Italian Defense Minister Expresses Support for Freedom of Opinion

Introduction

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crusetto expressed strong support for the “right to have an opinion,” referring to the case of General Roberto Fanacci, who sparked controversy after criticizing homosexuals in his book.

Dismissal of General Roberto Fanacci

This came just days after the dismissal of General Roberto Fanacci from his administration of the Military Geographical Institute following his writing of the book “The World Upside Down”, which set off a wave of protests that swept the country, as the positions contained there provoked an angry reaction from the left, while deputies the right and the extreme right did not intersect for any position, and the Ministry of Defense stated that “it will initiate disciplinary proceedings against him.”

Minister Guido Crusetto’s Response

In this regard, Minister Crosito made it clear in an interview with the Corriere della Sera newspaper that he does not feel particularly “isolated”.

He added: “Of course, I will repeat what I did again, because the Minister of Defense, all Italian citizens and all the military had to act in this way … I did not speak and did not act as a political advocate, but rather as an institutional representative, so far as it concerned my ministry.”

Defense of the Armed Forces

And the secretary of defense added: “I only said two things… that the whole armed forces cannot be judged on the basis of the thought of one person, and that the decision of the issue will be carried out in accordance with the rules of military order and not on social networks.. I did not make a decision based on on my opinion of the book, but because of the respect I owe to the institution in which I serve, so after consulting with the military leaders, I asked for an internal clarification to understand whether this book was also licensed, and then acted in accordance with three purposes … the protection of the general himself, the armed forces, and constitutional and republican values.”

Internal Procedure and Fanacci’s Position

And the leading minister of the Brothers of Italy continued: “I would not even change tasks, if only to close the case and prevent Fanacci from becoming a martyr, as happened later. I would prefer to wait and check everything. But I assure you that the people who spoke to me, who acted after Tak, would demand more rigidity, but I will remain the guarantor”, given that “the internal procedure that has already begun will assess the position of the general and decide”.

Response to Criticism

And he continued, commenting on “friendly fire” (that is, criticism coming from the right of the center): “I do not consider as a friend any of those who spoke about me, falsified reality, not even realizing that I did not even talk about freedom of opinion, but rather about respect for rules and institutions.”

Controversial Book

It is worth noting that in the book, published on August 10, its author, a former head of an elite paratrooper corps, introduced himself as “the heir of Julius Caesar” and said: “Dear homosexuals, you are crazy, give yourself an excuse”, expressing his opposition to the “indisputable rules” of integration and tolerance imposed by minorities in the country.

Source

Source: “Aki”