Only workers; youth organisations merge into a new front
Short items in De Vrije Pers (11 Apr 1950): a clarification about banknote distribution for workers, and a merger of Front Pemuda Indonesia and eight youth groups into Gerakan Pemuda Rakyat, with A.L. Fanggidaej as one of the secretaries. Gerwis/Gerwani is not mentioned; the Fanggidaej named here is not identified as F
Abadi, 8 August 1951, p. 2: The Left's 17 August Committee
Abadi, 8 Aug 1951, p. 2: separate left-wing 17 August committees under a 'peace programme' in Jakarta and Bandung, with Gerwis, SOBSI, Lekra and others in charge of the programme.
The arrests in Indonesia: PKI calls for struggle against fascism
De Waarheid, 31 Aug 1951, p. 3: near-verbatim PKI Central Committee statement on the Sukiman government's August 1951 mass arrests, calling them a drift to fascism and a staged 'coup' pretext. It lists Gerwis among organisations whose members were arrested or searched, demands release of all detainees and urges an anti
Harian Rakjat, 23 April 1952: Kartini Day commemorations, Mrs Sri Kusnapsiah speaks
Page of the Jakarta daily Harian Rakjat, 23 April 1952 (Kartini Day issue; OCR very noisy). It reports Hari Kartini commemorations in Jakarta (about 650 women at Garden Hall), in The Hague, where Ny. S. Sri Kusnapsiah spoke on Kartini's aims and thought, and in Semarang, Bogor and elsewhere, alongside Wilopo-cabinet an
Impressive demonstrations throughout Indonesia (May Day 1952)
De Waarheid, 2 May 1952, p. 3: dispatch on May Day demonstrations across Indonesian cities by committees including SOBSI, Pemuda Rakjat and the women's organisation Gerwis; Jakarta rally at Merdeka Square. Reports government attempts to prevent them, including bans in Surabaya on discussing germ warfare and carrying po
Analysis of Communist Propaganda in Indonesia (OIR 5714.7, 1952)
OSS/State Department report OIR 5714.7 (30 May 1952) analysing PKI propaganda: party structure, front organisations, relations with international communism and themes. Names Gerwis under Mrs Mudigdo as the communist vehicle competing with Kowani for women, and BTI under S. Sardjono; appendices cover publishing, films,
Harian Rakjat, 16 June 1952: Gerwis Jakarta adds Kemayoran branch; Salawati Daud
Harian Rakjat, Jakarta, 16 June 1952 (full issue; p. 2 relevant). Reports the founding meeting of a Gerwis branch (ranting) at Kemayoran, with a committee chaired by Kardini; Ny. Bandiyah of the Jakarta branch explains the statutes, and women's and youth wings of PKI organisations pledge cooperation. Also: Salawati Dau
Razzia Victims Committee (Sulami) meets PM Wilopo on East Java detainees (Harian Rakjat, 21 August 1952)
Harian Rakjat, 21 Aug 1952, p. 1: the central Razzia Victims Committee and its East Java branch, including Sulami, Suwarinah and Ny. Taha (central: Ny. Suprapto), met PM Wilopo and the defence minister about the detainees of the August 1952 razzia (Tanggerang camp, exile to Malang). Both ministers denied knowing of any
Delegation to the governor
Java-Bode, 28 Oct 1952, p. 2 (begins mid-article): after a Borneo demonstration a delegation sees Governor Murdjani; in Yogyakarta parties and organisations including Gerwis, PKI, PNI and Partai Wanita Rakjat sign a statement urging early general elections and warning that dissolving parliament now would strengthen fas
US State Dept. report IR-6165, January 1953: Communism in the Free World - Indonesia section on Gerwis
US State Department Office of Intelligence Research report IR-6165, 'Communism in the Free World' (January 1953), a compilation of about 30 country studies of communist capabilities, held in the CIA reading room. The Indonesia study (IR-6165.3) covers PKI aims and tactics, labour, and front organisations. Section VI.A
Sumatran groups up in arms against Masjumi
De Locomotief, 27 July 1953: a Palembang delegation (PIR, PNI, PKI) flies to Jakarta with a statement signed by six parties and 22 organisations including SOBSI, BTI, Pemuda Rakjat and Gerwis. It demands early elections, anti-corruption action, settlement of the Tanjung Morawa affair and a democratic cabinet without Ma
