German government rejects opposition criticism

The German Government has dismissed charges by an opposition politician that neo-nazi incidents in the army have thrown the military into crisis.

The Defence Ministry accused the Social Democratic Party MP, Walter Kolbow, of spreading an unfounded pessimistic image about the state of the armed forces.

In his end-of-the-year review of the state of the military, Mr Kolbow also demanded that a sociological study be conducted within the army to help detect and fight neo-nazi tendencies among soldiers.

The demand was immediately rejected as a pointless exercise by a Defence Ministry spokesman.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service