Italian army suspends general who said homosexuals were not normal
An Italian army commander has been suspended for 11 months after writing a book in which he called gay people “not normal” and said black immigrants could never be truly Italian.
General Roberto Vannacci has been at the centre of controversy ever since he published a book last year called The World Back to Front, in which he made disparaging remarks about LGBTQ people, feminists and migrants.
The paratrooper insisted that freedom of speech gave him the right to express the opinions, but the defence ministry decided to take disciplinary action, saying that the book discredited the military.
Last year, the 55-year-old soldier was ousted from the management of the Military Geographical Institute and moved to an administrative role as chief of staff of the operational land forces command.
He has now been suspended from that role for 11 months and his pay has been cut by half.
Gen Vannacci, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, wrote in his book that homosexuals are not normal.
“You are not normal, come to terms with it,” he wrote, adding that “normality is heterosexuality”. He condemned what he described as the “dictatorship of minorities” and “the international gay lobby”, which he said was trying to brainwash the world.
He also questioned whether black people could ever be considered truly Italian, even if they were born on Italian soil and had citizenship. He made reference to Paola Egonu, one of Italy’s most high-profile black athletes, a volleyball international who was born in Italy to Nigerian parents.
He said that while she had an Italian passport, “her features do not represent Italian-ness”. She is now suing him over the remarks.
He also pushed the “great replacement theory” about migrants replacing white Italians.
Gen Vannacci said he intended to appeal against the suspension order, citing the right to freedom of expression.
He is considering whether to enter politics and may stand for the hard-Right League party in the European Parliament elections in June.
He has been championed by Matteo Salvini, the leader of the League, who serves as deputy prime minister and transport minister in the Right-wing coalition led by Giorgia Meloni.
Mr Salvini said on Wednesday that the suspension of Gen Vannacci was “ridiculous”.
“The situation is ridiculous. How scared are they of the general? Long live freedom of thought and speech, long live the armed forces and the police,” he wrote on Twitter.
Gen Vannacci is also under investigation for alleged financial irregularities during his time as military attaché to the Italian embassy in Moscow in 2021-22.
He has denied any wrongdoing during his time in Moscow. The allegations of fraud and embezzlement were revealed earlier this week by the newspaper Corriere della Sera.
“I don’t discuss questions from the press about my service,” he said. “I am totally relaxed and will respond at the appropriate time.”
While his book has been lauded in some Right-wing circles in Italy, it has been condemned by members of the government.
Guido Crosetto, the defence minister and one of the founding members of Ms Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, said that “the personal ramblings of a general” had discredited the armed forces.
Antonio Tajani, the foreign minister, said last year that the general should have shown more “prudence” before expressing such inflammatory opinions.