Bunkers to be commandeered for asylum needs

Federal and cantonal authorities will soon be able to force local communities to open their civilian bunkers to asylum seekers if there is a shortage of accommodation, the cabinet has decided. The regulation, which comes into force on April 1, is a precautionary measure, the Swiss defence ministry said on Friday. Some civilian bunkers are already being used as accommodation for asylum seekers. In Switzerland the federal authorities are responsible for asylum proceedings but it has been up to the country’s 26 cantonal authorities, which enjoy considerable autonomy, to implement the policy and oversee questions such as accommodation. A requisition will first require the authorities to establish that there is a national or cantonal shortage in accommodation for asylum seekers and to propose the bunkers as an emergency measure. “The asylum situation has been strained for some time,” the statement said. “Its future development is hard to predict. It can’t be ruled out ...