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
People's Representation accepts draft constitution of unitary state
Nieuwe Courant, 15 August 1950: the RIS people's representation adopts the draft provisional constitution of the unitary state by 90 to 18. Opponents include PKI members and leftists, among them Mrs Mudigdo (Partai Sosialis) and Miss Suwarti (SOBSI). Ngadiman Hardjosubroto sets out the PKI's five-point rejection. No Ge
CIA report, 26 February 1951: Estimate of the current economic situation in Indonesia
CIA report, 26 February 1951, on alleged communist-directed strike sabotage in Indonesia via SOBSI and WFTU. Gerwani-relevant only for naming a batik workers' union organised by Mrs Trimurti.
Hatta in Surabaya
Nieuwe Courant, 5 March 1951: Vice-President Hatta's arrival in Surabaya on his way to East Indonesia; and a note that PKI MP Miss Suwarti visited Bondowoso to ask Resident Soediro about PKI members arrested in the Besuki 'Aksi Merdeka'. No Gerwani content.
Questions in parliament
De Locomotief, 15 Sept 1951: communist MP Suwarti questions the government about recent confiscations of Karl Marx's books and the Attorney General's claim that they rest on legal grounds, asking which statutory article applies. The rest is unreadable. Shows a woman PKI parliamentarian defending the right to publish Ma
April (year-in-review chronology, April-July 1952)
Java-Bode, 31 Dec 1952, p. 3: year-in-review chronology April-July 1952 (Wilopo cabinet, Sobsi strike, Westerling, SOB lifting, NU leaving Masjumi). Only Gerwani-adjacent entry: on 8 April the goodwill mission to Kahar Muzakkar under Mrs Salawati returned to Makassar without result.
English text of the PKI programme (Fifth National Congress, 1953): Indonesia as semi-colonial and semi-feudal after the Round Table agreements, with demands on land, labour and democracy. Background on PKI aims.
Joys and sorrows of Indonesia in the past year
Indische Courant voor Nederland, 7 Jan 1953, p. 3: year-in-review chronology for 1952 (selected entries translated). Mentions the August 1951 raids, the 17 October 1952 affair, release of East Java arrestees on 30 Oct, a goodwill mission to Kahar Muzakkar under Mrs Salawati (8 Apr), and Aidit and Njoto refused entry to
Harian Rakjat, 30 April 1953, p. 1 (May Day edition)
Harian Rakjat, 30 April 1953, hlm. 1 (edisi Hari Buruh). Front page of the May Day special: CC PKI's May Day message, statements recalling 1952 demonstrations, the Tandjung Morawa 'death tractor' and a united May Day committee of seven federations; women appear only as supporting 'wanita' organisations.
Harian Rakjat, 22 May 1953, p. 1
Harian Rakjat, 22 Mei 1953, hlm. 1. Front page on the Tandjung Morawa tractor incident debate in parliament; no Gerwis or women's item, but context for the agrarian conflicts later celebrated by Gerwani.
Harian Rakjat, 22 May 1953, p. 2
Harian Rakjat, 22 Mei 1953, hlm. 2. Masthead page with an editorial on Indonesia lagging in legislation and the CC PKI 33rd-anniversary message, which lists 'kaum wanita' among mass sectors that have organised themselves but lacked proper party leadership.
Documents of the Fifth National Congress of the PKI (Bintang Merah IX, 2-3), 1954
Special issue of Bintang Merah with documents of the PKI Fifth National Congress (Jakarta, 16–20 March 1954): congress report, greetings from sixteen foreign communist parties, and a 400,000-strong closing rally.
But what is the reality? Travel report on workers in Indonesia
De Waarheid, 1 May 1954, p. 4: travel report by Mak Meyer, a Dutch union delegate to the SOBSI conference, on Indonesian workers' misery: poverty, homelessness, factory conditions and wages, child labour, becak drivers, and figures such as 35,000 women dying in childbirth yearly. Portrays SOBSI and PKI as leaders and u
Harian Rakjat, 13 May 1954, p. 1 (second scan)
Harian Rakjat, 13 Mei 1954, hlm. 1 (scan kedua). Second scan of the 13 May 1954 front page; no Gerwis or Gerwani item, only a complaint by a woman and general news.
Harian Rakjat, 22 May 1954, p. 1
Harian Rakjat, 22 Mei 1954, hlm. 1. Front page before the PKI's 34th anniversary: editorial '34 Tahun PKI' narrating party history; release of French nurse Genevieve de Galard; no Gerwis or Gerwani item.
