Party for Neighbourly Love, Freedom, and Diversity

Party for Neighbourly Love, Freedom, and Diversity
Partij voor Naastenliefde, Vrijheid en Diversiteit
Leader Marthijn Uittenbogaard
Founded 31 May 2006
Dissolved March 2010
Political position Far-Left
International affiliation None
Colours Light blue
Website
www.pnvd.nl
Politics of the Netherlands
Political parties
Elections
Azure, billetty Or a lion with a coronet Or armed and langued Gules holding in his dexter paw a sword Argent hilted Or and in the sinister paw seven arrows Argent pointed and bound together Or. [The seven arrows stand for the seven provinces of the Union of Utrecht.] The shield is crowned with the (Dutch) royal crown and supported by two lions Or armed and langued gules. They stand on a scroll Azure with the text (Or) "Je Maintiendrai" (French for "I will maintain".)
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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,[1] and only three known members.[2] It was commonly known as "pedopartij" ("pedo party") in the media, due to its advocacy for legalization of child pornography and the lowering of the age of consent to age 12.[1][3] PNVD was founded on 31 May 2006 by three self-described pedophiles.[2][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] Since 14 March 2010 the party no longer exists.[7]

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]

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.[2]

Treasurer Van den Berg claimed that, "Rearing is also about introducing children to sex".[8] 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

Multiple positions taken by the PNVD were controversial, especially those concerning children.[9] In a May 2006 opinion poll, 82% of respondents wanted the Dutch government to stop the party from competing in the elections.[10] The anti-pedophile foundation "Soelaas"[4] petitioned the courts to ban the party, but the judges ruled in the PNVD's favour.[2] "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 founders, executive committee, and only public members

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?)[11] was earlier the treasurer of Vereniging MARTIJN,[12] 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 molesting an 11-year-old boy. He was fined and given a suspended prison sentence.[13] 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.[14]

The Dutch Zoo Federation and NVD Beveiligingen which used the initials 'NVD' forced[15] the party to switch to using the initials 'PNVD' to protect their reputation.[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Pedopartij presenteert nieuw programma | nu.nl/algemeen | Het laatste nieuws het eerst op". Nu.nl. 2010-03-16. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Dutch will allow paedophile group". BBC news. 17 July 2006.
  3. ↑ "Pedopartij richt zich voortaan tegen religie - Nieuws - TROUW" (in Dutch). Trouw.nl. 2007-07-31. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Court refuses to ban Dutch paedophile party". Expatica. 17 July 2006.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 http://pnvd.nl/prog_mei_2006.html
  6. ↑ "Pedopartij haalt verkiezingen niet" (in Dutch). NOS. 2006-10-10.
  7. ↑ "Pedopartij ontbonden" (in Dutch). NU.nl. 2010-03-15.
  8. ↑ "Dutch paedophiles set up political party". Expatica. 30 May 2006.
  9. ↑ van der Mee, Tonny; Vermeulen, Raymond (31 May 2006). "Afschuw over pedopartij" (in Dutch). AD. Retrieved 31 May 2006.
  10. ↑ "Pedophiles to launch political party". Guerrilla News Network / Reuters. 30 May 2006.
  11. ↑ "CAST". Areallmenpedophiles.com. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
  12. ↑ van der Mee, Tonny; Holtzer, Dafna (30 May 2006). "Pedofielen de politiek in". AD (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 May 2006.
  13. ↑ Court refuses to ban Dutch pedophile party AP article
  14. ↑ Nijmeegse universiteit verwijdert pedofiele student, NU.nl, 16 juni 2006
  15. ↑ "Zoeken in uitspraken". Rechtspraak.nl. Retrieved 2014-05-17.
  16. ↑ lefigaro.fr (2012-03-16). "Le Figaro - Actualités". Lefigaro.fr. Retrieved 2012-04-12.

External links

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