Soetkin Collier, the female lead singer of the Belgian group Urban Trad, who was accused of extreme right sympathies last week, reacted on the allegations in the newspaper De Standaard

“I want to be clear now about all the stories some told about me (…). In 1995 I was a member of the Flemish National Youth Association and the Nationalistic Students Association. Since 1996 the membership has been cancelled. I want to point out that I've never been at the remembrance of Rudolf Hess and never had affinity with extreme right. Solidarity is an important issue in my life and I hate racism and neo-nazism (…). My integration in the Wallonian group Urban Trad is clear evidence I have no anti-Wallonian feelings (…). I ask the press and the public to focus on my musical qualities. It's my passion and this campaign against me is about to take that away from me”, Collier wrote in her letter.

Minister of Justice Marc Verwilighen stated that, according to videos, it was not State Security that leaked with information about Collier, but that it was the Wallonian Minister of Media, Richard Miller. Verwilighen said that Miller showed the document from State Security to a television camera on February 12th.

Collier will not join the group Urban Trad in Riga.