In this article we discuss the far-right activist Paul Peters. Peters is interessant, because he is important in the extreme right because of his long career – he is in his own words more than fifteen years in the world -, that whole period has been very active and of great significance for all kinds of organizations. But above all he is a man of many faces.
Paul Peters (1979) gained his first experience with the extreme right in 1996. There was that year a demonstration planned by two extreme right-wing parties, of CP'86 in the CD. They wanted to commemorate in Leerdam that ten years earlier in nearby Kedichem was disrupted a meeting with many far-right violence, which killed two seriously injured.
This commemorative demonstration, however, was by no means uncontroversial because of the extremist character of the two parties. Around the manifestation terrain large groups of protesters tried to reach the group of right-wing extremists to prevent their demonstration. That did not work through the existing police. But after the demonstration it came up to a number of violent incidents. Peters claimed years later that he, fleeing protesters, some water had jumped in. Whether that is true, is unknown; Peters is not known for its reliability, as we shall see. But we'll have to assume that his career around that time began. En die carrière is tot op dit moment, Sixteen years later, still in progress.
What makes Peter's interesting to take a closer look? Of course, his long career to mention striking. Most right-wing extremists step up after a couple of years off the circuit. The fact that he has fulfilled in all these years a lot and often influential positions within a range of groups is worth describing. But above all the many different faces of Paul Peters are a striking phenomenon.
These are three types of conduct which have over the years ensured that Paul Peters a rather unclear, rather mixed public profile created for himself. You could define it as a bin full of masks, which he at alternating venues themselves unceasingly a useful profile at that time. Not always with equal success.
What categories of behavior we are talking?
First, the most comprehensive category: Peters' fake identities. Paul Peters has tried repeatedly in the past to conceal his true identity by assuming false names. A second category is his, to put it kindly, broad political orientation. Almost from the beginning of his career he has been active in many different extreme-right organizations, often absolutely can not pass one door. A third category is often creative handling of the truth. Peters has been known to lie.
False names
First, the use of different identities. Peters has used over the years by many different names. Primarily seems motivated by the desire to be known by his real name. But not only that.
To begin with a striking example: Paul Peters tried a decade ago - under a pseudonym - fellow activists to draw attention to anti-fascist opponents. Peters sent in that period under the pseudonym Peter Gates' e-mails to the Anti-Fascist Research Kafka sensitive private information NNP'ers with New Right-circles collaborated. Peters clearly wrong in assuming that he had adequately shielded his true identity. But that was not the case.
The context in which he details his comrades Kafka was given a remarkable affair in the circuit where Peters was in at that time. The two factions and the New Right Nieuwe Nationale Partij (NNP) attempted to work closely together or merge. Radical members of the NNP did not sit down and left. Peters admittedly belonged to the radical wing, but remained active despite the NNP. The courtship between the NNP and the New Right in the end went wrong. New Right was found to have the NNP ultimately cheated. Party leader Michiel Smit was in fact only interested in the (paying) members and activists of the NNP, but not in the party leaders. What Peters found exactly this attempt to work together has never been very clear. He was prominent in joint operations and even did a brief spell as a group member of the New Right. But what more moderate rate of the New Right is actually difficult to reconcile with Peters' radical ideas.
Possible cooperation plans Peters were so undesirable, and he wanted to sabotage this cooperation through information leaks. But that too without burning his hands and hence pseudonymous.
Initially, employees were able Kafka hard to place what was going on. Peters was dropped? There were nefarious plans back to Kafka to run a lurking? Or there was an attempt to mutual settlement? Because it is highly likely to eventually went it was decided to attempt a statement to make the action of public Peters. This naturally led to the disquiet within the extreme right. One of the places where there was discussion was about the neo-Nazi Stormfront-forum. A participant at the forum, 'The Duke of war', took it and wrote for Paul Peters:
'Kafka published Paul Peters information has passed, and told there is a lot of nonsense next. Who she would have whispered it?Suddenly some people believe blindly leftist Kafka (and their informers). Apart, but that aside.
