A petition against Covid certificates in the Netherlands received 500,000 signatures within three days. The people behind the initiative think the proof of vaccination is out of proportion given the current situation of the pandemic.
The face of the campaign is former underminister Mona Keijzer, a Christian Democrat. According to her, the Covid certificate is a violation of fundamental rights “which is not necessary, let alone proportional.”
The politician was expelled from the cabinet in September because she openly distanced herself from the proof of vaccination.
The appeal to the Rutte cabinet went online on Friday. On Sunday evening, around 9.30 pm, the number of signatures was over half a million. It was sometimes so busy this weekend that the webpage regularly crashed.
Manifesto
With their manifesto, the initiators speak out about the inconvenience of the passports that has now also reached the House of Representatives. At the moment, however, there is definitely no majority in favour of immediate abolition.
What the House currently gives priority to is organising better democratic control over the decision-making process regarding corona.
Due to increased scepticism, the government has already become more cautious about the use of the Covid certificate. Legislative proposals on broader use of the pass in education or the workplace, which were still on the agenda in December, have been postponed to March. The law for the introduction of a 2G pass (access only after being vaccinated or cured of a corona infection) has also been postponed.
