Locals in the Netherlands gathered at the airport to receive the bodies of their loved ones who were killed during the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 turned their anger on one prominent resident — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s daughter, Maria, 29.
The big question: Why is she living in Holland?
Ukrainians living in the Netherlands especially were angered at her presence in the nation and planned a protest outside her apartment, the New York Post reported. Ms. Putin, for her part, has lived in the country for some time, along with her boyfriend Jorrit Faassen, at an apartment in Voorschoten near The Hague.
But with the bodies returning, residents took umbrage with her presence.
One tweeted: “It’s time you leave [expletive].”
And Pieter Broertjes, the mayor of Hilversum — where the bodies are being sent for identification — said during a radio interview: “We could also deport Putin’s daughter from the Netherlands, because she lives in the Netherlands,” the New York Post reported.
He soon after apologized on Twitter, calling his remarks “unwise” and characterizing them as stemming from a “feeling of helplessness that many will recognize,” the New York Post reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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