The C18 cutting in England displays a 'warning’ for which Peters and he becomes associated with one Peter Gates as being his pseudonym. And suddenly one would Peter Gates 150 addresses are delivered to the NA. Conclusie: Peter Gates would be Paul Peters. He would therefore have info Links played by then his party have a knife stabbed in the back. While he is still chairman of the department NNP and has initiated various actions has in the meantime and argued with many NA members…’
Noteworthy. Kafka was the pseudonym used by Peters 'Peter Gates' and does not mention the passing on addresses to the NA (Nationale Alliantie, another extreme right game which lived at war with the NNP) was information that was not known to Kafka. It was also noteworthy that "Dux bellorum 'in the third person wrote. 'The Duke of war' was in fact yet another pseudonym of Paul Peters.
Later in his career took Peters, now widely known as a far-right activist, often the spokesperson for actions alone. Although he is now everywhere was known by his real name, He did this often using different pseudonyms. Why he wanted to hide his real identity is not immediately apparent. But a good guess would be that Paul Peters assumption was that journalists would know his real name, could that name ever By Google. And Peters was understandably not desired. For when he, neatly dressed and cut, the press had been too civilized word with a neat extreme right action, it would be extremely annoying when the same people on the Internet would read what Peters in the night 29 april 2001 had done. When he destroyed along with several other right-wing extremists a Jewish cemetery, hit tombstones broken and painted on dozens of tombstones swastikas and Nazi slogans like 'Jew Raus' en 'We are back'. That would put some decent action, but in an undesirable perspective.
Changing ideals
A second category of conduct for the many different political ideals and groups that Paul Peters has had for the past sixteen years pass. Regularly These included groups and ideologies that are each distinct counterpoint: so-called 'decent' folk violent nationalists and neo-Nazis.
Back to the beginning of the career of Peter. After the previously described swimming incident in Leerdam, Peters states that that was the beginning of his political activities, he plunged a few years later when violent neo-Nazi group Stormfront Nederland (SFN). That group was around 2001-2003 responsible for a series of heavy violence. Peters himself had indeed no formal leadership role, but was very active and belonged to the frame. He especially stood out for its manicured appearance (clothes neat and well trimmed) between the dominant image tattooed skinheads, fighters and drug users Stormfront. Besides participating in various Stormfront actions, Peters made history especially with the aforementioned draft- and destructive action of the Jewish cemetery in Oosterhout. After the disappearance of SFN Peters would go to the NNP via legal channels (demonstrations and elections) wanted to realize its far-right ideals. So you could say that the period at SFN a 'wild' period. Peters was indeed early twenties, an age when people have more to do unwise things after losing their wild oats.
That image seems to be going on at first sight for Peters. After his time at the NNP, and the courtship with New Right, he was in 2004 active in the Very Dutch Action Group Outpost. And he is to this day. Also Voorpost, although set much more activist than the NNP, an organization which formally renounced violence and usually operates within the framework of the law. Peters is in the eight years that he is now active, always been an important activist. As actieleider, but also as a regional boss in different places (Peters moved several times) and as organizer of several actions. Sometimes this produced him problems. He was arrested several times and occasionally fined or sentenced. But that actually went almost always nonviolent actions (occupations and demonstrations). Except for throwing a pie at Green party GroenLinks Wijnand Duyvendak and threatening a number of participants of a debate on Sharia law in Amsterdam.
But the moderate view is not correct, or is in any case incomplete. Because after his adventures in SFN Peters has never lost his neo-Nazi roots. That was evident when he, not in the Netherlands but in Germany, appeared several times at demonstrations with a pronounced neo-Nazi character. And - this is important - especially during demonstrations where it was expected that it would come to violent confrontations with police and opponents.