Statement of groupings in South Sumatra
De Nieuwsgier, 27 July 1953: Palembang delegation (PIR, PNI, PKI) flies to Jakarta with a joint statement by six parties and 22 organisations including SOBSI, BTI, Pemuda Rakjat and Gerwis. It says a PNI-Masjumi cabinet is no longer possible, urges a democratic parliamentary cabinet under Wongsonegoro, action against D
Delegation of parties in South Sumatra to Jakarta
Het Nieuwsblad voor Sumatra (29 Jul 1953, p.2): a delegation of parties and organisations in Palembang flew to Jakarta with a joint declaration signed by six parties (PIR, PNI, PKI, Partai Buruh, Permai, Murba) and 22 organisations including SOBSI, BTI, Pemuda Rakjat and Gerwis. It rejects a cabinet built on PNI and Ma
Action in Solo
Java-Bode, 12 March 1954, p. 1: badly damaged OCR report of an anti-[...] committee meeting in Solo planning waves of mass demonstrations and a central action on 15 April with a delegation to the Prime Minister. Attendees included PKI, Partai Buruh, youth groups, Gerwis and Sobsi. The campaign's target is unreadable.
Self-governments cannot simply be abolished
Indische Courant voor Nederland, 17 Mar 1954, p. 1: government says Swapradja (self-governing areas) cannot be abolished at once; Surakarta anti-Swapradja committee, which includes Gerwis, PKI, Pemuda Rakjat and Sobsi, plans mass demonstrations by 15 April. Also notes the Susuhunan's studies.
Joint declaration of thirty parties (abolition of the Netherlands-Indonesian Union)
Het Nieuwsblad voor Sumatra (24 Jun 1954, p.1): the Jakarta cooperation committee of about thirty parties and organisations, including PNI, PKI, Partai Buruh, Pemuda Rakjat, Gerwani, SOBSI, BTI and Wanita Rakjat, issued a joint declaration demanding immediate abolition of the Indonesian-Dutch Union, blaming Dutch imper
Agrarian affairs again: PKI central committee plenum chaired by Aidit
De Vrije Pers report (19 Nov 1954), citing Pedoman, on the PKI central committee plenum (8-10 Nov) chaired by Aidit and attended by Pemuda Rakyat, SOBSI, Gerwani and Perbepsi representatives. It decided to seek a place in the Ali cabinet, delegating MPs Sakirman and Mrs. Mudigdo, and not to make the agrarian portfolio
CIA intelligence survey of the PKI's history, structure and front organisations, May 1955, before the September 1955 elections. Section III.E (report pp. 49-50) profiles Gerwani: founded 1950 as Gerwis, renamed Gerwani at the March 1954 congress, 25,000+ members, S.K. Trimurti general chairman and Umi Sardjono chairman
Pravda, 5 Aug 1955: Gerwani telegram in Indonesian cabinet crisis (excerpt)
Keyword-hit excerpt of Pravda, 5 Aug 1955 (TASS, Jakarta) on the cabinet crisis after Masjumi's Burhanuddin Harahap was asked to form a government. Harian Rakjat published telegrams from SOBSI, BTI, Gerwani, Pemuda Rakjat and others demanding a truly democratic government, opposing a Masjumi cabinet and 'a military dic
Ten years of the Republic (Cor Geugjes)
De Waarheid, 17 Aug 1955, p. 3: Cor Geugjes's article for the Republic's tenth anniversary, covering Dutch colonial violence, the Bandung Conference, the Ali Sastroamidjojo government's fall and replacement by a Masjumi-PSI cabinet under Harahap, and the PKI's election platform. It lists Gerwani only as 'the strong wom
Events in Indonesia (conclusion): Harahap government and mass organisations
De Waarheid, 8 Oct 1955, p. 3: final part of Cor Geugjes's series on events in Indonesia, arguing the Harahap government (which replaced Ali Sastroamidjojo) is resisted: elections could not be postponed, New Guinea was raised at the UN, and preliminary results defeat Masjumi and PSI. Cites PKI (500,000), SOBSI (3 milli
PKI has one million members: Aidit interview with Ogonyok
De Waarheid, 23 Mar 1956, p. 2: Moscow dispatch that the PKI has one million members, per Aidit in an interview with the Soviet magazine Ogonyok; SOBSI has 2.6 million, the peasant union BTI 2.5 million, Pemuda Rakjat 700,000 and Gerwani about 500,000. Useful as a contemporary membership figure for Gerwani.
