General Roberto Vannacci, at the center of controversy over what he wrote in a book, has been relieved of command and removed from the head of the military geographic institute in Florence.
This is what was established by the Army General Staff. According to what we learn, Vannacci was placed at the disposal of the command of the land operational forces, remaining at the headquarters in the Tuscan capital.
The decision was predictable after the clear distancing on Thursday by the armed forces and the storm that had been unleashed by his words. In an official note, the Army had in fact stated that it was not aware of "the contents" of the book and that the military leaders had not been solicited by Vannacci for an "authorization or evaluation".
The Minister of Defense himself, Guido Crosetto, had announced disciplinary action. A position reiterated during the day. “Whoever serves the country by temporarily leading an institution like Defense must limit himself to maintaining detachment and applying the rules and regulations.
Nothing more, nothing less,” he said, adding shortly after the general’s removal became public knowledge that “there are no summary trials conducted on social media or the media, only laws and the code of military order.” For his part, Vannacci did not respond to the decision of the General Staff, but went on TV to reiterate his position, without any backtracking: “I am not taking any steps back.”
“When I wrote this book I knew it would be a topic of discussion,” he explains, “but I certainly didn’t expect this fuss. I won’t respond to decisions that come from a hierarchical chain. I’ll do it in the appropriate places.”
For the former raider with numerous experiences in missions abroad, with roles of the highest order, the “objective” of the self-published book “was to express opinions that are personal. Basically, the themes I refer to are those of common sense and what I define as normality, or what the majority of the population thinks”.
Speaking then of the controversy that arose over the statements on gay couples, the general reiterates the concepts expressed in the book: "homosexuals represent a minority portion of society and as such they fall outside the canons of normality. I have always shunned normality in my career, in what I have done and this does not mean I should feel better or worse than anyone else".
Vannacci then appeals to the "Constitution that guarantees freedom of speech". And he says he is certain that he has not incited hatred and relaunches: "I do not feel like taking steps back, I claim what I wrote. I never use vulgar or trivial words: I freely express my thoughts".
And again: “I fight the single thought that prohibits criticism of a certain category of people,” he says, explaining that “hate is a feeling, like love, and therefore I think it is legitimate to feel contempt for something or someone.
This does not mean inciting violence: I am free to feel hatred for rapists or those who harm children. This does not mean that I am inciting the lynching of these people."
No step back even on what was written down in black and white, in the over 300 pages of “Mondo al contrario”, on the volleyball champion Paola Egonu, defined as substantially not “somatically Italian”. “I don’t see why I should apologize for an expression that is absolutely not offensive: seeing a very good volleyball player with dark skin – is his reasoning – does not immediately identify her as Italian because for 6 thousand years the stereotype of the Italian has been that of a white man.
This does not mean that white men are superior to black men". For the Democratic Party, the "dismissal" of the general is "right" even if "a simple transfer is not enough" because "his presence at the top of the Army continues to bring discredit and dishonor to the armed forces".
But there are also diametrically opposed positions: the former mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, states that "even admitting that the General's behavior was questionable, the minister could not and should not have censured him in such a brutal way". But there are those who go further, like Mauro Giannini, mayor of Pennabilli, for whom Vannacci "is a patriot" and asks for "respect for his thoughts".
"When I wrote this book I knew it would be controversial but I certainly didn't expect this fuss. I will not respond to decisions that come from a hierarchical chain. I will do so in the appropriate places." This was said by General Roberto Vannacci commenting on Diario del Giorno on Rete 4 about his removal as head of the Military Geographic Institute after the controversy surrounding his book.
Article published on 18 August 2023 - 19:05
