Hilversum councilor Karin Walters resigns immediately after ‘Russia riot’ | The Gooi

“I have decided to immediately resign as alderman of the municipality of Hilversum,” she said in a statement. “There has been a publication about my private participation in an information meeting about small-scale organic farming in Belarus and Russia. Organic farming is becoming increasingly difficult in Europe, but apparently it is impossible to explore whether organic farming would be possible in countries beyond.”

Walters emphasizes that, as a local politician, she has always been committed to good governance in Hilversum. “Of course I wholeheartedly support the fact that we are hosting refugees from Ukraine here and, as a councilor, I have deeply experienced the suffering caused by the attack on the MH17 in Hilversum. The publication of my private exploration draws me into the sensitivity of national political themes. This distracts from effective management by me and the municipal council of Hilversum, which I have always stood for. I wish the residents and the municipal council all the best.”

National news

Walters was national news two weeks ago. The Algemeen Dagblad reported that she had attended a meeting in Arnhem in mid-December where information was provided about how to emigrate to Russia and Belarus. According to Marie-Thérèse ter Haar, the organizer of the meeting, Walters is said to be ‘completely done with the Netherlands’ and may want to emigrate to Russia. “She didn’t tell anyone about this. She is afraid of being convicted and does not trust the media,” the AD noted from Ter Haar.

In a response to this newspaper, Walters emphatically denied that she attended the information meeting. “I went to Marie-Thérèse with a personal relation, who wanted to find out about agricultural opportunities in Eastern Europe,” said the councilor. “That person was looking at starting a small-scale farm outside the Netherlands and was looking for space and cheap land.”

Also read: Hilversum councilor Karin Walters strongly denies emigration plans to Russia

Not on holiday

Walters said he had answered the questions from Algemeen Dagblad directly. “I have never been to Belarus, I have not been on holiday in Belarus and I have no intention of emigrating to Belarus. During the Christmas holidays I went on holiday in Poland, which indeed borders Belarus,” said the councilor. To add: “I remain wholeheartedly committed to Hilversum.”

Mayor Gerhard van den Top told this newspaper two weeks ago that Walters ‘is responsible for her own choices and must also take her own responsibility for them’.

Allegedly, the ‘personal relationship’ with whom the councilor had been to Russia expert Ter Haar would have been her partner. However, Walters has not commented on this.

Also read: HvH: ‘Karin Walters has been put under pressure by the council to resign. This will definitely gain momentum’

Heart and soul

In her statement she looks back on the past 18 years in which she has ‘dedicated herself with heart and soul to Hilversum and its residents’. She was active as a councilor for eight years and as an alderman for ten years, mainly with the portfolios of finance and social affairs. “I have proudly achieved many election points from Hart voor Hilversum together with the faction and councilor Karin van Hunnik,” she emphasizes. “The Nieuwe Lelie community center is now being built in Hilversum-Zuid, the dog tax has been abolished, there is regional support for a new animal shelter, 382 flexible homes for people in need of housing on the Circus site and more people will be eligible for minima schemes. All this while housing costs and parking permit rates remained low.”