ACWF mourns Kanba Michiko; Indonesian organisations support the Japanese people (Renmin Ribao, 25 June 1960)
Renmin Ribao, 25 Jun 1960, p. 5 (Xinhua): the All-China Women's Federation telegraphs mourning for Kanba Michiko, killed in the anti-Security Treaty protests. A Jakarta item says Gerwani, 'Indonesia's largest women's organisation', telegraphed condolences on 22 June and support for Japanese women and people; Indonesian
ACWF mourns Kanba Michiko; Indonesian organisations support the Japanese people (Renmin Ribao, 25 June 1960)
Renmin Ribao, 25 Jun 1960, p. 5 (Xinhua): the All-China Women's Federation telegraphs mourning for Kanba Michiko, killed in the anti-Security Treaty protests. A Jakarta item says Gerwani, 'Indonesia's largest women's organisation', telegraphed condolences on 22 June and support for Japanese women and people; Indonesian
Letter from New York: American Youth and Peace
Api Kartini (1961) item 'Letter from New York': a young American woman's account (Bettina Aptheker, per the editors' note) of growing American youth peace activism, with marches, vigils and demonstrations from 1960 to August 1961 and the formation of a single national peace organisation. Printed by the editors in Indon
Hell on Earth
Api Kartini item (1961), a review of Nguyen Xuan Tram's book 'Hell on Earth' on South Vietnamese women prisoners under Ngo Dinh Diem, including mothers jailed with infants and tortured. It ends by condemning planned US military intervention (General Maxwell Taylor's mission) as a threat to peace in Southeast Asia. Gerw
US Embassy Despatches on PKI Tactics and the SOBSI Women's Labour Seminar, May 1961
US Embassy Djakarta despatches to the State Department, May 1961. One reports conservative views (Mohammad Roem) that the PKI won a limited victory by gaining legal recognition. The other reports the SOBSI National Seminar on Labouring Women (Jakarta, 11-14 May 1961), attended by Djuanda and Gerwani central board membe
CIA study, 15 June 1961: The Afro-Asian Peoples Solidarity Organization, April 1960 - April 1961
CIA study of the Afro-Asian Peoples Solidarity Organization, Apr 1960-Apr 1961. Covers AAPSO factions (Soviet, Chinese, UAR), the Cairo Afro-Asian Women's Conference of January 1961 and its takeover by Communists, and the April 1961 Bandung meeting arranged by Indonesians, notably Bintang Suradi (head of the PKI intern
US Embassy Reports on Women's Organizations and Friendship-Society Regulation, Oct 1961
US Embassy Djakarta despatches, Oct 1961: transmittal of the July 1961 war-administrator regulation on international friendship societies, and the report 'Role of Women in Indonesia: Women's Organizations' with a memorandum of conversation with Maria Ulfah Santoso (8 March 1961) and biographic notes. It describes Gerwa
CIA memorandum, 15 August 1962: The communist movement in Indonesia
CIA memorandum, 15 August 1962, surveying organised communism in Indonesia; Gerwani has one entry (claimed 800,000 members, WIDF affiliate, valued as propaganda instrument). Gives US estimates of PKI front strength.
