn Israel’s human rights violations in Gaza, demand an immediate ceasefire, and review its security and trade cooperation with Israel.
Protesters rejected the use of Swiss neutrality as a pretext for inaction, insisting that genuine neutrality must be rooted in active defense of international law and human rights
M.N.
