Party for Neighbourly Love, Freedom and Diversity
The Party for Neighbourly Love, Freedom, and Diversity or The Charity, Freedom and Diversity Party (Partij voor Naastenliefde, Vrijheid en Diversiteit, PNVD) was a Dutch political party with no representation in parliament,[2] and only three known members as of 2006.[3] It is commonly called the "pedopartij" ("pedo party") in the media, due to its advocacy for legalization of child pornography and the lowering of the age of consent.[2][1] PNVD was originally founded on 31 May 2006 by three self-described pedophiles.[3][4] Its motto is "sapere aude" ("Have courage to use your own reason").[5] PNVD has not participated in any election. In 2006, it did not receive the 30 signatures from each of the 19 Dutch electoral regions it would need to get on the ballot for the 2006 elections.[6] On 14 March 2010, the party was dissolved.[7]
Party for Neighbourly Love, Freedom, and Diversity Partij voor Naastenliefde, Vrijheid en Diversiteit | |
---|---|
Leader | Nelson Maatman |
Founder | Marthijn Uittenbogaard (2006–2010) |
Founded | 31 May 2006 (restarted on 7 August 2020 ) |
Dissolved | 14 March 2010 |
Membership | 3 (2006) |
Ideology | Pro-pedophile advocacy Age of consent reform Hard Euroscepticism[1] Antireligion[1] Liberalism[1] Animal rights Anti-Immigration Progressivism |
Political position | Centre to centre-left |
Colours | Neon Pink |
Website | |
Archive | |
Part of the Politics series |
Politics portal |
The party was restarted on 7 August 2020, with its website.[8] Its former leader Marthijn Uittenbogaard has announced he will not be a part of the party.[9]
Platform
According to their official statement, the PNVD's platform aimed to maximize diversity and liberty.[5] They proposed allowing individuals, from the age of 12, to vote, have sex, gamble, choose their place of residence, and use soft drugs. Hard drugs would be legal at 16, as that would be the new age of majority. They also intended to eliminate marriage in the law, permit public nudity anywhere in the country, make railway travel free, and institute a comprehensive animal rights platform.[5] They were opposed to immigration and religious elementary schools.[10]
Sexuality
The PNVD sought to have the legal age of consent lowered to 12, and, in the long run, completely eliminated (except in dependent or intrafamilial relationships). They reason that only "coerced" or "dangerous" sexual activity should be punished. They also aimed to equalize the legal age where one can perform in pornography with the legal age of consent. Prostitution would be legal at the age of 16.[5] The PNVD wanted to legalise private use of child pornography (calling outlawing thereof "censorship" in the platform) and allow non-violent pornography to be screened on daytime television. Their platform also included legalization of humans engaging in sex with animals.[3]
Treasurer Van den Berg claimed that, "Rearing is also about introducing children to sex".[11] Because of their controversial viewpoints on children and sexuality, they were often called the "paedo-party" by the people and in the media.
Also, the party's platform called for separate imprisonment facilities for sex offenders, arguing that the country would otherwise have indirect torture laws.[5]
Animal rights
The PNVD ultimately aimed to establish a universal treaty guaranteeing all animals basic rights.
In addition, the party planned to heavily restrict animal testing and completely prohibit the consumption of meat and fish: they viewed the killing of animals, no matter what purpose it serves, as murder. Industries currently depending on the sale of animal meat would receive provisional financial support from the government. Hunting and fishing for sport would also be banned.[5] The party also supported laws criminalizing the "sexual maltreatment" of animals.[5]
Controversy and legal challenges
Many of the party's positions, particularly those involving children, were widely unpopular among the Dutch public.[12] In a May 2006 opinion poll, 82% of respondents wanted the Dutch government to stop the party from competing in the elections.[13] The anti-pedophile foundation "Soelaas"[4] petitioned the courts to ban the party, but the judges ruled in the PNVD's favour.[3] "The freedom of expression, the freedom of assembly and the freedom of association … should be seen as the foundations of the democratic rule of law and the PNVD is also entitled to these freedoms," the court said in a statement.
