Austria strips off Ukrainian after refusing to sing national anthem in neutralization ceremony

By Timo Kirez

GENEVA (AA) - A Ukrainian individual has been stripped off newly gained citizenship in Austria, after he refused to sing the country's national anthem in the neutralization ceremony, the deputy governor of the province of Lower Austria, announced on Thursday.

“Citizenship is not a gift, but an honor that requires respect, gratitude and appreciation,” Udo Landbauer of the far-right Free Party of Austria (FPO) wrote on his Instagram account.

He added: “Anyone who refuses to identify with Austria only shows that they are not at all willing to accept the basic principles of our homeland.”

According to Landmann, the Ukrainian had refused to sing the national anthem at the ceremony to confer Austrian citizenship.

Chancellor Karl Nehammer's Austrian People's Party (OVP) also welcomed the decision.

“Anyone who doesn't even find it worth the effort to sing the Austrian national anthem should not be granted this privilege,” wrote OVP regional managing director Matthias Zauner in a press release on Thursday.

Zauner continued: “This is not about harassment, but about fundamental values such as decency, respect and appreciation.”

The far-right FPO received the most votes in general election on September 29, - a first since the Second World War - but the Austrian Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen asked the incumbent Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer from the OVP to form the next government instead on Oct. 22.