Delegates to World Peace Congress
Nieuwe Courant, 3 November 1950: conference of the Committee for World Peace in Yogyakarta, attended by branches and representatives of Kowani, Gerwis, Front Pemuda Indonesia, BTI, Sobsi, Pesindo and others. It endorsed the Prague appeal, proposals for the London congress (five-power peace, Dutch army withdrawal, no fo
'World Peace' (peace conference in Yogyakarta)
Het Nieuwsblad voor Sumatra (4 Nov 1950, p.2): a World Peace Committee conference in Yogyakarta approved the Prague appeal, proposed demands for the Nederlandse army's withdrawal from Indonesia and an end to foreign interference (Irian, Moluccas) for a London congress, and reported 180,000 signatures. Delegates include
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
Asia-Pacific peace conference preparations; Indonesian sponsors include Gerwis chair (Renmin Ribao, 17 May 1952)
Xinhua report in Renmin Ribao, 17 May 1952 (p. 1), on responses from twenty countries to Soong Ching-ling and Guo Moruo's call for an Asian and Pacific Regional Peace Conference in Beijing. For Indonesia it lists eleven sponsors named in April, including Suwati (Suwarti), MP and chairman of Gerwis, plus Setiadi, Siauw
Asia-Pacific peace conference preparations; Indonesian sponsors include Gerwis chair (Renmin Ribao, 17 May 1952)
Xinhua report in Renmin Ribao, 17 May 1952 (p. 1), on responses from twenty countries to Soong Ching-ling and Guo Moruo's call for an Asian and Pacific Regional Peace Conference in Beijing. For Indonesia it lists eleven sponsors named in April, including Suwati (Suwarti), MP and chairman of Gerwis, plus Setiadi, Siauw
Indonesian peace delegation visits Netherlands en route to Asia-Pacific Peace Conference
De Waarheid, 13 Sep 1952, p. 1: report from Amsterdam on a 20-member Indonesian delegation en route via Prague and Moscow to the Asia-Pacific Peace Conference in Beijing, led by Antara editor Soeroto, who opposes Japanese rearmament and says the war danger comes from America. Members include Moh. Tam and Umi Sardjono o
CIA report, 23 February 1953: Meeting of the sub-section committees, PKI Surabaya
CIA report, 23 February 1953, on a PKI Surabaya sub-section committees' meeting (Dec 1952) with directives on discipline, cadres and election preparation, including 'more support' for Gerwis. Shows Gerwis treated as a PKI-supported front.
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
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
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: government crisis in Indonesia; telegrams from Gerwani
Pravda, 5 August 1955, No. 217, page 6, supplied as a Claude machine translation of the Indonesia item. A TASS dispatch from Jakarta on the cabinet crisis (Harahap of Masjumi asked to form a government) says Harian Rakjat printed dozens of telegrams from SOBSI, BTI, the women's organisation Gerwani and Pemuda Rakjat in
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
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.
Indian Daily Mail, 27 May 1956 (lead only). A delegation of Indonesian working women arrived in Moscow at the invitation of the Soviet trade-union council (VTsSPS), led by Setiati Surasto, secretary for economic affairs of an Indonesian agricultural (peasant) organisation. Solidarity with the socialist bloc.
Gudok, 17 Aug 1956: 'Indonesia today' for the Republic's 11th anniversary
Gudok (Soviet railwaymen's paper), 17 Aug 1956, p. 4. Survey article by G. Svetlanov for the Republic's 11th anniversary: Dutch colonial legacy, nationalisations, five-year plan, foreign policy and Sukarno's coming visit. One passage lists Gerwani, 'half a million members', among leading patriotic mass organisations be
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
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.
Calls for unity to stop American interference; Gerwani protest to the UN (Renmin Ribao, 6 May 1958)
Renmin Ribao, 6 May 1958, p. 6 (Xinhua, Jakarta; Jiang Yousheng commentary): Indonesian organisations back Djuanda's statement against US and Chiang Kai-shek aid to the rebels. Gerwani telegraphed the UN Secretary-General on 4 May protesting American interference; BTI, the Peace Committee and seventeen Jakarta mass org
Calls for unity to stop American interference; Gerwani protest to the UN (Renmin Ribao, 6 May 1958)
Renmin Ribao, 6 May 1958, p. 6 (Xinhua, Jakarta; Jiang Yousheng commentary): Indonesian organisations back Djuanda's statement against US and Chiang Kai-shek aid to the rebels. Gerwani telegraphed the UN Secretary-General on 4 May protesting American interference; BTI, the Peace Committee and seventeen Jakarta mass org
CIA Current Intelligence Weekly Summary, 12 November 1959
CIA Current Intelligence Weekly Summary, 12 Nov 1959, a long multi-topic report; the Indonesia part (pp.23-27) assesses PKI strength (Aidit's claim of 1.5 million members, Java as base, army and Sukarno restrictions, Aidit's 1959 Moscow and Peking trip). It names GERWANI as the PKI's women's front, alongside Pemuda Rak