Ronnie Brunswijk
| Ronnie Brunswijk | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
7 March 1961 Moengotapoe, Suriname |
| Nationality | Surinamese |
| Political party | General Liberation and Development Party |
Ronnie Brunswijk (born March 7, 1961) is a Surinamese ex-rebel leader, politician, and business man. After having served in the early 1980s as the personal body guard of Dési Bouterse, who overthrew the government in 1980 in a military coup, Brunswijk left him and formed the Surinamese Liberation Army, better known as the Jungle Commando.
Brunswijk was seeking to gain recognition and rights for the Maroon minority of the interior, descendants of African slaves who had established independent communities in the 17th and 18th centuries. In addition, he wanted "to free Suriname from the military dictatorship." His forces fought against the national military under Bouterse in a civil war called the Surinamese Interior War. The civil war continued from 1986 to 1990, resulting in hundreds of deaths and several hundred refugees, and disruption of important mining industries. Peace was negotiated in 1991.
Brunswijk has remained active in politics, serving as chair of Algemene Bevrijdings- en Ontwikkelingspartij (ABOP, General Liberation and Development Party), and as a representative in the National Assembly. In addition he is a player/owner of Marowijne football club Inter Moengotapoe
After war broke out, on 29 November 1986 the Surinamese army attacked Brunswijk's home village of Moiwana, where they murdered at least 39 villagers, mostly women and children. They burned down Brunswijk's house and destroyed the village. More than 100 refugees fled across the border to French Guiana, which became a destination for other refugees as the war wore on. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordered the government to pay millions of dollars (US) in compensation to the 130 survivors of the village attack.
The government and Brunswijk finally negotiated a peace in 1991 that included conversion of the Jungle Commando to a regular part of the Surinamese Army, with responsibility for patrolling their traditional interior territory. The government also promised jobs for Maroons in gold prospecting and forestry, as they were isolated from many developing industries.
The Netherlands prosecuted both Brunswijk and Bouterse in absentia for drug trafficking, and both men were convicted. Brunswijk was convicted in absentia in the Netherlands to six years imprisonment for cocaine smuggling by a Dutch court in Haarlem. He has an international arrest warrant issued against him.
...
Wikipedia