Beitrag

Original article: https://www.derbund.ch/adolf-ogi-petition-fordert-den-alt-bundesrat-als-ukraine-vermittler-571755060621

A petition from the Bern-based aid organisation Human Front Aid is calling on Federal President Guy Parmelin to send the former Federal Councillor to Moscow as a mediator.

In brief:

• A petition is calling on Federal President Guy Parmelin to appoint former Federal Councillor Adolf Ogi as a mediator in the war in Ukraine.
• Ogi is to urge Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to bring the war to an end.
• Ogi himself describes an official negotiating mandate from the Federal Council as unrealistic, but says the point is to get people to start thinking about ending the war.

Bern native Bänz Margot has dedicated himself to helping civilian victims of the war in Ukraine. Through his aid organisation Human Front Aid he has been providing financial support since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion to people who have lost their homes to missile and drone attacks.

Margot spends most of the year in south-eastern Ukraine, where he is based with his team of Ukrainian helpers. His organisation’s board of patrons includes several prominent figures from Bern, such as the rapper "Baze", National Councillor Reto Nause (The Centre), former government councillor Beatrice Simon (The Centre), and Bern city councillors Matthias Aebischer (SP) and Alec von Graffenried (GFL).

Now, Margot, who grew up in Bern’s Matte district, has made a surprising proposal: "The greatest humanitarian aid would be an end to the war," states a petitionthat he has launched together with former Vice Chancellor and Federal Council spokesperson Oswald Sigg.

It calls on Federal President Guy Parmelin (SVP) to task former Federal Councillor Adolf Ogi (SVP) with seeking talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ogi is to "urgently request" that the heads of state end the war in Ukraine to allow for a "just and lasting peace". With his direct and human communication style, Ogi once proved that he is capable of engaging with the world's most powerful leaders on equal terms.

Ogi welcomes the demand in principle. At the same time, however, a certain reserve is evident over the phone. "It is, of course, unrealistic that the Federal Council would grant me an official negotiating mandate." But perhaps the petition will get people thinking about the fact that "we must find ways to end this war," says Ogi.

Adolf Ogi in the queue with Putin

Shortly after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he suggested that Pope Francis should mediateas a moral authority between Ukraine and Russia. A similar initiative could surely be taken today by his successor, Pope Leo XIV., emanate.

Ogi served as President of the Swiss Confederation in 1993 and 2000. In 2000, he met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the UN Millennium Summit, which took place in New York from 6 to 8 September. At an event hosted by then-US President Bill Clinton, he found himself standing directly in front of Putin in the queue due to the alphabetical order of their surnames.

"I spoke with Putin about sport and the Olympic Games," says Ogi. Following the end of his term as President at the end of 2000, the SVP politician stepped down from the Federal Council and became a UN Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace.

Slow-moving petition

However, the collection of signatures for the Human Front Aid petition appears to be progressing rather slowly, according to Oswald Sigg. "We do not know if this petition will achieve the desired success," the signature form also states. But perhaps it might be possible to "make a small contribution towards making peace possible."

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