Hungarian county daily, 23 October 1965: a snippet from a list of World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) secretariat members naming Setiati Surasti of Indonesia alongside Dragoi (Romania), Chen Ji (China) and Mohammed [...]. Dated three weeks after 30 September 1965; only the snippet was saved. Setiati Surasto is the SOBSI/Gerwani figure per the log.
Suara Merdeka (Semarang), 25 Oktober 1965, hlm. 1. Antara: on 15 Oct the PKI leaderships of Sukabumi with SOBSI, Pemuda Rakyat and Gerwani declared self-dissolution after consulting the local Pantja Tunggal.
Suara Merdeka (Semarang), 25 Oktober 1965, hlm. 2. Antara: the South Kalimantan Pepelrada froze the PKI and its mass organisations including Gerwani; faint mention of crowd raids in Kuala Simpang, Aceh. Gerwani appears only in lists of banned organisations.
Nieuwsblad van het Noorden, 26 October 1965, p. 5: citing Karya Bakti, reports a secret PKI meeting on 19 October led by M.H. Lukman, attended by economist J. Piry and 'Aidit's mother-in-law, Mrs Moedigdio' [Mudigdio], amid attempts to set up revolutionary councils in Cirebon and Bali. The text is partly garbled.
Twentsch Dagblad Tubantia (26 Oct 1965), Leffelaar from Jakarta: Subandrio's role expected to end; successors speculated. Reports Karya Bhakti's claim of a secret PKI meeting under Lukman attended by Mrs Mudigdio, Aidit's mother-in-law, and economist J. Piry. Army raids continue, Onrust island used as an internment camp, purges at Hotel Indonesia, China-Algiers conference tensions.
Suara Merdeka (Semarang), 26 Oktober 1965, hlm. 1. Col. Widodo froze the PKI and its mass organisations in Yogyakarta by decree of 20 Oct 1965, listing Pemuda Rakyat, Gerwani, CGMI, IPPI, Lekra, Perhimi, BTI and SOBSI; Gerwani appears only in the decree list.
Suara Merdeka (Semarang), 27 Oktober 1965, hlm. 1. Richest page for Gerwani in this set: state of war in Central Java; 55 Yogyakarta organisations demand dissolution of the PKI and Gerwani; a demand to dismiss Umi Sardjono from the Kotrar political bureau.
Suara Merdeka (Semarang), 27 Oktober 1965, hlm. 2. Two key items: at a Kodim 0733 Semarang meeting a freezing decree was read; Soetjiran, chair of Gerwani Semarang, said her house was attacked, members panicked and Gerwani Semarang 'knew nothing' of the events.
Friese Koerier profile (28 Oct 1965, p.15) of Geerda van Beekhoff-van Selms, outgoing world president of the Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW), recounting her travels, congresses and the non-political, no-communist-members policy of ACWW. Indonesian women appear only as donors of a Yogyakarta silver dish. Not about Gerwani.
Suara Merdeka (Semarang), 28 Oktober 1965, hlm. 1. Gerwani appears twice: the North Sulawesi Pepelrada froze the PKI and onderbouw including 'Gerwani (Gerakan Wanita Indonesia)', and Perti purges PKI sympathisers.
Suara Merdeka (Semarang), 29 Oktober 1965, hlm. 1. Central Java National Front decision 20/PDFN/1965 (27 Oct) freezing fifteen parties and organisations including 'Ormas Wanita Gerwani (Gerakan Wanita Indonesia)' and Baperki.
Suara Merdeka (Semarang), 29 Oktober 1965, hlm. 2. Antara report of the 'confession' of Pemuda Rakyat leader 'MSN': secret 'GTM' recruitment for Lubang Buaya training from July 1965, seeing many Gerwani, PR and BTI in ranks, 'Ibu Djumono of the DPP Gerwani', and ranks that 'appeared happy and sang'.
Suara Merdeka (Semarang), 30 Oktober 1965, hlm. 2. After a rally in Pekanbaru crowds razed all offices of the PKI, SOBSI, Pemuda Rakyat, Gerwani, Baperki and BTI within a day; members were 'rescued' from crowds by state organs, some injured.
Nieuwsblad van het Noorden, 3 November 1965: reports a 100,000-strong demonstration at the Chinese consulate in Medan demanding Subandrio's resignation, and, per Antara, that the PKI's women's organisation Gerwani has been expelled from the Indonesian women's congress (Kowani), chaired by Mrs Hurustiati Subandrio, the foreign minister's wife.
Trouw (3 Nov 1965), wire report: Sukarno tells ministers his life is in danger; demonstrations in Medan demand Subandrio's removal; a Muslim leader urges dissolving the PKI. Reports that Gerwani was expelled from the women's congress Kowani, chaired by Mrs Subandrio. Early evidence of Gerwani's isolation weeks after 30 September.
Twentsch Dagblad Tubantia (3 Nov 1965): Sukarno tells cabinet his life is in danger; 100,000 demonstrate at the Chinese consulate in Medan demanding Subandrio's dismissal; army purge in Central Java hampered by unreliable troops; Gerwani expelled from the women's congress Kowani, chaired by Mrs Subandrio; soldiers kill five communist demonstrators at Kroya.
Straits Budget, 3 Nov 1965 (lead only). Reports a state of war declared in central Java, with the army saying Communists massacred civilians and Communists and Muslims fighting, citing Radio Jakarta. Typical army-sourced framing of the killings; matched on Gerwani.