The party's ties to paedophile activism have also drawn much attention: Marthijn Uittenbogaard (who also starred in the controversial documentary Are All Men Pedophiles?)[14] was earlier the treasurer of Vereniging MARTIJN,[15] an organization which advocates romantic and sexual relationships between adults and children, and all of its founders have identified as pedophiles. The treasurer, Ad van den Berg (then 43), was convicted in 1987 for a relationship with an eleven-year-old boy. He was fined and given a suspended prison sentence.[16] The Dutch television show "Netwerk" monitored Van den Berg for three months. They discovered that he still has an under-age boyfriend.
In June 2006, Norbert de Jonge was expelled from his special education course at the Radboud University Nijmegen, owing to his involvement with the party and identification as a pedophile.[17]
The party's name was abbreviated as NVD at its formation, but shortly thereafter, the security company NVD Beveiligingen sought a legal order to have the party change their initials, saying that the party using the same abbreviation violated their trademark and harmed their reputation. The challenge was successful, and the party changed its initials to PNVD.[18][19]
See also
References
- "Pedopartij richt zich voortaan tegen religie – Nieuws – TROUW" (in Dutch). Trouw.nl. 31 July 2007. Archived from the original on 9 November 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
- "Pedopartij presenteert nieuw programma | nu.nl/algemeen | Het laatste nieuws het eerst op". Nu.nl. 16 March 2010. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
- "Dutch will allow paedophile group". BBC News. 17 July 2006. Archived from the original on 13 August 2006. Retrieved 17 July 2006.
- "Court refuses to ban Dutch paedophile party". Expatica. 17 July 2006. Archived from the original on 10 August 2006. Retrieved 17 July 2006.
- "Partij voor Naastenliefde, Vrijheid & Diversiteit". Archived from the original on 19 July 2006. Retrieved 4 July 2006.
- "Pedopartij haalt verkiezingen niet" (in Dutch). NOS. 10 October 2006. Archived from the original on 15 November 2006.
- "Pedopartij ontbonden" (in Dutch). NU.nl. 15 March 2010. Archived from the original on 16 March 2010. Retrieved 15 March 2010.
- Bos, Maaike (14 February 2020). "Waarom schonk de NPO aandacht aan die pedofielenpartij?". Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 April 2020.
- "Oud-voorzitter 'pedoclub' Martijn trekt zich uit angst terug uit nieuwe politieke partij: 'Ik overweeg te emigreren'". RTV Oost (in Dutch). 30 January 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
- "Dutch pedophiles form political party". New York City/Redmond, Washington: NBCNews.com. Associated Press. 31 May 2006. Archived from the original on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
The party will also follow an anti-immigration policy and oppose religious elementary schools.
- "Dutch paedophiles set up political party". Expatica. 30 May 2006. Archived from the original on 5 April 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
- van der Mee, Tonny; Vermeulen, Raymond (31 May 2006). "Afschuw over pedopartij" (in Dutch). AD. Archived from the original on 18 June 2006. Retrieved 31 May 2006.
- "Pedophiles to launch political party". Guerrilla News Network / Reuters. 30 May 2006. Archived from the original on 21 June 2006. Retrieved 15 September 2006.
- "CAST". Areallmenpedophiles.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
- van der Mee, Tonny; Holtzer, Dafna (30 May 2006). "Pedofielen de politiek in". AD (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 12 June 2006. Retrieved 31 May 2006.
- Court refuses to ban Dutch pedophile party Archived 19 July 2006 at the Wayback Machine AP article
- Nijmeegse universiteit verwijdert pedofiele student, NU.nl, 16 juni 2006
- "Zoeken in uitspraken". Rechtspraak.nl. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
- lefigaro.fr (16 March 2012). "Le Figaro – Actualités". Lefigaro.fr. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2012.