Protest at US support for Dutch seizure of West Irian; Gerwani letter to Robert Kennedy (Renmin Ribao, 17 February 1962)
Renmin Ribao, 17 Feb 1962, p. 3 (Xinhua, Jakarta): during US Attorney General Robert Kennedy's visit, Indonesian student bodies, trade unions and Gerwani protest US support for Dutch 'self-determination' on West Irian; Gerwani delivered a protest letter to the US embassy. Students shout 'Recover West Irian' at Gadjah M
Protest at US support for Dutch seizure of West Irian; Gerwani letter to Robert Kennedy (Renmin Ribao, 17 February 1962)
Renmin Ribao, 17 Feb 1962, p. 3 (Xinhua, Jakarta): during US Attorney General Robert Kennedy's visit, Indonesian student bodies, trade unions and Gerwani protest US support for Dutch 'self-determination' on West Irian; Gerwani delivered a protest letter to the US embassy. Students shout 'Recover West Irian' at Gadjah M
US Embassy Weekly Situation Telegrams, April 1962
Two US Embassy Djakarta weekly situation telegrams (JOINT WEEKA 14 and 15), 6 and 13 April 1962, on the West New Guinea dispute, PKI-Sukarno friction, Partindo, wage demands and military matters. Gerwani appears only once: it joined SOBSI and others in protesting the 'undemocratic' draft election bill providing for pop
If US troops invade Cuba they will be wiped out; world support for Cuba (Renmin Ribao, 15 September 1962)
Renmin Ribao, 15 Sep 1962, p. 4: round-up of world solidarity with Cuba against threatened US intervention (Albania, WFDY, US Fair Play for Cuba, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico). The Jakarta item says Gerwani, in the name of over one million members, telegraphed the US government protesting aggression on Cuba, and c
If US troops invade Cuba they will be wiped out; world support for Cuba (Renmin Ribao, 15 September 1962)
Renmin Ribao, 15 Sep 1962, p. 4: round-up of world solidarity with Cuba against threatened US intervention (Albania, WFDY, US Fair Play for Cuba, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico). The Jakarta item says Gerwani, in the name of over one million members, telegraphed the US government protesting aggression on Cuba, and c
Neues Deutschland, 15 Sep 1962, p. 5: World demands peace for Cuba
Neues Deutschland, 15 September 1962, p. 5: ADN/ND roundup 'Welt fordert Frieden für Kuba' (subhead 'Warnung an Washington') on worldwide solidarity with Cuba. Under 'Indonesien' it states that Gerwani, 'the most important Indonesian women's organisation', demanded that the US government immediately stop aggressive act
Four Years of the Cuban Revolution
Api Kartini (early 1963) article marking four years of the Cuban Revolution, stressing Cuban women's heroism (Federation of Cuban Women head Vilma Espin) and their gains in literacy and work, then turning to the revolutionary struggle in Venezuela against Betancourt, in which women are urged to take part. Solidarity pr
The Laotian Situation Grows Critical
Api Kartini (1963) editorial 'The Laotian Situation Is Critical': condemns US imperialist intrigues in Laos, assassination of Laotian leaders and violations of the Geneva Agreements on Laos' neutrality, and calls on Indonesian women to show solidarity with the Laotian people under the Bandung Dasasila. Solidarity with
Asian opinion against the US Seventh Fleet (snippet)
Snippet-only Renmin Ribao extract (29 Dec 1963, p. 4) on Asian opinion against the US Seventh Fleet entering the Indian Ocean. It reports that Gerwani issued a statement backing Sukarno's stance that Indonesians will not bow to imperialist intimidation. Full text is GA-01922.
Asian opinion widely opposes the US Seventh Fleet: press and organisation reactions
Xinhua roundup in Renmin Ribao (29 Dec 1963, p. 4) of Asian press and organisational reactions against the US Seventh Fleet entering the Indian Ocean. For Indonesia, Gerwani issued a statement backing Sukarno's refusal to bow to intimidation; dockers' unions, Harian Rakjat and Bintang Timur also quoted. Other items cov
Racism in the Land of Dollars (and a Book Fair)
Api Kartini (1964) article 'Racism in the Land of Dollars' on discrimination against 19 million African Americans (Birmingham bombing, voting restrictions), condemning also the 10 May 1963 anti-Chinese racist riots in West Java. The page continues with a short piece on a May book fair at Gedung Pemuda and encouraging w
US National Intelligence Estimate 55-64, 22 July 1964: Prospects for Indonesia
US National Intelligence Estimate 55-64, 22 July 1964, on Indonesia's prospects: Sukarno dominant, PKI strengthened, Konfrontasi driving a left drift. Mentions Gerwani only among PKI fronts (p. 5); context for pre-1965 US views.
