Dutch Alderman Posed With Kalashnikov in Transnistria

Tom de Nooijer, a 26 year old alderman in the Dutch municipality of Oldebroek, was photographed this summer in Transnistria holding a Kalashnikov, wearing a yellow FC Sheriff Tiraspol shirt and a Soviet officer cap. Behind him stand the flag of Transnistria and a white flag of the Dinamo sports society. The Amsterdam daily de Volkskrant published the picture on August 26. De Nooijer’s portfolio in the municipality is refugee reception and asylum.

Transnistria is a breakaway region of Moldova that no state recognises and where a Russian military contingent has been stationed since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Oldebroek houses around 200 refugees from Ukraine, and that is what turned a holiday snapshot into a political problem.

“We also take in quite a number of Ukrainians here,” said Frank van ‘t Ende, a councillor for the Sociaal en Duurzaam Oldebroek list, which was the first to demand an explanation.

De Nooijer’s first answer to reporters was short.

This concerns a private trip. Therefore I will make no further statements about it.

Soon after that question the photographs disappeared from his Instagram account.

Who travelled with him

De Nooijer travelled with Marlon U., a former Forum voor Democratie candidate for the council in Almere, who was convicted in June of assault with a discriminatory motive. His face is blurred in the photograph carried by Dutch media. Footage published after the picture showed the two men firing rifles at a shooting range in Transnistria, and that footage has since been taken down as well.

Before entering local government De Nooijer was a presenter on the broadcaster Ongehoord Nederland. His list, Christelijk Verbond Oldebroek, won seven of the 19 council seats at the elections in March this year.

What De Nooijer said in his apology

The municipality of Oldebroek published his statement on its website on August 27.

I was recently on a holiday trip to Moldova, on which I also travelled to Transnistria, out of my historical interest in the Soviet past of that area. On that occasion I also, as can be seen, fired at a shooting range.

In the same statement he says the trip had nothing to do with his work in the municipal administration and that the photograph was meant as a holiday impression rather than a political message. He distanced himself explicitly from the symbols visible on it: “As a Christian conservative I obviously do not identify politically with this flag with the hammer and sickle.”

Whatever my intention was, this photograph is now being read differently. My visit and the photograph were the starting point for that. That is unintended, unwanted and, certainly with the knowledge, suggestions and questions that exist now, it was also unwise, in the light of my responsibility in this office.

He apologised to everyone who feels hurt or has been put in an uncomfortable position, and he repeated the apology at the morning meeting of the municipal executive. He also said he wants to carry on as an alderman of Oldebroek.

Mayor Tanja Haseloop-Amsing said the municipal leadership was unpleasantly surprised by the photographs.

Chisinau asks for a public explanation

The story drew a response from the Moldovan authorities the same day. The Bureau for Reintegration Policies, the government body in Chisinau responsible for relations with the breakaway region, judged the case sharply when asked by the Chisinau outlet NewsMaker.

It is absolutely unacceptable to circulate in the public space images that display separatist symbols and promote war propaganda. Accordingly, the person involved in this inadmissible situation should come forward with the appropriate statements in order to correct the blunder committed and reaffirm support for the sovereign and territorially integral character of the Republic of Moldova.

The bureau added that diplomatic missions and international organisations accredited in Moldova have repeatedly been given guidance and recommendations about working visits and activities in the Transnistrian region of the country, noting that the point is to prevent the display of unconstitutional and secessionist elements. It also said it had not been informed about the Dutch politician’s visit.

What happens on September 2

Geerco André, leader of the ChristenUnie group on the council, called the photographs shocking and pointed out that the Dutch travel advisory for that region is red, the highest level of warning.

“It is a holiday, it is private, but there are limits,” André said. He added that Ukrainians in Oldebroek feel abandoned and that De Nooijer’s credibility is at stake. His party considers the apology insufficient and speaks of a breach of integrity.

The coalition partners took the other side. The SGP, the Algemeen Belang Oldebroek list and De Nooijer’s own Christelijk Verbond Oldebroek consider the apology sufficient and are not asking for a change in his portfolio. “Let us put it this way, we were startled,” said Martijn Kerkmans of Algemeen Belang Oldebroek, calling the episode extremely awkward.

The extra council session has been set for September 2 at 7.30 pm, at the request of Frank van ‘t Ende and the ChristenUnie. In the 19 seat council De Nooijer’s list holds seven seats, the ChristenUnie four, the SGP three, Algemeen Belang Oldebroek and Sociaal en Duurzaam Oldebroek two each, and the CDA one.