Incident Commander Transferred After Persmanhof Operation

As the Ministry of the Interior announced, the deputy head of the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism (LSE) Carinthia, who was responsible for the Persmanhof operation, has been transferred to another department. Meanwhile, the report of the analysis commission, which also includes representatives of Slovenian ethnic groups, has been delayed.

Persmanhof Operation: Operation Leader Assigned to Another Department

According to internal investigations by the Directorate General for Public Security, the Persmanhof operation at the memorial site was ordered and operationally led by the deputy head of the LSE, the Ministry of the Interior reported. A written order is not available. The basis was the suspicion of administrative offenses under the Carinthian Nature Conservation Act and the Carinthian Camping Site Act. From the beginning, employees of the Carinthian State Police Directorate, as well as individuals from the District Authority of Völkermarkt and the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum - Regional Directorate Carinthia, were on site. The district governor of Völkermarkt acted as the official operation leader.

Later, reinforcements were requested by the operation leader, which is why the Rapid Intervention Group (SIG) was deployed. Entering the premises of the memorial site was carried out to conduct immigration police measures. Based on these previous internal findings, the operation leader has been assigned "primarily also to protect his legitimate interests in fulfilling the legal duty of care of the service authority - to a non-immediately operational unit of the Carinthian State Police Directorate" until further notice, the Ministry of the Interior announced.

Karner Informed About Persmanhof Operation Only Afterwards

From the response to a parliamentary inquiry by the Greens by Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP), it also emerges that he was only "informed about the operation afterwards." During the operation, which was planned in the two days before July 27, 72 photographs, 75 overview photographs, and four videos were taken for documentation and evidence purposes, according to Karner.

The final report of the analysis commission, which was set up following massive criticism of the operation, is expected to be available in the second half of October, according to the Ministry of the Interior. A preliminary report published on Tuesday reveals that the commission, led by Mathias Vogl, head of the Legal Section in the Ministry of the Interior, has met four times so far, visited the site, and held discussions with various informants. Due to the extensive material, the events and circumstances at the incident site are largely documented, the report states.

Different Reactions to Reassignment After Persmanhof Operation

Slovenian Ambassador Marko Štucin did not want to comment further: In the Ö1 "Midday Journal," he pointed out that it is currently only a preliminary report, which contains hardly any concrete findings. Eva Hartmann from one of the operating associations of the Peršmanhof expressed understanding for the further examination: A thorough review takes time, and this time should be taken. She still sees contradictions and a number of open questions - for example, why such a massive police operation with a helicopter, special unit, and police dogs was carried out due to a minor administrative offense while camping.

Criticism came from the Greens: Karner's responses would reinforce the impression "that action was taken here under a pretext and the operation was planned for a longer time," said Lukas Hammer, spokesperson for politics of the past and right-wing extremism. Minority spokesperson Olga Voglauer, on the other hand, said it was alarming "that the Carinthian State Police Directorate apparently believes it must immediately deploy the constitutional protection along with a helicopter for alleged administrative offenses under the nature conservation law." The FPÖ had a completely different view: Security spokesperson Gernot Darmann and left-wing extremism spokesperson Sebastian Schwaighofer saw the scandal in the reassignment of the deputy head of the LSE. "ÖVP Interior Minister Karner is being driven by the Greens and left-wing extremists and is stabbing our police officers in the back after a media-staged witch hunt," it said in a statement.

The four-hour large-scale operation at an anti-fascist camp at the Carinthian Peršmanhof, which also houses a memorial, caused a stir in the summer and led to diplomatic entanglements with Slovenia. Not only was the approach considered excessive, but also inappropriate given the historically significant location, according to criticism, particularly from the Carinthian Slovenes. The farm, which is now a memorial and museum, was the site of a Nazi massacre of Carinthian Slovenes, including children, on April 25, 1945.

(APA/Red)

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