Ronnie Brunswijk

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Ronnie Brunswijk in April 2011

Ronnie Brunswijk (born March 7, 1962 in Moengotapoe , Suriname ) is a former rebel leader, politician and Vice President of Suriname since 2020 .

Life

In the second half of the 1980s he was the leader of the so-called Jungle Commandos in Suriname. He fought against the regime of Desi Bouterse , whose bodyguard he had been when he was still serving in the military . The guerrilla war , which was mostly waged in the jungle with sometimes great cruelty, ended in 1992 after the end of the military dictatorship. He became popular with the people of East Suriname because he distributed goods like a Robin Hood that had been captured in raids on military vehicles.

On November 29, 1986, during the civil war between the Surinamese military under the command of Dési Bouterse and the Jungle Commando under the leadership of Brunswijk, a Ndykua, there was a massacre in the village of Moiwana, a Ndyuka village in the Marowijne district in the east of Suriname . Members of the Surinamese military killed 39 people, most of them civilians. After this massacre, thousands of residents of the eastern bushland fled to French Guiana via the Marowijne River .

Like his opponent Bouterse, Ronnie Brunswijk was sentenced in absentia to six years in prison for drug smuggling by a court in the Netherlands in October 2000. The Netherlands obtained an international arrest warrant against Brunswijk, which has made it practically impossible for him to leave his home country. On the other hand, as a Surinamese citizen, he may not be extradited from Suriname to the Netherlands. He has also been a member of parliament for the Algemene Bevrijdings- en Ontwikkelingspartij (ABOP) since the elections on May 25, 2005 .

In addition to his business and political activities, he also made a name for himself as chairman, coach and player of the football club Inter Moengotapoe . However, in November 2005 he was banned from playing for five years by the Surinamese Football Association (SVB) and relieved of all office because he had drawn a pistol during a football game. This incident had no impact on his political career.

A member of parliament for the then opposition National Democratic Party (NDP), Rashied Doekhie, held up a data carrier during a parliamentary session on December 13, 2007, allegedly containing evidence of criminal conduct in real estate transactions against the parliamentary leader Paul Somohardjo. Thereupon a scuffle broke out between the two parliamentarians when Somohardjo tried to get hold of the data carrier. Well-built Brunswijk came to Somohardjo's aid and threw Doekhie to the ground. Both Somohardjo and Brunswijk still kicked the one lying on the ground. Only hurrying policemen could put an end to this. This act in parliament also had no political consequences.

Speaker of Parliament and Vice-President

At the first session of the DNA on June 29, 2020 after the parliamentary elections on May 20, 2020 , Ronnie Brunswijk was elected President of Parliament after he had been sworn in as a member of parliament.

On July 13, 2020, in a special session of the National Assembly of Suriname (DNA), Chan Santokhi was elected President and Ronnie Brunswijk as Vice-President of Suriname.

The session was opened by Brunswijk, in his capacity as President of Parliament, and he entrusted the leadership of the DNA to conduct the election to the Vice-President of Parliament, Dew Sharman. Since there were no opposing candidates, the qualified majority present in the DNA was sufficient for election by acclamation . After verifying that the candidacy had been correctly made and that the required documents were in place, Sharman stated that Santokhi had been elected President and Brunswijk had been elected Vice-President.

This created the extraordinary situation that, until a new parliamentary chairman is elected, Brunswijk will hold both the office of vice-president and chairman of the DNA. On July 14, 2020, Marinus Bee was elected and sworn in to succeed Brunswijk as Chairman of Parliament.

The inauguration of President Chan Santokhi and Vice-President Ronnie Brunswijk took place on July 16, 2020 in Paramaribo.

literature

  • Wim Hoogbergen and Dirk Kruijt: De oorlog van de sergeanten. Surinaamse militairen in de politiek. Uitgeverij Bert Bakker, Amsterdam 2005; ISBN 90-351-2998-9 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Moiwana Community v. Suriname. In: iachr.lls.edu. November 29, 1986, accessed April 25, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Waterkant, December 14, 2007 in Dutch, accessed on July 2, 2020.
  3. ↑ Politieke realiteit bij Verkiezing Brunswijk en Sharman , StarNieuws from June 30, 2020 Dutch, accessed on July 2, 2020.
  4. ↑ Santokhi nieuwe president en Brunswijk vicepresident , StarNieuws from July 13, 2020 Dutch, accessed on July 14, 2020.
  5. ↑ Veel lof voor Marinus Bee as Assembleevoorzitter , StarNieuws from July 14, 2020 Dutch, accessed on July 15, 2020.
  6. ↑ Brunswijk ook op 'voorzitters muur' , DNA StarNieuws from July 15, 2020 Dutch, accessed on July 15, 2020.
  7. ↑ Brunswijk officieel vicepresident van Suriname StarNieuws from July 16, 2020 Dutch, accessed on July 16, 2020.
personal data
SURNAME Brunswijk, Ronnie
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Surinamese rebel leader, politician, vice president
DATE OF BIRTH March 7, 1962
PLACE OF BIRTH Suriname