Dutch State Secretary for Interior Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops arrived on St. Eustatius on Wednesday, via St. Maarten. Knops, new Statia Government Commissioner Marcelino “Mike” Franco and the rest of his delegation were met at F.D. Roosevelt Airport by a crowd that included some enthusiastic Statians.
Tempers did flare between persons not of the same opinion about the Netherlands taking charge of the island’s administration. Knops met with Island Council members and commissioners in a closed-door session in the Mike van Putten Youth Centre following his arrival. Knops will be in St. Maarten today, Thursday, to review the progress since Hurricane Irma.
