Day 7: Thursday, 21 January 2015

If Germans and French, who used to hate each other so much, can live together, I don’t see any reason why you (the nationalities of Burma) cannot.

Georges Martin, Deputy Secretary of State, FDFA, Government of Swiss Confederation

We are to move out today from Murten to Montreux, which is nearer to Geneva, the international capital of Switzerland. So we all are up early to pack our things and get ready to check out from the hotel.

At 09:00, we are at the meeting hall of the Fribourg cantonal parliament, made up of 130 representatives who meet 8 times a year. Fortunately, it isn’t in session.

Here we are received by Mr. Lorenzo Brancher, External affairs; and Mr. Thomas Plattner, deputy cantonal physician.

The following are some of the things we learn from them:

• Fribourg, name for both the canton and its capital (16.9 km from Murten), is 1,671 square kilometers, nearly twice as big as Jura
• Population is 303,377, out of which 67,708 (22%) are students and apprentices
• Unlike Jura, which is uni-lingual (French), it is bilingual: French (63%) and German (29%). The cantonal constitution stipulates that partner language is the first foreign language to be taught in school.

Each official language, for administration, is translated in the other partner language. And trials are carried out in courts in the language of the districts concerned

• The cantonal government is made up of 7 councilors (ministers) who are all elected
• The canton has 7 districts: 5 French, 1 German and 1 bilingual
• Every person living in the confederation must enroll in one of the 90 health care insurances. Every insurance must pay for every curative health service prescribed by a physician. For low income families and children, there must be premium reductions

The reader who may take notice of the cantons having districts as an administrative level, as we do, may be confused, as we do. Because so far, we have been hearing only 3 levels of government: federal, cantonal and communal. And the answer is this:

Most cantons, except 8, including Basle and Geneva, used districts as an intermediate level for administration and court organization for convenience. But a number of them have already reduced its number or even considering its abolition. (Maybe we can do the same back home?)

At noon, we are off to Bern again, 34.3 km away, for the last visit. This time we are attending presentations by two experts: Mr. Bruno Rosli and Mr. Albrecht Schnabel, on the role of the military in a federal state and SSR/DDR, the very topics the whole delegation has been gearing up to listen. And we are not going to be disappointed.

The following is the gist of what we have learned throughout the four and a half hours with them:

• Switzerland has no standing armed forces.

Active duty personnel 2,755

Doing annual refresher training                        120,000                 (Age 20-34)

Undergoing basic each year                               20,000                   (Age 20-34)

Reserve                                                               80,000                   (Age 20-34)

Total                                                                  222,755

• The Councilor for the Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sports (DDPS) is the acting Commander-in-Chief in peace time. The Commander-in-Chief is appointed only in wartime
• The Armed Forces is made up of land forces and air force
• The land forces comprise the following:

11 brigades (infantry, 2 armed, I log and 1 C2)

4 territorial regions

7 training units (4 for land forces and 3 for air force)

• The history of its evolution is, I think, something we can all take a leaf from. In 1848, there were only cantonal forces, commanded by a combined federal general staff. In 1872, a popular vote was taken for centralization of military affairs, but it was turned down. It was only recently, in 2004, after 156 years, that the cantonal forces were disbanded. (I’m sure Burma won’t take that long, if an SSR that is mutually acceptable has been negotiated)

As for the Security Sector Reform (SSR), the first thing one should know, says Mr. Schnabel, is: who are part of the security sector. Only then we can consider the reform. They are, according to him:

Having a cost effective and transparent security sector, he says, has its advantages:

• Security institutions will be seen as “assets” by the population
• Positive reputation
• Creation of friendly environment
• Protection of rights, security, stability and rule of law
• Conflict-prevention

On the other hand, ineffective and in transparent security sector will create suspicions, rumors, abuses, fear and distrust which will in turn give way to, crises and violent conflicts, the very things the SSR is trying to prevent.

As for DDR, Mr. Schnabel interprets them this way:

• Disarmament is for the non-state actors (NSA) forces
• Demobilization is for the state forces, as they no longer need to fight anyone
• Reintegration will be for ex-combatants from both sides

Naturally, our delegation is confused by our resource persons’ words that the Swiss Armed Forces adhere to a “militia system”: which to them means every citizen become a soldier when called for, but to most of us from Burma means a civilian carrying arms and working for the army. The misunderstanding is of course cleared away soon enough.

Another question from the delegation is: What language do they use in the army, especially when issuing military drill commands? In four languages, as they do in the parliament?

No, only one language is the answer. As units are formed in accordance with the languages the soldiers use, there is no need to give one’s command in several languages. “I used to be the commander of an Italian unit,” recalls Mr. Rosli, a Swiss German. “The language I used was Italian. In our country, officers speak the language of rank and file, not the other way round.”

(Sao Yawd Serk remarks that when the six ethnic armies launched a joint officers training course on the border, more than a decade back, they had solved the problem by using only military commands in English.)

As to my question, how can a country like Switzerland and Burma be allowed to stay neutral by the neighbors who are hostile to one another, Mr. Rosli has this answer:

• First of all, the neighbors must all agree that our country’s neutrality is in their interests
• On our side, we have to show them, not only by words, but by deeds, that we are not taking sides (For instance, Switzerland is not a member of EU or NATO)
• Like Switzerland, maybe you can institute one of your cities as an international peace making center

(Another answer was given by someone before we left: For Switzerland to take sides, it has to risk its own breakup. Because some of us are going to take sides too, and it may be the other side.)

At 17:30, we all climb into the bus to the new hotel in Montreux, 91.2 km away, with our heads still full of questions.