Swedish army trains right-wing extremists
Seventeen of Sweden's current batch of military conscripts have extreme right-wing tendencies, according to a new report. Two military servicemen trained for high security operations have been found to have connections with the neo-Nazi organization Nationalsocialistisk Front (NSF).
When the two 20-year-old men demobilize, they will have received full training as patrol guards. As their training involved preparation for top security duties, the Swedish Security Service (Säpo) carried out background checks on the two men before they began their military service.
But since the conscripts in question did not have political records, neither of them were on Säpo's files.
"We have not had any indications that anybody has done anything wrong. It is not appropriate to have right-wing extremists in the army.
"But since we don't have registration of political opinion, there's no way that we can know things like this," army spokesman Kent Löving told Blekinge Läns Tidning.
The newspaper also reports that the military service system comes in for high prise on various extreme right-wing internet forums, with conscripts happy with the training they have received for an eventual "race war".
A report conducted by military publication Värnpliktsnytt and anti-racist organization Expo also showed that a further nineteen people with extreme right-wing views are waiting to begin military service.
Comments
See Also
When the two 20-year-old men demobilize, they will have received full training as patrol guards. As their training involved preparation for top security duties, the Swedish Security Service (Säpo) carried out background checks on the two men before they began their military service.
But since the conscripts in question did not have political records, neither of them were on Säpo's files.
"We have not had any indications that anybody has done anything wrong. It is not appropriate to have right-wing extremists in the army.
"But since we don't have registration of political opinion, there's no way that we can know things like this," army spokesman Kent Löving told Blekinge Läns Tidning.
The newspaper also reports that the military service system comes in for high prise on various extreme right-wing internet forums, with conscripts happy with the training they have received for an eventual "race war".
A report conducted by military publication Värnpliktsnytt and anti-racist organization Expo also showed that a further nineteen people with extreme right-wing views are waiting to begin military service.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.