(Dutch News) Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema told a full meeting of the city council on Wednesday that her comments about the pending “burqa ban” had been misunderstood.
Halsema was criticised by MPs and ministers for telling local broadcaster AT5 that she did not consider that “hauling someone out of the tram for wearing a niqab” was “fitting” in Amsterdam. She also suggested there were better uses of scarce police manpower.
But Halsema told councillors on Wednesday that the nuance in her statements had not been picked up. “The impression has been given that city and national politics are at odds,” she said. “That is a misunderstanding. Amsterdam is a city which follows the law.”
