Grieved by phrases taken out of context - anti-gay general

(ANSA) - ROME, AUG 17 - General Robert Vannacci, the army general at the centre of a furore after making allegedly homophobic remarks and other offensive comments in a book he published himself, said on Thursday he is not bothered by the criticism but that he is grieved that his words have been taken out of context.
    Vannacci, who currently heads up the Italian Military Geographic Institute (IGMI), said "criticism does not bother me and I am not going to reply to Minister Crosetto".
    The defence minister said earlier that the general had "expressed opinions that discredit the army, the defence ministry and the Constitution" and that he would "start the foreseen disciplinary examination".
    "I will follow (the minister's) instructions," Vannacci continued.
    "What upsets me is the instrumentalisation: sentences have been taken out of context and used to construct stories that do not emerge from the book," he said.
    "I am saddened by the decontextualisation and the trial of opinions," Vannacci concluded.
    Photo: Defence Minister Guido Crosetto. (ANSA).