Two commanders of the Czech rapid reaction brigade
are facing disciplinary actions after reports surfaced that
they had Nazi symbols on their helmets during their deployment
in Afghanistan.
The news, which caused quite a stir among the country’s
armed forces, came from the Mlada fronta Dnes daily.
According to the paper, soldiers Hynek Matonoha and Jan Cermak
wore the symbols of the 9th SS panzer division Hohenstaufen
and the SS Dirlewanger brigade respectively, which were probably
the most infamous SS combat units of World War Two.
Cermak said he used the SS symbol simply because it consists
of a sword and an "H", the first letter of his name
Honza, which is the colloquial form of Jan.
"It was just a joke and I am very sorry about it,"
Cermak told MfD, adding that he didn’t know it was a Nazi
symbol.
But specialist in extremism, Michal Mazel, doesn’t believe
such an excuse.
"He is an elite troop who graduated from university, he
is no teenager. The SS symbols on their helmets show a totally
perverse view of the world of the NATO military's elite troops,"
Mazel said.
Meanwhile, Matonoha failed to offer any excuse for his actions.
Unaware of the men’s helmets, Czech Defense Minister
Martin Bartak and chief-of-staff Vlastimil Picek decorated them
for bravery on Friday after their return from Afghanistan.
However, the story was made public after Czech police serving
in Afghanistan reported the case.
Both soldiers were immediately suspended. Defense Minister
Bartak said the soldiers’ alleged actions were ``unacceptable''.
Officials say the soldiers' commander was also suspended for
reportedly trying to hush up the case.
Petr Prochazka, the commander of the Czech contingent in Logar,
Afghanistan, ordered that the controversial covers of the helmets,
as well as any photographs showing them, be burnt, but failed
to punish the perpetrators.
The case with the soldiers is nothing new for the Czech Republic,
said Ivona Novomestska, a spokesperson for the anti-violence
movement.
“There were several attacks on Roma and other communities
in recent years, and these problems in our army of course shocked
all Czech people,” she said.
It is the second recent scandal involving the Czech military.
Last week it turned out that a professional Czech soldier, Lukas
Sedlacek, is a member of a neo-Nazi group that was planning
to attack and kidnap high-ranking officials of Jewish origin.
When the information surfaced, the man was immediately removed
from the army.
Former member of the European parliament Giulietto Chiesa,
says attempts to rehabilitate the Nazis are worrying:
“The main question I’m worried about is that this
kind of sentiment is growing, and in some places in Europe these
kinds of ideas are very much encouraged by the government,”
he told RT.
Meanwhile, German government consultant Christopher Hoersel
believes the soldiers were protesting government policies they
felt forced them to commit crimes similar to those made by Hitler's
soldiers during World War II.
"When the people find they can vote themselves
money, that will herald the end of the republic."
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