Straits Times, 3 Nov 1965 (lead only). The Indonesian Women's Congress (Kowani), headed by Foreign Minister Subandrio's wife Hurustiati Subandrio, expelled the PKI women's auxiliary (Gerwani), per Antara; a consultative board statement addressed to President Sukarno. Shows Gerwani's isolation after the coup.
Neue Berner Zeitung, 3 Nov 1965 (UPI/AFP): anti-communist demonstration in Sumatra; Sukarno tells ministers to act 'bravely'; 100,000 demonstrators at the Chinese embassy in Medan; gold and silver mines nationalised; 57 PKI parliamentarians removed. Key for Gerwani research: the Indonesian women's congress (Kowani, OCR 'Owani'), led by Mrs Subandrio, expelled the communist women's organisation Gerwani from its ranks on Tuesday.
The Straits Budget (Singapore), 3 November 1965, p. 15, UPI/Antara: the army declares a state of war in Central Java and gives figures for civilians it says communists massacred (e.g. 62 bodies in three mass graves at Banyuwangi, 104 killed), while observers note the incidents all occurred after the coup. Nothing on Gerwani appears in the OCR; it is context for the killings narrative. OCR is garbled.
Izvestiia, 4 Nov 1965, p. 2, international commentary: Antara reports the Congress of Indonesian Women (Kowani) expelled the CPI's women's organisation Gerwani; also Supreme Court dismissals, 57 PKI deputies suspended (Lukman, Njoto), about 3,000 arrested near Yogyakarta, and books of 'implicated' authors removed from schools.
Neue Berner Zeitung, 5 Nov 1965, DPA report 'How the Communist Party of Indonesia wanted to seize power: mass murders were planned'. Citing army-held 'captured plans', it claims the PKI intended to kill 10,000+ officers and officials, and to arm one million peasants and workers as a militia built from Pemuda Rakyat, BTI, SOBSI and Gerwani cadres; it also dwells on Sukarno's presence at Halim. Gerwani appears only in the militia sentence.
Neue Zürcher Nachrichten, 5 Nov 1965, 'Was Sukarno himself involved in the coup?' (dpa). Same DPA account: army-held plans allegedly show the PKI intended to murder 10,000+ officers and arm one million peasants and workers as a people's militia from Pemuda Rakyat, BTI, SOBSI and Gerwani cadres; the coup failed in 18 hours; Sukarno's stay at Halim is the 'greatest riddle'. Gerwani is named once.
Walliser Bote (5 Nov 1965) running a DPA report on the coup, repeating army-sourced claims of a PKI plan to murder 10,000+ officials and build a people's militia from Pemuda Rakyat, BTI, SOBSI and Gerwani cadres on the Peking model. Also puzzles over Sukarno's presence at Halim.
Leeuwarder Courant, 6 November 1965, p. 3: relays an armed-forces bulletin story by 'Djamilah', a 15-year-old Pemuda Rakjat member, who says she was ordered to Halim for training and that about 100 Gerwani women were given knives and razor blades and mutilated and stabbed a blindfolded man at dawn on 1 October. The paper reports it uncritically; this is the sexual-mutilation narrative of the Lubang Buaya slander.
Nieuwe Haarlemsche Courant, 6 November 1965, p. 3: UPI report (headline 'PKI women's section the culprit') relaying the armed-forces bulletin story of 'Djamilah', a pregnant 15-year-old Pemuda Rakjat member, who describes training at Halim and about 100 Gerwani women handed knives and razors who mutilated and stabbed a blindfolded man later thrown in a well. It is presented as fact, an early version of the Lubang Buaya sexual-violence slander.
The Economist, 6 Nov 1965, p.594, 'Rings on a tree trunk', from a special correspondent in Jakarta: the army-inspired anti-communist campaign has gained its own momentum, with raids on PKI offices, arrests, 26 Antara correspondents detained, Aidit in hiding, Sukarno declaring Central Java in a 'state of war'. Wall graffiti trace the mood, culminating in 'Gerwani Tjabol' ('the women's wing of the PKI are whores'), echoing the sexual slander. Notes Untung's confession and pressure on Subandrio.
Berner Tagwacht (Bern), 6 Nov 1965, DPA-based report on the Indonesian coup. Citing army-compiled 'captured plans', it claims the PKI planned to murder 10,000+ officers in five days and arm one million peasants and workers via Pemuda Rakyat, BTI, SOBSI and Gerwani cadres as a militia on the Peking model. It calls Sukarno's presence at Halim the 'greatest riddle'. Gerwani appears only in the militia-plan sentence.
Geschäftsblatt für den obern Teil des Kantons Bern, 6 Nov 1965: the same DPA report on the Indonesian coup as in Berner Tagwacht, with other subheadings. It alleges PKI plans (from captured documents) to murder 10,000+ officers and to arm one million peasants and workers as a militia using Pemuda Rakyat, BTI, SOBSI and Gerwani cadres, and discusses Sukarno's presence at Halim. Gerwani appears only in the militia sentence.
South China Sunday Post-Herald, 7 Nov 1965, p.30 (Reuter, Djakarta, 6 Nov): the Armed Forces bulletin says nine 'suicide squad' members of Gerwani, the Communist Women's Organisation, were killed by troops after standing in the path of army tanks in Solo, jeering and turning their backs when asked to leave. The item also reports the siege of Aidit's hideout in Central Java, 200 arrests at Cilacap, PKI branches 'voluntarily dissolved', and a Muslim 'holy war command' rally at Tasikmalaya.