914 KU Leuven students, academics and staff members have signed a petition that denounces former Vlaams Belang MP Dries Van Langenhove's scheduled visit to campus.
The Nationalist Student Association (NSV) is hosting Van Langenhove for a talk about regenerative agriculture on Wednesday. The former Vlaams Belang politician is best known as the founder of Schild & Vrienden, a nationalist youth movement that promoted anti-Semitic, racist and sexist discourse. Van Langenhove was one of nine members prosecuted for Holocaust denial.
The student petition, coordinated by the Platform of Antifascist Activists Leuven (PAAL), opposes the university's decision to approve an event that gives a platform to such a speaker.
"The event contradicts the university's stated charter for inclusion," according to the petition. "Van Langenhove, along with other lead figures in organisations he is associated with, frequently violate the terms of this charter. He has been known to intimidate attendees at queer events, organise hate campaigns (especially against Rwandan-Belgian artist and writer Dalilla Hermans), and label the LGBTQIA+ flag as a 'pedophile flag'."
"We urge the Chancellor not to offer a platform at KU Leuven to a figure who consistently and deliberately promotes hate and division."
'Missed opportunity'
In response to the backlash, KU Leuven has stated that it "attaches great importance to freedom of expression and encourages debate and the exchange of ideas."
In an open letter published in De Morgen, 17 academics and employees of the university decry a "missed opportunity to make a strong anti-discriminatory statement".
They explain that freedom of speech should not extend to racist opinions that go against the university charter. The letter also draws attention to NSV's reputation for encouraging hate speech. In April last year, the organisation made white supremacist gestures during far-right political activist Martin Sellner's visit to campus.
KU Leuven has scrapped similar events in the past. A debate about the widely-discredited 'Great Replacement' theory scheduled for March last year was cancelled when it provoked uproar on campus.
In addition to the petition, PAAL has organised a stationary protest on Ladeuzeplein at 19:30 on Wednesday evening.
