Washington: The newly appointed United States Ambassador to the Netherlands, Pete Hoekstra, clashed with the Dutch reporters after he was questioned on the controversial remark made by him on the “Islamic movement” in 2015.
Hoekstra had claimed that the “Islamic movement” was creating chaos in Europe and that the extremists were burning politicians and cars in the Netherlands.
The US Ambassador confronted with the reporters at his residence soon after resenting his credentials to Dutch King Willem-Alexander at a palace in The Hague, where the Dutch reporters questioned him on his statement and said, “This is the Netherlands, you have to answer questions,” reported the Guardian.
After repeatedly being questioned on the same, Hoekstra termed the remark, which made headlines in 2015, as “fake news”.
But the US Ambassador’s reply did not satisfy the Dutch reporters who further went on asking if the ambassador could name a politician who had been set on fire in recent years.
Though in 2016, Hoekstra had apologised for his remark and said, “I made certain remarks in 2015 and regret the exchange during the Nieuwsuur interview. Please accept my apology.” (ANI)