Brunswijk: “You must leave!”

“Even if there is only one day left before the elections, and you already need to go, then ‘yu musu gwe,’” says vice president Ronnie Brunswijk. According to him, there is nothing wrong with a cabinet reshuffle just before the elections. Brunswijk emphasizes that the government will not take risks with ministers who are not performing well, especially when their actions could hinder progress toward the elections. This statement seems specifically aimed at the Minister of Internal Affairs, Bronto Somohardjo, who was sent on a week’s leave by president Chan Santokhi.
Brunswijk makes it clear that the government is not bound by the seven-month timeline leading up to the elections. “If it were up to me, ministers who perform poorly would have been replaced already,” he says, adding that politics and reality do not always go hand in hand.
The search for potential successors to Somohardjo had already begun. Brunswijk confirms that he and the president have discussed candidates such as Maurits Hassankhan, Lothar Boksteen, Urmila Ramlagansing, and Stanley Betterson. The vice president revealed that he had previously spoken to these candidates before the political split with the PL. Now that ABOP no longer collaborates with the PL, Brunswijk will discuss this with president Santokhi.
Brunswijk suggests that Somohardjo, driven by emotion, declared war on ABOP and on him personally. “It could be that he is confused and just says things,” says Brunswijk. He expresses his disappointment that the PL has not distanced itself from Somohardjo’s statements, in which he declared war on ABOP. Neither Paul Somohardjo, chairman of the PL, nor the PL’s leadership corrected Bronto, Brunswijk notes. According to Brunswijk, the PL’s silence means the entire party has turned against ABOP.
ABOP gave the PL a week to resolve the matter, but no action was taken. Therefore, ABOP considers the collaboration with the PL to be terminated. Brunswijk declares that all previous agreements with the PL are no longer in effect, as the PL now views ABOP as an enemy.
Brunswijk notes that ABOP has a responsibility toward the Javanese community, and even if the PL were not to win any seats, ABOP has still supported and accommodated them. He points out that the Javanese, Indigenous, and Maroon communities are particularly disadvantaged. To involve the Javanese community, ABOP entered into collaboration with the PL.

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