Monster petition against Vlaams Belang

14 December 2004

BRUSSELS – A citizens’ petition launched against extreme right wing Flemish party the Vlaams Belang now has 56,577 signatures.

It began 23 days ago on 20 November, shortly after the party’s predecessor the Vlaams Blok was outlawed by Belgium’s supreme court for being racist.

Just four days after its launch, 25,000 people had already signed up to the petition.

The size of the project is “without precedent in Belgium,” said the VlaamsBurgerinitiatief responsible for organising the action.

The overwhelming public response has prompted the initiators to accelerate the process.

“We intend to close the petition between now and the end of the week and present it as soon as possible to the president of the Senate, Anne-Marie Lizin,” said spokesman Marc Spruyt.

“We have received hundreds of emails from Belgium and abroad, supporting our initiative,” he said.

Subject: Belgian news