Mrs Salawati Daud elected to the new DPR; inauguration of parliament and Ali cabinet (Bintang Timur, 26 March 1956)
Front page (with pp. 2-4) of Bintang Timur, Jakarta, 26 Mar 1956, on the swearing-in of 217 members of the new DPR and Ali Sastroamidjojo's cabinet. Captioned photos show Sukarno with PKI member Mudigdo and Masyumi's Mangunpuspito, and welcoming Salawati Daud, a non-party PKI candidate from Makassar. Women MPs (13 in a
Harian Rakjat, 9 March 1957: Umi Sardjono at the Women's Day exhibition
Harian Rakjat issue of 9 March 1957, very noisy OCR. Page 1 reports the International Women's Day exhibition (handicrafts, cooking, costumes, foreign stalls) in Jakarta, where Umi Sardjono (Gerwani leader) is among women leaders present alongside Fatmawati; the committee of ten women's organisations is chaired by Yahya
US Monthly Indonesian Press Survey (1958): National Conference of Communist Women
US Monthly Indonesian Press Survey (1958) analysis of the First National Conference of Communist Women (Jakarta, 26-31 May 1958). Aidit's address presents the 'Communist woman' and calls for a wider Gerwani; Suharti Suwarto (Gerwani second deputy chair) and Sundari report on women's groups, only 100,000 women PKI membe
President Sukarno leaves Tokyo for home (Renmin Ribao, 16 February 1958)
Renmin Ribao, 16 Feb 1958, p. 6 (Xinhua): Sukarno ends a Japan visit, denouncing imperialism and rejecting interference; a Jakarta item reports SOBSI, Pemuda Rakjat, Gerwani, BTI and others backing the arrest of rebels such as Hussein and Lubis. Gerwani appears only in that list.
President Sukarno leaves Tokyo for home (Renmin Ribao, 16 February 1958)
Renmin Ribao, 16 Feb 1958, p. 6 (Xinhua): Sukarno ends a Japan visit, denouncing imperialism and rejecting interference; a Jakarta item reports SOBSI, Pemuda Rakjat, Gerwani, BTI and others backing the arrest of rebels such as Hussein and Lubis. Gerwani appears only in that list.
President Sukarno brings new strength to the Indonesian people (Renmin Ribao, 17 February 1958)
Renmin Ribao commentary, 17 Feb 1958, p. 5: praises Sukarno's nine-nation tour, backs Indonesia's West Irian claim and calls the PRRI/Permesta rebels imperialist-instigated. Notes that SOBSI, Pemuda Rakjat, Gerwani, BTI and seventeen Sumatran organisations backed the arrest of the rebels, and cites Aidit's call to brin
President Sukarno brings new strength to the Indonesian people (Renmin Ribao, 17 February 1958)
Renmin Ribao commentary, 17 Feb 1958, p. 5: praises Sukarno's nine-nation tour, backs Indonesia's West Irian claim and calls the PRRI/Permesta rebels imperialist-instigated. Notes that SOBSI, Pemuda Rakjat, Gerwani, BTI and seventeen Sumatran organisations backed the arrest of the rebels, and cites Aidit's call to brin
Aidit returns to Jakarta (Renmin Ribao, 9 April 1959)
Renmin Ribao, 9 Apr 1959, p. 4 (Xinhua, Jakarta): PKI delegation led by Aidit returns from the CPSU's 21st Congress via China and Vietnam. Gerwani leaders are named only among those greeting it at the airport, with Njono, PKI MPs, SOBSI and Pemuda Rakjat.