Commission to Provide Clarity After Peršmanhof Operation

Section Chief Mathias Vogl, head of the Legal Section in the Ministry of the Interior, is to chair the commission on the Peršmanhof operation. Previously, he led the commission on Loibacher Feld. Members of the commission include Bernhard Sadovnik, Milan Wutte, and Lisa Rettl. Represented are University Professor Franz Merli (University of Vienna), Maria Wittmann-Tiwald (former President of the Commercial Court of Vienna), Barbara Glück (Director of the Mauthausen Memorial), and Gregor Schusterschitz (Head of the International Law Office in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

Commission Aims to Review and Evaluate Peršmanhof Operation

"Should the inclusion of additional representatives, interest groups, or experts prove necessary during the analysis, this is possible," stated the Ministry of the Interior, which will be represented by group leaders Reinhard Schnakl and Walter Grosinger, among others. Participants in the operation were deliberately not included in the commission, said Ministry spokesperson Markus Haindl in response to an APA inquiry: "This is necessary to maintain distance." However, the commission is expected to conduct interviews during its work. There was no information yet on who exactly will be interviewed.

The goal is the "review and evaluation of the police operation, taking into account the historical dimension," and the final report should also include "any recommendations," according to the commission's mandate. If the submission of a final report by the end of September is not possible, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) requests the submission of an interim report. "The Ministry of the Interior and the police are committed to a contemporary and necessary culture of remembrance and commemoration in Austria. Therefore, police actions at sites of Nazi atrocities must be carried out with particular sensitivity and awareness of the historical responsibility of the police and our country," explained Karner.

Peršmanhof Operation Provoked Sharp Criticism of Police

The four-hour operation at Peršmanhof, a remote farm that also houses a memorial, has led to diplomatic entanglements with Slovenia. Three police patrols, officers from the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism (LSE), and the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum (BFA) were deployed. They were supported by officers from the Völkermarkt District Authority. The reason was likely reports or anonymous tips, possibly due to illegally erected tents during the camp.

The situation on site escalated around refused identity checks, which is why three officers from the Rapid Intervention Group (SIG), a service dog handler, and a police helicopter were called in. 62 administrative offenses and two resistances against state authority were reported, 32 identity checks and two personal searches were conducted.

The police were sharply criticized for the operation, particularly by the Carinthian Slovenes. Not only was the approach considered excessive, but also inappropriate given the historically significant location. At Peršmanhof, almost exactly 80 years ago, on April 25, 1945, parts of a special unit of the I Battalion of the SS Police Regiment 13 committed a massacre of eleven civilians.

(APA/Red)

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