Because of the threat of disruptive actions and the threat of violence, the national celebration is now taking place without the invited speaker Roger Köppel, as the municipality of Spreitbach in the canton of Aargau reports. Due to the development of the last few days, the municipal council saw the safety of both the visitors and the speaker at risk. This decision was not easy for the municipal council and is “extremely regretted”.
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Last year, the Spreitenbach municipal council made a conscious decision to invite SVP national councilor and “Weltwoche” publisher Roger Köppel as keynote speakers at the national celebration. “Also aware that as a person of public interest he is in the spotlight and that he is also sometimes polarizing,” it said.
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Last Friday, however, the municipality received a letter with concrete threats of violence. Even if this letter was written anonymously, the situation had to be reassessed. All options were analyzed and discussed in detail with the regional and cantonal police. The development of a comprehensive security system was also up for discussion. This is to ensure the protection of the population as well as the speaker. Due to the open space in front of the community hall, the municipal council could not have achieved the desired protection despite the measures. And a change of location was out of the question for the municipal council.
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With the invitation from Roger Köppel, the municipal council wanted to acknowledge the wide spectrum of all political opinions. In Spreitbach it is a tradition that keynote speakers from all walks of life are invited to the national holiday. Last year it was SRF “Arena” presenter Sandro Brotz and this year it should have been Roger Köppel.
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The council formally condemned the threatening letter. Anonymous letters are “cowardly and are in total contradiction to the values that we celebrate on the national holiday”. (job)
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SVP National Councilor Roger Köppel.
–Tamedia AG
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