Harian Rakjat, 22 May 1954, p. 2
Harian Rakjat, 22 Mei 1954, hlm. 2. Page 2 with A. Umarsaid's travel notes on Sukarno's visit to Ambon and news; no Gerwis or Gerwani item.
Harian Rakjat, 24 May 1954, p. 1
Harian Rakjat, 24 Mei 1954, hlm. 1. Front page with D.N. Aidit's 34th-anniversary message setting two tasks of the Fifth Congress: a national united front and party building; women are not mentioned.
What others write
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad press review (1954-09-20, p. 2): Jakarta papers commemorate the 1948 Madiun revolt as a communist plot; Medan papers criticise the information minister; and Malay and Philippine women and press react to Sukarno's second marriage, with Malay Ibu Kaum leaders saying Muslim public figures should n
Women's delegation at the palace: uproar over Sukarno's new marriage
Leeuwarder Courant, 21 September 1954, p. 3: Dutch roundup of the uproar over Sukarno's marriage to Hartini. A four-woman delegation led by Perwari chair Mrs Kartowijono visited the palace; Indonesian, Chinese and Malayan-region papers are quoted, some warning that the fuss helps the PKI, Indonesia Raya calling it a bl
Harian Rakjat, 20 May 1955, p. 1
Harian Rakjat, 20 Mei 1955, hlm. 1. Front page for National Awakening Day and the PKI's 35th anniversary; Kartini appears as the token woman pioneer; no Gerwani item.
Harian Rakjat, 21 May 1955, p. 1
Harian Rakjat, 21 Mei 1955, hlm. 1. Front page with the CC PKI anniversary message 'Perluas persatuan untuk menang dalam pemilihan umum'; women appear only in cartoons; no Gerwani item.
Harian Rakjat, 26 May 1955, p. 1
Harian Rakjat, 26 Mei 1955, hlm. 1. Front page reporting the PKI's 35th-anniversary celebrations in Jakarta; Aidit's speech and greetings including from 'wanita' at home.
Harian Rakjat, 26 May 1955, p. 3
Harian Rakjat, 26 Mei 1955, hlm. 3. First instalment of D.N. Aidit's address 'Lahirnja PKI dan perkembangannja' at the PKI's 35th-anniversary reception; women and Gerwani have no place in the party's official history here.
Harian Rakjat, 27 May 1955, p. 3
Harian Rakjat, 27 Mei 1955, hlm. 3. Concluding instalment of Aidit's 35th-anniversary address: 1945–48 errors, Madiun 1948 as a Hatta provocation, the 1951 Sukiman raids and the post-1951 line of national united front and party building.
Harian Rakjat, 5 September 1955, p. 4
Harian Rakjat, 5 September 1955, hlm. 4. Advertisement page with a Jajasan Pembaruan offer to sell PKI literature at the 'Pesta Rakjat' and a list of 31 titles; no Gerwani item.
Harian Rakjat, 8 September 1955, p. 4
Harian Rakjat, 8 September 1955, hlm. 4. News and notices page: forged driving-licence ring, French military operation in Morocco, lottery results; no Gerwani content.
Elections in Indonesia on Thursday
Arnhemsche Courant, 27 Sept 1955: preview of Indonesia's first general elections (29 Sept), expecting a communist-Masjumi contest and noting that women have emerged as a political force within existing parties. Gerwani is not named; useful context for the 1955 elections.
Indonesia goes to choose symbols
Nieuwe Tilburgsche Courant, 27 September 1955, p. 5: preview of Indonesia's first general election, with about 43 million voters, 63 parties and symbol-based ballots for illiterates (hammer and sickle versus buffalo head). It expects a PKI-Masjumi contest and notes that Indonesian women have emerged as a political forc
Votes in the jungle: elections in Indonesia on Thursday
Nijmeegsch Dagblad (27 Sep 1955) pre-election report on Indonesia's first general elections: 43 million voters, 63 parties, expected Masyumi–PKI contest, PKI hoping for 5 million votes. Notes women emerging as a political force within parties, citing a Masyumi women's rally; Gerwani is not named.
Elections in Indonesia on Thursday: about half of voters expected at the polls
Reuter pre-election report (27 Sep 1955) on Indonesia's first general elections: 43 million voters, 63 parties, a Masyumi–PKI contest, PKI hoping for 5 million votes. Mentions women's political activity within parties via a Masyumi women's rally; Gerwani not named.