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You are here: Home News Dutch News Ministry warns of hoax government leaflet

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25/11/2009Ministry warns of hoax government leaflet

The leaflet delivered to residents living in the Randstad calls on people to have their official BSN number tattooed on their left arms.

The Netherlands – The Dutch interior ministry has issued a warning against an official-looking leaflet delivered door-to-door calling on people to have their official BSN number tattooed on their left arms as part of an experiment to improve national security.

The leaflets, which were sent to residents in Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht, stated the tattoos are a ‘trial in advance of potential new legislation’.

Dutch citizens with biometric passports would be able to have their arms tattooed for free. The leaflet also referred residents to their local governments should they have any questions.

The leaflet included a photograph of a social security number tattooed on the underside of someone’s wrist.

The logo printed on the leaflet used a logo that was very similar to the national government's logo – a stylised version of the national coat of arms featuring two lions on either side of a crowned shield which shows a third lion.

The leaflets have been sent out by Het Niewe Rijk (The New Kingdom), a name used on a forum of website Stormfront to describe a white supremacist world view.

According to AD, “sleepy-eyed people who found the leaflet on their doormats yesterday morning had to look real hard to see the difference with the real leaflet distributed a few weeks ago in which the government informed people about the new passport for which applicants have to submit four fingerprints.

Meanwhile, the interior ministry has filed a report against the people responsible for the distribution of a “misleading and nauseating” leaflet.

The ministry said the brochure is tasteless and raised associations with the Holocaust, when Nazi concentration camp prisoners had to have their identity number tattooed on their bodies.

In response, Het Nieuwe Rijk said it was aware of the sensitive nature of its action because of the clear references to the Third Reich and WWII, but argued it was necessary to initiate public debate on “The increasing collector’s mania” of the Dutch government” regarding fingerprints and other sensitive information.  

Radio Netherlands / Expatica


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