06.09.2013 Oskar Freysinger's "Gypsy Concept"

Reichen (2013) reports on the SVP member of the State Council of the Valais canton, Oskar Freysinger to draft plans for a new approach in dealing with Travellers on behalf of the Valais Parliament. In the summer of 2012, a large wedding resulted in embarrassment when Rroma settled on a farm without a permit. Under the new plan, the police should seek dialogue with the Travellers and then escort them to the transit site in Martigny or to another vacant location. Through the imposition of an evacuation order, vehicles could also be seized in the future. It should be noted that most of the Rroma are not travellers and never were. This is one of most the common misconceptions about the Rroma. Among the Swiss Jenischen, seasonal travelling lifestyle is far more common, but they, in turn, distance themselves from foreign travellers who pass through the country during the summer.