An internal evaluation of the Ukrainian police seminar of Vienna, which has been criticized, has concluded that there are no requirements for official measures, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) said on Tuesday in response to a request from NEOS. The seminar, which was dominated by Russian and pro-Russian experts and attended by 27 police officers, Karner said, sparked outrage on the Ukrainian side over the summer.
Karner reported to Parliament that the training event, which had been approved by the Personnel Development Department of the Vienna State Police headquarters, involved travel, interpreting and meal expenses of 1,140 euros. According to his report, no financial resources flowed to the speakers, about whom he did not want to give specific information regarding data protection and professional secrecy: There was no explicit consent from the persons concerned for the publication of their personal data.
However, according to APA investigation, the Interior Ministry has refrained from asking all “persons involved” for their consent: the only Austrian teacher, the Viennese Slavist Alois Woldan, stated on Tuesday that he had not been contacted about this.
Minister’s criticism of the State Police Directorate
In his response, Interior Minister Karner also criticized the Vienna State Police headquarters: although there will be no official repercussions, in the future “a higher degree of sensitivity and political awareness” will be shown in selecting seminars and speakers, assured he. Contrary to the APA’s internal “Abstract Collection of Speakers”, which also mentions Dmitri Jerochin, who serves as chairman of the “Coordination Council of the Organization of Russian Compatriots” (KSORS), Karner denied that KSORS representatives were invited to the seminar.
The loose umbrella organization KSORS – which is close to the Russian embassy in Vienna – had nominated at least three experts for the Ukraine seminar of the Vienna Police on June 29 and also provoked strong Ukrainian criticism a month later by publishing part of the event on the internet: two experts and an expert from KSORS had, among other things, spread propaganda views of official Russia about Ukraine to police officers.
“Given that many Ukrainian refugees are seeking protection from the war in Austria, the state police headquarters should try to strengthen empathy for this population group rather than promote the Russian way of thinking in such ‘seminars’,” he said. the spokeswoman for NEOS Interieur, Stephanie Krisper. The National Council member also criticized the fact that “fact-based information and the Austrian legal system” was not the subject of the seminar. Interior Minister Karner also confirmed in his answer, among other things, that no mention was made of this at the police event.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
