Voorpost (" outpost, picket") is an

ethno-nationalist Ethnic nationalism, also known as ethnonationalism, is a form of nationalism wherein the nation and nationality are defined in terms of ethnicity, with emphasis on an ethnocentric (and in some cases an ethnocratic) approach to various politi ...

('' volksnationalist'') group founded in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

Karel Dillen Karel Cornelia Constantijn Dillen (16 October 1925 – 27 April 2007) was a far-right Belgian politician and Flemish nationalist. Life According to Paul Beliën, editor of the Brussels Journal, "Dillen came from a non-political background. ...

in 1976 as a splinter from the

Volksunie People's Union ( nl, Volksunie, VU) was a Flemish nationalist political party in Belgium, formed in 1954 as a successor to the Christian Flemish People's Union. The Volksunie defined itself as a big tent and catch-all party that combined supp ...

. Voorpost pursues the irredentist ideal of a

Greater Netherlands Greater Netherlands () is an irredentist concept which unites the Netherlands, Flanders, and sometimes including Brussels. Additionally, a Greater Netherlands state may include the annexation of the French Westhoek, Suriname, formerly Dutch-spea ...

, a nation state that would unite all

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

-speaking territories in Europe. It is active in Belgium, the Netherlands and South Africa. The organisation has staged rallies on various topics, against Islam, leftist organizations, drugs, and socialism.Rodrigues and Donselaar (eds), Monitor Racisme & Extremisme - Negende rapportage, Pallas Publications, Amsterdam University Press (2010), pp. 49-50
online copy
Members include

Vlaams Blok ''Vlaams Blok'' ( en, Flemish Block, or VB) was the name of a Belgian far-right and secessionist political party with an anti-immigration platform.Erk, 2005, pp. 493-502. Its ideologies embraced Flemish nationalism, calling for the independen ...

ideologue

Roeland Raes Roland Henri Theofiel (Roeland) Raes (born 4 September 1934) is a Belgian politician, a former senator for and vice president of the political party Vlaams Blok. Raes took a dr. iur. ( J.D.) at Ghent University. He became politically active in ...

and

Vlaams Belang , ideology = , predecessor = Vlaams Blok , position = , europarl = Identity and Democracy , european = Identity and Democracy Party , youth_wing = Vlaams Belang Jongeren , colours = ...

politician Luc Vermeulen.Voorpost webpage
Bart Vanpachtenbeke is the leader of Voorpost (succeeding Johan Vanslamsbrouck). As of 2013 Nick van Mieghem is action leader for Flanders, replacing Luc Vermeulen. Florens van der Kooi (formerly of the NNP) is action leader for the Netherlands. Several members of the organisation were also members of the VMO ( Vlaamse Militanten Orde), which was banned in 1983 due to several violent attacks against immigrants, Belgian French-speakers, and left-leaning organisations. The Dutch

AIVD The General Intelligence and Security Service ( nl, Algemene Inlichtingen- en Veiligheidsdienst, AIVD; ) is the intelligence and security agency of the Netherlands, tasked with domestic, foreign and signals intelligence and protecting national s ...

classified the group as far-right. It also concluded it does not have anti-democratic goals nor uses anti-democratic means. In 1986 the Dutch labour union FNV and the Anne Frank Foundation made a list of groups it considered racist and fascist which included Voorpost. Because of this members of Voorpost were barred from joining the FNV. A Dutch court ruled in 2012 this ban on Voorpost members was against the law as discrimination based on political opinion is illegal in the Netherlands.

References

External links

Voorpost
Official website Flemish Movement Far-right politics Ethnic nationalism Nationalist organizations Identitarian movement {{Belgium-org-stub