Influence of secret organisation in far-right groups revealed

Law professor says terror threat from right- and left-wing should be taken as seriously as that from Islamists

Anti-immigration organisation ORG is at the nexus of a web of right-wing groups in Denmark, Politiken newspaper revealed today.

 

The revelations – stemming from leaked ORG documents, including transcripts from their private online network, ORG-Int – show that its 100 members have far-reaching financial and ideological influence with several extreme right-wing organisations such as the racist hooligan group White Pride.

 

Other organisations linked to ORG include the Danish Association (Den Danske Forening) that includes in its mission statement that it “will warn against the disintegration of our cultural and popular unity, caused by the excessive influx of people from overpopulated countries”.

 

Den Danske Forening’s current chairman, Tomas Kierstein, is also a member of ORG, while ORG's current chairman, Jesper Nielsen, also sits on the board of Den Danske Forening.

 

Newly released photographs dating from 2003 show Nielsen burning a black baby girl doll, given to him as a gift by fellow ORG members, on a bonfire.

 

According to left-wing research organisation Redox – which supplied Politiken with the leaked documents – 26 former members of the Danish Front (Dansk Front) are also members of ORG.

 

Dansk Front was disbanded n 2007 and replaced by the less controversial – though still openly anti-immigration – organisation Vederfølner.

 

Vederfølner writes on its website that, “the Danish immigration policy over the last 20 years has been a disaster for Denmark and has led to multiculturalism which is in opposition to Denmark’s democratic governance, freedom of speech and equality between genders.”

 

The documents reveal ORG members have controlling positions in Vederfølner.

 

The transcripts from ORG-Int reveal discussions regarding the formation of a new nationalist party. These discussions demonstrated the close ties between members of ORG and other right-wing organisations. One released post reads: 

 

“It might be the case that we ourselves believe that we have the solution, but many of us are part of the problem. All of those who have been members of White Pride or Vederfølner would poison a new party. Our participation, even if it is limited, would burden a new party if the press catch wind that we are involved, regardless if it is one or many of us.”

 

Despite the recent revelations, members of Vederfølner and Den Danske Forening that were contacted by Politiken denied any knowledge of ORG. 

 

“It’s not the case that we have been working with ORG because I’ve never even heard of the organisation. I do not believe they have influenced us,” Vederfølner chairman Lars Larsen told Politiken.

 

Harry Vinther, vice chair of Den Danske Forening, also denied any knowledge of ORG.

 

Other discussions on ORG-Int reveal how members discussed how to redirect funds from an orgnisation called Århus against the Mosque (Århus mod Moskéen) – which stood in the 2007 local elections in Aarhus and is now disbanded – to a new nationalist party, demonstrating ORG’s desire to influence local politics.

 

“I also believe that we should donate their resources as start up capital for a ‘political fund’ for an eventual new nationalist party or other offensive intiative. This fund should be formulated so that ÅAM (Århus against the Mosque, ed.) can transfer their resources to it,” ORG chairman Jesper Nielsen wrote.

 

Politiken revealed yesterday that ORG had compiled a database of left-wing political opponents, using information from the crime register, civil registration system (CPR) and the police database of ongoing investigations, gathered by a corrupt police officer.

 

While the officer was convicted in 2009 for misusing the information, critics believe the severity of the act should have led domestic intelligence agency PET to publicise the risk from political extremists. 

 

“Such an evaluation should be made so that society receives a balanced image of the threat from both the left and right wing, but should also assure the public that PET is balanced and not just focussing on terror threats from Islamists,” Jens Vedsted Hansen, a law professor at Aarhus University, told Politiken.

 

Vedsted-Hansen’s remarks have received support from a range of politicians.

 

“The threat is just as great whether it comes from militant Islamists or from extremists on the Danish right or left wing. PET should therefore conduct a fair threat evaluation,” Lone Dybkjær from Social Liberal Party said.

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