Ronnie Brunswijk

On 29 November 1986, the Surinamese army took revenge by attacking Brunswijk's birth village of Moiwana, where they murdered at least 39 villagers, mostly women and children. They burned down Brunswijk's house and destroyed the village.[18] More than 100 refugees fled across the border to French Guiana, which became a destination for other refugees as the war wore on.[19] 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.[20]

The government and Brunswijk negotiated a ceasefire on 21 July 1989 in Kourou[21] that included conversion of the Jungle Commando to a regular part of the Surinamese Army, with responsibility for patrolling their traditional interior territory.[22] The government also promised jobs for Maroons in gold prospecting and forestry, as they were isolated from many developing industries. On 8 August 1992, a final peace treaty was signed.[8]

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 eight years imprisonment for cocaine smuggling by a Dutch court in Haarlem despite numerous witnesses contesting the claims. Brunswijk appealed the ruling pursuant to insufficient evidence.[23] In 2000, he was convicted to six years on appeal.[24] There is as of July 2020, an Interpol arrest warrant against him.[25]

Brunswijk is chairman of the Surinamese political party General Liberation and Development Party (Algemene Bevrijdings- en Ontwikkelingspartij, ABOP).[26]

Brunswijk is also a player and owner of Marowijne football club Inter Moengotapoe.[27] In 2002, Brunswijk built a football stadium in Moengo, which he named the Ronnie Brunswijkstadion.[28] The disciplinary committee of the Surinamese Football Association suspended him for five years because he threatened some players with a handgun during a match in 2005. The suspension was retracted due to lack of evidence.[27] In June 2012, Brunswijk was suspended for 1 year because he behaved violently towards the referee and a player in football match.[29]

In December 2007, Brunswijk and Paul Somohardjo beat up Rashied Doekhi, a member of Desi Bouterse's party, in the Surinamese parliament after Doekhi assaulted Brunswijk and Somohardjo, then chair of the Surinamese parliament. The event was broadcast on live television.[30][31]

Brunswijk was owner of Robruns NV, a gold mining company. According to a Parbode, Brunswijk owned six gold concessions in 2012.[32][33][34] In July 2020, Brunswijk transferred ownership of the gold concessions to a foundation in order to qualify for the Vice Presidency.[35]

Brunswijk was elected to the National Assembly in the 2020 elections.[36] He was elected as Chairman of the National Assembly of Suriname on 29 June 2020 in an uncontested election. Dew Sharman was elected as Vice Chairman.[9] Brunswijk subsequently ran for vice president,[37] and on 8 July, Brunswijk announced that he will be succeeded by Marinus Bee as Chairman of the National Assembly[38] who was installed on 14 July.[39][40] Brunswijk was the shortest serving Chairman in the history of Suriname.[41]

On 1 July 2020, Brunswijk tested COVID-19 positive. He had been tested, because Paul Somohardjo with whom he had lengthy meetings about the new government tested positive.[42] He was released from hospital on 6 July.[43] To show his appreciation for the hospital staff, he donated three cars to nurses who did not have transportation.[44]

On 7 July, the coalition nominated Chan Santokhi as President of Suriname and Ronnie Brunswijk as Vice-President.[37] No other candidates have been nominated as per 8 July 2020, 15:00 (UTC−3), and therefore Brunswijk was elected as vice president on 13 July by acclamation in an uncontested election.[45][46] Brunswijk was inaugurated as vice president on 16 July on the Onafhankelijkheidsplein in Paramaribo in ceremony without public due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[47][11]