Bonnie Triyana

Bonnie Triyana was born in Rangkasbitung, Banten, Indonesia in 1979. He lived in Sumatra for a time, where his father worked as a plantation manager. Inspired by the Brazilian popular history magazine Istoria, Triyana founded the monthly Indonesian-language history magazine Historia. Triyana was involved in a group which successfully advocated in 2012 for the restoration of a former Sarekat Islam school in Semarang which had fallen into disrepair, due to its historical significance to the anti-colonial movement in the Dutch East Indies. In 2018 he helped Lebak Regency in Banten establish the Multatuli Museum in Rangkasbitung in a 1923 building that had originally been the office of the (a type of colonial official). The museum faced some opposition from local student groups who believed it glorified a non-Indonesian, Dutch colonizer. Triyana spoke before the standing committee on Foreign Affairs at the House of Representatives on 23 May 2022 to present an Indonesian perspective on the violent departure of the Dutch from Indonesia. ==Bersiap controversy==

In early 2022 Triyana was a guest curator of the exhibition Revolusi! Indonesia Independent on the Indonesian National Revolution at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. His participation became controversial in the Netherlands when, in a column in the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, he explained his view that the word "Bersiap" should be dropped from the exhibit, saying that the use of the term in the exhibit would "simplify" the narrative in the exhibit and reinforce stereotypes of "primitive, uncivilized Indonesians". The Federation of Dutch Indos filed a complaint to the Dutch police about the matter on 13 January 2022, accusing Triyana of stigmatizing Indonesian and Dutch survivors of that historical period and downplaying the violence against them. This was followed by a counter-complaint against the Rijksmuseum, its director, and the lead curator of the exhibition by the Dutch Honorary Debts Committee Foundation on 21 January. The police decided not to pursue charges and the Rijksmuseum continued to use the term in the exhibit, noting that Triyana had been expressing his personal opinion in the editorial. ==Political career==

In June 2023, Triyana announced that he had stepped down as managing editor of Historia and announced his candidacy for office in the 2024 Indonesian general election with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in the Banten 1 district (Lebak and Pandeglang). The historian Budi Setiyono took over as managing editor of Historia, while Triyana remained editor-in-chief and director. Triyana's sister Virgoyanti is also involved in politics; she is the acting regional secretary of Banten, as well as commissioner of the Bank of Banten and other roles. Bonnie Triyana disputed the results of the election in the Banten I district via the Banten election representatives and the internal PDI-P process, and in early September 2024 both candidates were interviewed. Following a 23 September 2024 by the Electoral Commission (KPU), Tia Rahmania was dropped as the candidate and Bonnie Triyana was declared to be the winning candidate. On 26 September 2024 Tia Rahmania filed a civil lawsuit against Bonnie Triyana and the PDI-P. Nonetheless, Triyana has been seated in the new session of the House of Representatives which opened on 1 October 2024. ==Selected publications==

• (Ombak, 2005; as co-editor with Budi Setiyono). • (ISAI/Komunitas Bambu, 2008, co-editor with Max Lane). • (Kompas, 2010, cowritten with Derom Bangun)(Kompas, 2011) • (Kompas, 2011) • (Historia, 2013, as editor) == References ==