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El Cid, the organiser of freshers’ week events at Leiden University, has given the go-ahead for a far-right student group to attend despite reports of its links to extremism.
The far-right GNSV (Greater Netherlands Student Union) said it supported the “conservative national philosophy of life” and “student traditions”. Its website also posted photos of members wearing military uniforms and holding beer mugs.
But activists say the group has links to the neo-fascist group Geuzenbond and the extremist group Voorpost, which recently attacked a refugee shelter in Belgium. Critics of the group include researcher William Wagner From the Anne Frank Foundation and Leiden Tegen Fascisme.
According to LTF, GNSV members spot He took part in chanting, including Nazi slogans, at a far-right event in Belgium.
They also appeared Right-wing events Members of the group, which promotes the re-immigration of migrants and has another branch in Nijmegen, were also involved in a brawl at a freshers’ week event at Radboud University in the city in 2023.
GNSV’s arrival in Leiden comes as the university has faced criticism for not doing enough to combat anti-Semitism following comments made by a faculty member in 2014 that emerged online. In 2020, the university also launched an investigation into its links to anti-Semitic groups. Law schools and far-right parties Democratic Forum.
“It has been said that we did too little to respond to Jewish students who felt unsafe,” Chancellor Hester Bijl said in a statement. interview in January. “I think it’s terrible that students feel this way. To me, it’s crystal clear that as a university we have to keep our students and staff safe at all times.”
El Cid organisers declined to comment on the existence of GNSV, but Leiden University spokesperson Mischa van Vlier stressed that El Cid is not part of the university itself.
“The El Cid committee is of course separate from the university and seeks to present as fully as possible all that Leiden has to offer,” he said. “Student life is characterised by social and political gatherings. When an organisation wants to attend an El Cid event, they screen it and if in doubt, they consult the university.”
Van Villiers said El Cid’s leadership did consult with the university.
“If a group wants to use text or speech that could incite hatred, violence or racism, that is grounds for not allowing them to participate,” he said. “We found no indication that GNSV wanted to do that during the El Cid market, so we had no reason to turn them away. They said the only thing they wanted to do was talk to people and show themselves.”
Police arrived
Dutch News spotted the GNSV stand on the street across from Leiden City Hall on Monday afternoon. Two police officers stood nearby while several members of the group were talking.
Chairman Frank Dijk told Dutch News the police presence was “regrettable”.
He said they held debate nights and admitted they had participated in political events in the hope of reunification between the Netherlands and the Flemish region of Belgium. He criticised the current influx of immigrants into the Netherlands and said the group believed people were “happiest” in their own countries and communities.
He also praised Leiden University for its treatment of him and his colleagues.
“So far, the school has been very accommodating,” he said. “They refused us a place when we first started, but we haven’t had any trouble since then.”
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