PARAMARIBO – The supreme chief of the Aluku tribe, Simeon Glunder, recently told Times of Suriname that he seems it unacceptable that the organization that wants to unveil a monument to honor Boni did not consult his tribe when making its decisions. “They had already decided what they were going to do despite the fact that we told them that we also had to be involved in the decision making. We do not agree with the location where the monument will be placed. We also do not agree with the way the organization is pushing everything through without our consent,” said Supreme Chief Glunder.

The supreme chief explained that the people from the organization visited him several weeks ago to announce that the monument would be unveiled at Fort Boekoe. “We explained why the location that they had chosen was not the right one and why we preferred to have the monument placed in the area that is close to the Boekoe Creek. If that is not possible, we want the monument to be placed at a central location such as the capital as that would make it easier for people to visit it. Boni is an important part of the history of the Maroons so it would be better to put the monument in an area that would make it easy for the youths to visit it instead of putting it in a remote location. The people from the organization would get back to us but after their visit we did not hear anything from them. I was shocked to hear that the monument would be unveiled on September 20th and that we were also invited. As supreme chief of the Aluku tribe I will not allow others to treat us this way,” said Supreme Chief Glunder who added that he wants everything to be put on hold and for the government not to get involved in this matter.
“Boni is too important to the history of Suriname which is why his legacy must not be treated this way. We are also puzzled by the fact that the organization only wants to unveil a monument of Boni although there were many other freedom fighters who fought for the Maroons. I will not participate in the activities of September 20th and I call on other people to also steer clear from it,” said Supreme Chief Glunder.…[+]