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GERMAN MILITARY WORRIED ABOUT 477 RIGHT-WING EXTREMISM CASES
- By The Financial District
- Feb 24, 2021
- 2 min read
The number of suspected cases of right-wing extremism in the German army rose to 477 last year, Germany's military ombudswoman Eva Hoegl said, Carsten Hoffmann, Rachel More and Laura Dubois reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).
The new figures were compiled by the Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) and constituted an increase with respect to the previous year, when 363 suspected cases were reported.
Hoegl said this increase showed it was time for more action against right-wing extremism. "We need education, sanctions and prevention - and consistently, constantly and quickly. This is a permanent task for the whole of society and also the Bundeswehr," Hoegl said.
Citing the MAD figures, Hoegl said there were 31 new cases of suspected Reich Citizens, or Reichbuerger, who do not recognize the authority of the modern German state and are considered extreme right-wing. This was up from 16 the previous year. There were 48 cases of suspected Islamists among the armed forces personnel, down from 77 in 2019, Hoegl said.
She also demanded a comprehensive investigation into specific right-wing extremist allegations against members of an elite Bundeswehr unit which has long been in the headlines.
The Special Forces Command (KSK) has been hit by a number of scandals in recent years, prompting a major overhaul of the unit. The latest allegation regards a weapons' amnesty thought to have been offered to soldiers who had been hoarding arms.
"A reform process was launched. The accusation that has come to light of an 'amnesty' for possession of weapons and ammunition in the KSK places a considerable burden on [that] entire process," Hoegl said.
About a month ago, one KSK soldier went on trial after a large cache of weapons was found buried in his garden in Collm, a village in eastern Germany. The unit's forces are tasked with special missions of strategic interest, such as freeing German hostages in conflict zones and apprehending terrorists.
