Fundamental criticism of Dutch East Indies-research

THE HAGUE (June 14, 2019) – Federation of Indo Dutch (Federatie Indische Nederlanders, FIN) has fundamental criticism on the large-scale Dutch East Indies-investigation, which is currently being conducted by KITLV, NIMH and NIOD on behalf of the Dutch government. According to chairman Hans Moll, signs that the design and execution of the research project are biased can no longer be ignored.

For some time, the research has been causing unrest among those directly involved, especially in the Indo-Dutch community. The predominant feeling among them is that researchers are moving towards a predetermined socially desirable conclusion. A conclusion in which there only seems to be room for Indonesian victimization, while Dutch suffering is downplayed.

FIN therefore presented heavy criticism in an open letter today. The criticism focuses on (1) the one-sided narrative chosen for the research, (2) the lack of a counter-narrative, (3) the biased attitude towards the Bersiap and – by extension – (4 ) involving Bersiap deniers in the investigation.

“The number of people directly involved has now thinned considerably, but this does not mean that their history can be treated lightly. This cannot be the intention of a scientific research funded by the Dutch government,” says Hans Moll.

Tags: Bersiap, Dutch East Indies-investigation.

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