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Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Police in Geneva Thursday morning rounded up 26 Romanians who were begging in the streets, public radio RSR reports, in a sweep of the city that involved four police vans and 30 officers. The move was linked to the upcoming federal vote, 8 February, on extending the free movement of people to Romania and Bulgaria, in an effort to reduce a popular negative perception of traveling people, notably Roms, and some other groups from these countries. Also Thursday, the Federal Council in Bern issued an unusually strong statement against racist overtones in political advertising for the 8 February vote.

In Geneva, police had a bus ready to return street beggars to Romania on a voluntary basis if they could not show they are able to support themselves, but according to RSR, none of the 26 accepted the offer, preferring to find their own means of leaving Switzerland.

Swiss law allows the police to deport people who are unable to support themselves financially. Geneva tolerated beggars for several months in 2007 thanks to a loophole in the law but by April 2008 the law was changed and police began to collect fines from beggars. In May 2008 a Swiss high court judge ruled that begging is not a right and in the interest of public security cantons can ban it.

Laurent Moutinot, Geneva councilor who has responsibility for the police, told the radio station’s Forum programme that the move was definitely linked to the upcoming federal vote, 8 February, on whether to extend the Schengen Area agreement to Romania and Bulgaria.

The Federal Council in Bern later in the day lashed out at political party ads against racism, linked to the 8 February vote, which it says are particularly targeting the Roma and Yeniche populations who are traditionally traveling people. The government insists that experts who have studied the situation are clear: extending the Schengen Area to Romania and Bulgaria will not bring an increase in traveling people, who already have the right to stay in Switzerland for three months without a visa, and who in any event are only 2% of the Roma population in Eastern Europe. Nor will a yes vote create a flood of Eastern European workers on the labour market.

It argues that if the fear is an increase in begging, which is not a new problem, ad hoc solutions can be found. More importantly, the council notes, beggars are a sign of poverty among these populations in Romania in particular, and the solution is to help improve the quality of life in their home countries.

The Federal Council did not mention any particular ads, but one that is drawing comments is the UDC right-wing party’s poster with black crows picking apart a Swiss flag, reminiscent of the party’s provocative white sheep/black sheep poster in an earlier vote.