Nazi symbols found on Belgian license plates

Two personalized license plates in Belgium were seen with antisemitic and Nazi references.

One license plate had “HH-88”, a reference to the Nazi salute and the numerical code for the Nazi phrase.

The other one had “1-RAS-88”, which refers to “Een ras” which translates to “one race.”

UNIA, the Belgian Interfederal Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism, called out the Nazi symbols that were displayed in public spaces.

“The ‘1-RAS-88’ plate combines both racist hatred and antisemitic references,” UNIA said. “It is highly unlikely that this choice of the plate was a coincidence, especially considering the €1,000 fee that the person paid for.”

UNIA has called on the Federal Government to address these incidents: “We first contacted the DIV to report these plates but they weren’t willing to deregister them,” Danaé Malengreau, according to the spokesperson for UNIA. “We also contacted the Minster of Mobility to find out what else could be done.”

The Belgian DIV released a letter explaining that the “88” on the “1-RAS-88” license plate referred to “the year the applicant was born” and that the owner assured them that there was no intention of racism or to be offensive at all.

“Such a response seems insufficient, especially in view of the expressly chosen combination of ‘Een Ras’ ’88’ and ‘HH’,” UNIA said.

There are no laws preventing Nazi symbols from appearing on license plates in Belgium.

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