CIA special report, 23 October 1964: Sukarno and the Communists
CIA Special Report, 23 October 1964, on the Sukarno-PKI relationship; lists Gerwani among PKI fronts with almost two million claimed members. Pre-coup US context.
Foreign Office/CRO Papers on the PKI and Malaysia Confrontation (DO 169/516, 1964)
British Commonwealth Relations Office/Foreign Office file (DO 169/516, 1964) on Indonesia and Malaysia. It combines handwritten minutes, an IRD intelligence paper on the PKI (Aidit's December 1963 plenum, Sino-Soviet line, the prospect of PKI power within five years), a brief 'Communists smoothing path to power in Indo
How to deal with US imperialism's overbearing conduct: Indonesian responses
Xinhua report in Renmin Ribao (12 Jan 1964, p. 4) on Indonesian responses to US pressure: a Harian Rakjat editorial calling for 'confrontation' of Malaysia, the Seventh Fleet and SEATO, and New Year messages from SOBSI, BTI, Pemuda Rakyat and the Peace Committee. The Gerwani Central Committee pledges support for the go
All-China Women's Federation cables Gerwani and Kowani against Seventh Fleet
Xinhua note in Renmin Ribao (19 Jan 1964, p. 5): on 17 January the All-China Women's Federation cabled Gerwani and Kowani, backing Indonesian women's struggle against US Seventh Fleet deployment in the Indian Ocean, said to obstruct Indonesia's confrontation with 'Malaysia'. It expresses confidence in the 'bull-like sp
Berita Harian, 5 Aug 1964: Gerwani wants USIS offices closed
Berita Harian, 5 Aug 1964 (Reuters, lead only). Gerwani, a left-wing Indonesian women's movement, cabled President Sukarno demanding the government close the US Information Service (USIS) offices and send home Peace Corps volunteers, as reported by the PKI paper Harian Rakyat.
Gerwani wants US Information Service offices closed (Berita Harian, 1964)
Berita Harian, 5 August 1964, p. 3, Reuters: Gerwani, described as a left-wing women's movement, cabled Sukarno demanding closure of the US Information Service, return of Peace Corps volunteers training Indonesian athletes, and condemned the Johnson-Tunku Abdul Rahman joint statement, per the PKI paper Harian Rakyat. S
LBJ National Security File: Indonesia, Communist Parties and Internal Politics (Sept 1964-Feb 1965)
LBJ Library National Security File, Indonesia (Sept 1964-Feb 1965): White House/State memoranda, Djakarta cables and CIA OCI reports on Sukarno's leftward drift, 'Sukarnoism' anti-PKI movement, succession, Malaysia and the USIS library crisis. Includes the CIA 'Sukarno and the Communists' report, listing Women's Front
CIA, 'Sukarno and the Communists' (Office of Current Intelligence, 23 Oct 1964)
CIA Office of Current Intelligence report 'Sukarno and the Communists' (23 Oct 1964, ten pages), pre-coup assessment of the PKI-Sukarno relationship. Describes PKI growth to a claimed three million members and its fronts, including the Women's Front (GERWANI), 'almost two million'; also the cabinet, National Front, lan
World opposes US aggression in the Congo; 10,000 demonstrate in Jakarta
Xinhua roundup in Renmin Ribao (5 Dec 1964, p. 5) on world reaction to the US-Belgian attack on Stanleyville, Congo, including a 10,000-strong anti-US demonstration in Jakarta that stormed and burned the USIS library. Gerwani appears in one sentence: its Central Council demanded withdrawal of the aggressor forces, alon
CIA, The Indonesian Situation, report 61, 14 November 1965
CIA 'Indonesian Situation' report no. 61, 14 November 1965: continuing anti-communist action and mass killings, Aidit's presumed whereabouts, and 1,000 women demonstrating in Jakarta for permanent dissolution of the PKI women's auxiliary. Records an early anti-Gerwani mobilisation.