The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia Claims they do not have Information about the Police Report against Historian Bonnie
CNN Indonesia, 28 Januari 2022
The Indonesian Embassy in The Hague stated that it did not receive a report regarding Indonesian citizens involved in legal cases in the Netherlands, including the case of historian Bonnie Triyana.
Bonnie Triyana was reported to the Dutch police by the Federation of Dutch-Indo people (Federatie Indische Nederlanders/FIN) because of his opinion piece in a local newspaper, which was considered as a falsification of Indonesia’s and the Netherland’s dark history.
“Officially, there has been no report from the Dutch side regarding the problems faced by Indonesian citizens here. There has not been a (report),” said Indonesian Ambasador to the Netherlands, Mayerfas, when contacted by CNNIndonesia.com on Thursday (27/1).
Despite that, Mayerfas has previously stated that the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague is ready to provide assistance to all Indonesian citizens who need it, in accordance with existing regulations.
Bonnie was reported to the police after eliminating the term “Bersiap” (get ready) in an exhibition at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, which will open on February 11, 2022. Bonnie is listed as a guest curator representing Indonesia.
According to Bonnie, the use of the term ‘Bersiap’ will only worsen racist sentiments toward Indonesians during the 1945-1947 period. In Bonnie’s view ‘Periode Bersiap’ always portrays Indonesians as primitive, barbaric and driven by racial hatred.
On the other hand, the FIN considers Bonnie’s actions as a falsification of history.
The FIN reiterated that many Dutch soldiers died after being released from prisoner camps, after the Japanese fled from the archipelago.
The FIN believes that refusing the use of the term ‘Bersiap’ is the same as denying the facts of the Holocaust, the massacre of European Jews by Nazi Germany’s soldiers during World War II, erasing crimes against humanity and erasing war crimes. In some cases in the Netherlands, such a standpoint can be prosecuted.
The FIN refuses to retract their report, despite the fact that the Rijksmuseum ended up using the term ‘bersiap’, which illustrated the violence that occurred against the Dutch-Indo population between 1945 and 1947.
FIN spokesperson Michael Lentze consider’s Bonnie’s statements to be a crime.
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