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Romanian Ordinance on Biometric Passports Goes Ahead

The Government Ordinance regarding the introduction of biometric passports in Romania is still applicable, despite protests by various NGOs, which the Bucharest Court of Appeals rejected Wednesday.
Romanian Ordinance on Biometric Passports Goes Ahead
18 feb. 2009, 11:08, English

Several NGOs, including “Justice and Truth”, “Civic Media”, the Association for the Defense of Public Liberties, and an attorney claimed in court of law a week ago that the introduction of biometric passports is a breach of the rights guaranteed by the Romanian Constitution, including the right to privacy and the freedom of religion.
 
Opponents of the ordinance claim that the Romanian Government has not announced this normative act publicly, nor has the act been put up for public debate, but rather intends to fulfill EU requests without taking public opinion into account.
 
Another attorney has demonstrated that “the introduction of electronic chips on passports impinges on the freedom of religion, because it turns a name given by God into a number.” The attorney pointed out that this is “alarming” because it aims to restrict human liberties through measures of surveillance and control.
 
The same day, before the trial was to begin, several people protested against the normative act at the Bucharest Court of Appeals. The protesters carried icons and banners with slogans such as “Down with the chip dictatorship”, “Observe the Constitution, reject the chip”, “Let us choose, we want no chip”, and “Reject the number of the beast 666.”
 
They also handed out flyers showing that Christian Orthodox churches in Greece and Serbia have opposed the implementation of biometric passports. Among the protesters was a priest from the Rarau Hermitage, who stated that 21 other priests from the same place stand against the passports.
The Defense Committee of Romania’s Chamber of Deputies last Tuesday approved an ordinance on the introduction of biometric identifiers in national passports. Social democrat deputy Georgian Pop, the only opposing member, said the biometric passports are not secure, as any hacker could modify the data on the passport chip.