Swiss party leader calls for ban of separate Jewish and Muslim cemeteries

GENEVA (EJP)---The leader of a Swiss political party is calling to ban separate Jewish and Muslim cemeteries, only days after Swiss voters approved a ban on the building of minarets in the country.

It doesn't bother me to be buried next to a person of another religion," Christophe Darbellay, president of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), declared in an interview with the Swiss daily newspaper Le Matin.

He added: "But I don't imagine that in this country, every religion or sect can have a separate cemetery in every town. It wouldn't be manageable to make these exceptions. ... Principle requires that one does not distinguish on the basis of origin or religion."

Last Sunday, Swiss voters approved by a vote of 58 percent to 42 percent, a ban on minarets.