The Dutch foundation Oud Strijders Legion, or Former Warriors Legion, intend to discontinue their activities. Mr Prosper Ego, the 83-year old president of the Legion, announced this in their newsletter on Friday.

The ultra-conservative Dutch foundation was established in 1958 after several radical members of the Dutch Veteran’s Legion, shocked by the Hungarian Rebellion in 1956, insisted that the veterans arm themselves. The Veteran’s Legion refused to do this and several members, lead by Mr Ego, left the organisation to found the Former Warriors Legion.

Initially the Legion's members were mostly veterans of the Dutch-Indonesian and Korean war. However, the members of the Legion had very outspoken ideals and became involved in politics. They quickly evolved from a veterans' organisation into the voice for opponents of communism, socialism and pacifism.

In the 1980s the organisation became notorious for their support to the South-African Apartheid regime. During the ban-the-bomb protests in the same era the Former Warriors Legion paid for aircraft banners that said, “Rather a rocket in the backyard than a Russian in the kitchen”.

In recent years the organisation suffered a severe drop in members and volunteers. They subsequently decided to stop publishing their newsletter and close their office. The organisation will still exist on paper but Mr Ego says he intends to wind up the organisation in 2011.

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