Until recently ran Peters with these activities are not for sale. Indeed, he tried to join these demonstrations usually unrecognizable with a hood. But recently he broke the Belgian far-right website "Right Aktueel ' stand up for these German colleagues. After a large-scale police operation, waarbij 150 homes of neo-Nazis were searched, Peters wrote on the extreme right-wing website "Current Law" that this is a 'nationalist group of friends' would. And the 'friends group' organized by chance on 1 of September another demonstration. So, Peters found, Dutch and Flemish nationalists were there to show their solidarity:
'For these enumerated - and many other - reasons it is desirable that we support our nationalist comrades in Germany! Nowhere is greater repression against the nationalist movement than there.’
And that may still be called striking. Nothing no Nazis, but "nationalists" according to Peters. Peters exchanged SFN for the NNP, a neo-Nazi group to a more or less decent far-right party. During that period he was also working for some time for the New Right, a party that even the more radical wing of the NNP was too moderate. Then, as Voorpost prominent just to resurface in German neo-circuits.
Kortom: Peters eat very different ideological your cake and tries to cover up by a label game.
Lies
Then the last, the third category: the lies. There was all that passed deceit around his attempts to betray fellow activists. But Peters lied at other times too. At his trial for violating the Jewish graves example, He told the judges that he would no longer politically active. To dive a few weeks later in a Stormfront action in Nijmegen.
But the Internet was Peters creative with the truth. So he placed as Eefje 'a positive message in the guest book of the NNP, the party where he currently involved was. In that post he gave compliments to the 'nice guys' of the party. In the same guestbook he gave the pseudonym "Peter" compliments for a speech by action director Paul. This time it did not work out Peters to shield his true identity and was clearly critical for the reader that he congratulated himself.
Another special performance gave Paul Peters in the city council in Zoetermeer 2005. There will a far-right youth club (1) a party on hold 5 May, Liberation Day. They did not celebrate the deliverance that day, but 'mourn' to the fact that the Netherlands 5 May 1945 is occupied by the enemies of Hitler's Third Reich. Because the municipality of Zoetermeer doubts about letting go of this party Peters helped to serve in this group by an official inquiry and defend the party in front of the city council. He further explained that the party was financed by its own organization Voorpost. The party continued, The party room was decorated with all kinds of propaganda Voorpost. But days later there was great concern arose about the party. There appeared photographs of groups of young people who brought the Hitler salute (again: on Liberation Day) and an arrest was made because of the display of neo-Nazi symbols. Asked about his involvement Paul Peters then denied anything to do with having. For Post had still not funded, and he himself would not have been.
No face
The question remains where it all turned, lying and stuff actually is good for. There is actually to give a good answer, but there is some conceivable scenarios.
It is conceivable for example, that Paul Peters prefers had continued on the path he had taken with SFN: part of an activist, Violence prepared group of neo-Nazi activists. But that poses many disadvantages. Peters was arrested and has taught at an early stage that the activities that he might like to engage him get too much damage. His arrest for destroying the Jewish cemetery he ran against conviction. But also against quite a tainted reputation. To continue to fight for his radical ideals would be a logical choice to try it on a cleaner, slightly more moderate way, which entails less risks. But his attempts to put some more moderate colleagues offside, the frequent use of pseudonyms and his recent participation in neo-Nazi activities in Germany make it likely that its ideological heart actually lies elsewhere.
Another option is that he may well opt for neat political activities in order to achieve something real, but he occasionally has to jump out of the band because it is too boring, Dutch activism too little 'real action' offers.
A third option is that he may be convinced that all these actions (neatly campaigning for Outpost, dig daub with SFN, fight with police in Germany) eventually all be part of one big fight for his ideal.
A fourth, last option is, of course, that there is no logic, but Peters just occasionally does what he likes.
Dit artikel is eerder verschenen in Alert!
Noten:
(1): This group of far-right youths would then develop quickly into an active neo-Nazi group, National Socialist Action (NSA) See this link for some items.
