24 Heures.
A recent ASMZ article in the Swiss military officers’ magazine revealed the number of military firearms left on Swiss public transport. In the first nine months of last year 18 firearms were recovered by public transport staff, noted the interim commander of the military police Christophe Schalbetter in his annual report.
© Hai Huy Ton That | Dreamstime.com
Chantal Galladé, a member of the security policy commission for the National Council, expressed her concern and demanded an immediate halt to the issue of military firearms, according to the newspaper Blick.
Her colleague Beat Flach finds it absurd that Swiss Rail has to return two firearms to the military every month. It must be possible to stop soldiers taking their guns home.
National councillor Thomas Hurter didn’t hide his displeasure. “It’s unbelievable. Members of the military have a special responsibility to safeguard their weapons.” At the same time he didn’t want to dramatise the situation. “If we compare 18 firearms to the 15,000 people recruited into the Swiss military each year, the number is relatively small.”
The same annual report revealed other interesting information. There were 242 “incidents” involving weapons and ammunition. In addition, there were 13 military vehicle accidents, which resulted in 3 deaths and 55 injuries, and 546 cases of possession or consumption of drugs.
Read full 24 Heures article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
For more stories like this on Switzerland follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
