Oldebroek council executive apologises for Kalashnikov photo

A member of the executive on Oldebroek council in Gelderland has apologised for posting a photograph of himself posing with a Kalashnikov in front of a pro-Russian flag. Standing next to him in the photo is a former Almere council candidate for the far-right FvD party, according to the Volkskrant.

Tom de Nooijer, of the local Christelijk Verbond Oldebroek party, shared the image on Instagram after visiting Transnistria, a self-declared, unrecognised pro-Russian region that broke away from Moldova after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

De Nooijer said he had been on holiday in Moldova and travelled to the region out of a “historical interest in the Soviet past”, and went to a shooting range there. He said the trip was private and not meant as a political statement. He is a former presenter of the right-wing broadcaster Ongehoord Nederland.

He initially declined to comment or apologise, prompting anger from opposition councillors. “They fled the violence he is glorifying by posing for a pro-Russian flag,” said Frank van ’t Ende, referring to the 200 Ukrainian refugees the council houses. A ChristenUnie councillor called the photo “shocking”.

Mayor Tanja Haseloop-Amsing told Omroep Gelderland that the council’s executive had been “unpleasantly surprised” by the image.

In a written statement on Wednesday, De Nooijer distanced himself from the hammer-and-sickle flag in the photo, called the visit unwise and apologised to anyone who might have been insulted.