BERLIN, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- The German military intelligence (Militaerischer Abschirmdienst, MAD) has identified around 200 right-wing extremists in the ranks of the German Armed Forces since 2008, the newspaper "Mitteldeutsche Zeitung" reported on Monday.
"Mitteldeutsche Zeitung" cited the figures from an official response of the Ministry of Defense to a parliamentary enquiry launched by the Green party.
Greens interior policy spokesperson Irene Mihalic pointed out that there was a large discrepancy between the latest ministerial response and earlier figures published by intelligence officials.
MAD president Christof Gramm had told the German parliamentary control committee in October that only around eight cases of right-wing extremism were identified in the Armed Forces each year.
Mihalic complained that "this analytical imprecision" was "very dangerous" with regards to the military training obtained by right-wing extremists. The Greens politician consequently demanded that the Federal Parliament receive regular updates on "extremist tendencies in the German Armed Forces".
Lawmakers needed a "comprehensive picture" of the dangers posed by right-wing extremists individuals, strategies and networks in the army, Mihalic told "Mitteldeutsche Zeitung".
According to MAD, there has not been a general increase in right-wing extremist tendencies in the German army.
"It is not the case that the Armed Forces have become a haven for right-wing extremism after the suspension of national military service," Gramm was quoted saying. According to the MAD director, the number of cases had instead fallen after the draft was first abolished.
