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.
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