Opposition and coalition condemn Blok’s statements

Coalition and opposition parties recently issues separate statements to condemn the controversial statements made by Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Stef Blok last week. The Surinamese government has already demanded an apology from the Minister.

In Suriname the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) issued a statement, indicating that the Dutch Minister should have known better than to pass judgment over Suriname. The NDP which rejected the degrading statements wants the Minister to apologize and to tell the world that his observation and conclusion about Suriname are inaccurate. Only then will the NDP accept the minister’s apology. Blok has come under fire recently for saying multi-cultural societies could never be peaceful and that former colony Suriname was a “failed state” because of its diverse ethnic makeup. The Progressive Reform Party (VHP) which is an opposition party previously indicated that it did not agreed with the minister’s statements. “The Minister is not up-to-date on the recent developments in Suriname and most certainly does not know that Suriname is a multi-ethnic society where all ethnic groups peacefully live side by side.” Gregory Rusland, chairman of the National Party Suriname (NPS), on behalf of his party stated that it was detrimental of the Minister to make such statements about another country. He pointed out that the Netherlands is co-responsible for the situation in Suriname and that the Dutch Minister should also admit that.

The NPS made it clear that Blok must be disciplined by the Dutch government and that he must formally apologize to the Surinamese people. D66 which is a social liberal political party in the Netherlands has already indicated that the minister should resign. Alexander Pechtold, chairman of coalition party D66, has made it clear to the Dutch government that the Minister only has two choices. The Minister should either apologize and elaborate and if he can’t do that he should resign from office. Pechtold pointed out that Blok’s statements regarding migration and multi-ethnic societies could lead to the conclusion that the Dutch society has also failed because the Netherlands is also a multi-cultural country. Blok’s statements are therefore deemed unacceptable.