2023-08-18 21:29:13
An Italian general whose book containing homophobic and racist passages caused an outcry in the peninsula was sacked on Friday from his post as commander of the Military Geographical Institute, according to Italian media, including the Corriere della Sera. Questioned by AFP, the Ministry of Defense did not deny this information.
In his self-published book titled “Le monde à l’envers”, released on August 10, General Roberto Vannacci, 54, former head of an elite corps of paratroopers, presents himself as “ an heir of Julius Caesar”.
“Dear homosexuals, you are not normal, make up your mind”, he writes in particular in this book, in which he denounces “questionable rules of inclusion and tolerance imposed by minorities”. He violently attacks black volleyball player Paola Egonu, who plays for the Italian team: “Paola Egonu is of Italian nationality, but it is obvious that her features do not represent Italianness”.
“Opinions that discredit the army”
As of Thursday, Defense Minister Guido Crosetto condemned the “rantings” of the general who has spent most of his career in the field, in Somalia, Rwanda, Afghanistan and Libya.
“General (Roberto) Vannacci has expressed opinions that discredit the army (…) and the Constitution,” Guido Crosetto, close to the head of the far-right government, Giorgia Meloni, blasted in a press release. Guido Croestto and Giorgia Meloni had founded their Fratelli d’Italia party together.
The Ministry of “Defence will launch the planned disciplinary procedure,” Guido Crosetto said. The staff also indicated that it had not been “informed of the content of the book, which had never been subject to authorization by the military hierarchy”.
According to the Time.news agency, General Vannacci was made available to the Army forces. “I don’t see why I should take a step back for a book in which I express my thoughts, without offending anyone,” he defended himself on Friday on a television channel, Rette 4.
#Italy #general #sacked #publication #homophobic #racist #book