伯尔尼，瑞士——瑞士民众在本周末投票决定是否重新诠释其悠久的传统中立政策。
BERN, Switzerland — The people of Switzerland are voting this weekend on whether to reinterpret their long tradition of neutrality.
两百多年来，瑞士一直远离战争。其永久中立地位最初是由19世纪欧洲大国强加给他们的：一边是法国，另一边是奥匈帝国，双方都希望在彼此之间建立一个缓冲地带。
For more than 200 years, the Swiss have stayed out of wars. Their neutral status was originally imposed on them by the big 19th-century European powers; France on one side, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire on the other - which wanted a buffer zone between them.
因此，尽管并非出于主动选择，中立还是让瑞士避开了两次世界大战的惨绝人寰，并且在后来利用其中立地位，为其继续同遭到其他政府制裁的压迫性政权（例如实行种族隔离的南非）进行贸易往来提供了正当理由。
So, although not of their own choosing, neutrality allowed Switzerland to avoid the slaughter of two world wars, and, in later years, to use its neutral status to justify continuing its trade with repressive regimes, such as apartheid South Africa, that other governments had sanctioned.
2022年俄罗斯入侵乌克兰时，这一情况发生了改变。经过几天的犹豫，并非欧盟成员国的瑞士加入了欧盟对莫斯科的制裁，停止了贸易往来，并冻结了数十亿美元的俄罗斯资产。
That changed in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. After a few days' hesitation, Switzerland, which is not a member of the European Union, joined the EU's sanctions against Moscow, stopping trade, and freezing billions of dollars in Russian assets.
这一举动受到了许多年轻瑞士人的欢迎。正当瑞士政府为如何反应而苦恼时，瑞士各大城市爆发了持续数日的游行示威，呼吁声援乌克兰。
The move was welcomed by many younger Swiss. As its government agonised over how to react, Switzerland's cities had seen days of protests calling for solidarity with Ukraine.
但传统主义者对他们所看到的“中立地位的削弱”感到愤怒。他们收集了所需的签名，以推动本周末举行的全国公投。该公投将明确禁止瑞士参与任何经济制裁，除非这些制裁得到联合国安理会的批准——这在当今几乎是不可能的，因为五个常任理事国（美国、中国、俄罗斯、法国和英国）很难达成一致。
But traditionalists were angry at what they saw as a weakening of neutrality. They collected the required signatures to force this weekend's nationwide vote, which would explicitly forbid Switzerland from joining economic sanctions unless they are approved by the UN Security Council – an unlikely prospect nowadays since the five permanent members (the U.S., China, Russia, France and the United Kingdom) agree on very little.
该提案将把中立原则写入瑞士宪法，阻止瑞士加入北约等军事同盟，并将中立定义为仅对瑞士领土进行永久性的武装防御。
The proposal would enshrine neutrality in Switzerland's constitution, block the Swiss from joining military alliances like NATO, and define neutrality as permanent armed defence of Swiss territory only.
这场运动由瑞士右翼人民党的“老领袖”、85岁的克里斯托夫·布洛赫领衔。他花费数十年致力于让瑞士远离欧盟，甚至反对瑞士加入联合国，但瑞士最终还是于2002年入会。
The campaign is led by the grand old man of the right-wing Swiss People's Party, 85-year-old Christoph Blocher. He has spent decades campaigning to keep Switzerland out of the European Union and even opposed the country's membership in the United Nations, which Switzerland ultimately joined in 2002.
布洛赫声称他的提案将保障瑞士安全。“我们因这些欧盟制裁损害了中立，”他在支持者集会上表示。“现在俄罗斯认为我们是战争一方。”全国各地的竞选海报兜售同一理念：“不战争，”它们承诺，只要选民对“瑞士中立”投赞成票。但反对者坚称，面对明显的不公或无端侵略，瑞士不能保持中立。社会民主党籍国会议员法比安·莫利纳视瑞士拒绝制裁种族隔离时期的南非为其历史上的耻辱时期。“因此我们直接支持了种族主义政权，延长了南非的种族隔离，”他说。
Blocher claims his proposals will keep Switzerland safe. 'We've hurt our neutrality with these EU sanctions,' he told a rally of supporters. 'Now Russia thinks we're part of the war.' Campaign posters across the country sell the same idea, 'No war,' they promise, if voters say 'yes to Swiss neutrality.' But opponents insist Switzerland cannot remain neutral in the face of clear injustice or unprovoked aggression. Fabian Molina, a member of parliament for the Social Democrats, sees Switzerland's refusal to join sanctions against apartheid South Africa as a shameful period in its history. 'We therefore supported directly the racist regime and prolonged apartheid in South Africa,' he said.
不加入欧盟制裁“会让我们现在与俄罗斯处于类似境地。这在道德上是错误的。”莫利纳对布洛赫的动机也存疑。这位85岁亿万富翁的企业在种族隔离时期曾与南非贸易，也曾与俄罗斯贸易至2022年。“无制裁下，与肮脏政权贸易更容易，”莫利纳说。
Not joining EU sanctions 'would put us in a similar situation now with Russia. And this is morally wrong.' Molina is also somewhat suspicious of Blocher's motivations. The 85-year-old is a billionaire whose businesses traded with South Africa during apartheid, and also traded with Russia until 2022. 'With no sanctions, it's easier to trade with dirty regimes,' said Molina.
民调显示，瑞士选民也怀疑布洛赫关于更严格中立的提案能否保障他们安全。战争形态正在变化；今年，据信属于俄罗斯的无人机曾盘旋于瑞士敏感军事设施上空。
Opinion polls suggest Swiss voters too are also doubtful that Blocher's proposals for a stricter neutrality will keep them safe. Warfare is changing; this year, drones, believed to be Russian, were seen hovering over sensitive Swiss military sites.
传统武装中立——家家有核掩体，男男服役于瑞士民兵军队——可能无法抵御新威胁。
The traditional armed neutrality, in which every family has a nuclear bunker, and every man serves in Switzerland's militia army, may not protect against the new threats.
瑞士政府也希望选民否决中立倡议。部长们深知世界正在快速变化，老朋友变得不可靠。瑞士计划从美国购买的“爱国者”导弹和F-35战斗机，要么无限期推迟，要么价格大幅上涨，要么两者兼有。
The Swiss government also wants voters to reject the neutrality initiative. Ministers know the world is changing fast, with old friends becoming unreliable. The Patriot missiles and F35 fighter jets Switzerland planned to buy from the United States are either indefinitely delayed, much more expensive, or both.
必须紧急寻找新的联盟和新的防御战略，而在如此严格的界限上重新定义中立，可能会限制瑞士的回旋余地。
New alliances, and new defence strategies, will have to be found urgently, and redefining neutrality on such strict lines could limit Switzerland's room for manoeuvre.