Sint Eustatius politician apologizes for threatening Dutch soldiers

Sint Eustatius politician Clyde van Putten apologized for threatening to kill Dutch soldiers in a speech he made last week. Van Putten said that his previous comments were reprehensible and that he does not want to call for violence. Though he added that his comments were taken out of context by people "with a political agenda" to damage his reputation, NOS reports.

During a speech last week, Van Putten said that he talked to a Dutch Minister and told him that if he sends Dutch soldiers to the island, he must be prepared for the consequences. "Because if you bring the military, we will kill them and we will burn them in the streets of Sint Eustatius", he said.

Minister Ronald Plasterk of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations reported the politician to the police and called his statements "totally unacceptable".

Van Putten said that he will take responsibility for his statements in court, should it come to that, according to NOS. He also said that he does not plan to stop fighting for more autonomy for Sint Eustatius, which is a special municipality of the Netherlands.