Swiss troops to be armed abroad

BERN, Switzerland -- Switzerland has narrowly voted to allow its conscripts to be armed in overseas peacekeeping missions.

A total of 51 percent of the votes cast in the referendum on Sunday were in favour of arming their peacekeepers against 49 percent which opposed.

The soldiers will only be armed to defend themselves, but the decision will move to end 200-years during which the country's soldiers carried no more than a Swiss army knife.

About 41.1 percent of the eligible 4.7 million voters cast their ballot, an average turnout in Switzerland's numerous referendums.

Defence minister Samuel Schmid said: "In no case will Swiss soldiers in U.N. or OSCE peacekeeping forces take part in combat," the Associated Press reported.

Unarmed Swiss forces are currently deployed with both the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

The minister added that any decision to arm peacekeepers would be passed by parliament first.

"We have understood the message of the referendum," he said.

The "yes" votes compares to a 42.8 percent poll in 1994 when the Swiss held a referendum on setting up its own contingent of blue helmet U.N. peacekeepers.

One of the first places that Swiss peacekeeping forces could be armed is Kosovo where the contingent is currently protected by Austrian soldiers.

Swiss soldiers abroad are mainly restricted to civil engineering and medical care jobs.

The government had overcome strong nationalist and peace activists' opposition in the referendum including from billionaire industrialist Christoph Blocher who said "the Swiss army has only one purpose -- to protect the Swiss people and the country."

The government also won approval to allow joint training with NATO forces, but the minister said the vote did not necessarily mean a closer tie with NATO.

The vote was 51.2 percent to 48.8 percent.

Switzerland has never been a member of the U.N., but its soldiers have for decades taken part in international peacekeeping missions in places such as Korea, Namibia and the Balkans.

The government wants its peacekeepers to be on an equal footing with other forces and protect themselves.

Parliament had approved the peacekeeper and NATO changes last Autumn, but was forced to hold a referendum by opponents who used a constitutional provision which allows Swiss citizens to veto decisions of the legislature.

Switzerland has shunned alliances since the Napoleonic invasion of 1798 and has relied on its militia only to protect the country's borders.