LBJ National Security File: Indonesia, Communists and Internal Politics (Oct-Nov 1965)
Compilation from the LBJ National Security File (ProQuest), Oct-Nov 1965: State Department memos, CIA intelligence memoranda and Indonesia Working Group situation reports on the 30 September Movement and army counter-moves. Gerwani appears only in passing: arrests of Gerwani and Pemuda Rakyat members (6 Oct), CIA claim
While Sukarno keeps silent, 1,500 communists arrested; Gerwani blamed for torture
De Telegraaf report (11 Oct 1965) that the army arrested over 1,500 communists, including Col. A. Latief; it states Gerwani members among the arrested "are said to be responsible for the torturing to death of the generals." Early Dutch-press repetition of the Gerwani slander.
Szolnok Megyei Néplap, 7 Nov 1965: Indonesia, Gerwani women killed in Solo
Hungarian provincial daily Szolnok Megyei Néplap, 7 Nov 1965, world-politics page. Its Indonesia item reports an official army communiqué claiming that in Solo (Central Java) paratroopers 'were forced to take the lives' of Gerwani women who blocked the road before an armoured column; it does not say how they were kille
Suicide squad women crushed by army tanks (Straits Times, 1965)
The Straits Times, 7 November 1965, p. 7, world round-up: an army bulletin says nine 'suicide members' of Gerwani blocked army tanks in Solo, were 'gently asked' to move, jeered at paratroopers, and were killed by the troops when they refused. Same army-sourced story as Berita Harian's 7 November report; unverified. He
Women Denounce Reds (Sunraysia Daily, 10 November 1965)
Sunraysia Daily (Mildura), 10 November 1965, p. 14, AAP/UPI report from Jakarta that 10,000 women (housewives, students, actresses) denounced Gerwani as 'a disgrace to Indonesian womanhood' and demanded its dissolution. They marched from Suharto's headquarters to the National Front with bands and batons and handed a pe
Women Denounce Reds (Sunraysia Daily, 10 November 1965), duplicate
Sunraysia Daily (Mildura), 10 November 1965, p. 14, AAP/UPI report from Jakarta that 10,000 women (housewives, students, actresses) denounced Gerwani as 'a disgrace to Indonesian womanhood' and demanded its dissolution. They marched from Suharto's headquarters to the National Front with bands and batons and handed a pe
Almost overlords yesterday, almost outlaws today: what happened to the PKI? (Bloodworth, Straits Times, 1965)
The Straits Times, 8 December 1965, p. 12, analysis by Dennis Bloodworth on why the PKI failed. In passing it repeats the Lubang Buaya slander as fact: 'six leading generals were done to death, horribly mutilated by doe-eye girls of the PKI's Gerwani women's movement'. It then covers Sukarno's weakness, Nasution's esca
Evening Post (Wellington), 10 Dec 1965, commentary on the Indonesian Communists after the 30 September coup. It repeats the Lubang Buaya atrocity claim that six generals were 'horribly mutilated by doe-eyed girls' of the PKI's 'Gerwani' women's movement and thrown into a well, with Communist youth dancing at Halim; als
Sukarno the Key to Any Revolution in Indonesia (Evening Post, 10 December 1965), clipping on Gerwani claim
Clipping from the Evening Post of 10 Dec 1965: says Sukarno could not back the coup because of its brutality, and that six generals were 'horribly mutilated by doe-eyed girls' of the PKI's 'Gerwani' women's movement and thrown into a well, while Communist youth danced at Halim. This is the Lubang Buaya sexual-atrocity
Dossier of the Indonesian Drama (Lucien Rey, New Left Review, 1966)
Article by Lucien Rey (New Left Review no. 36, March 1966) reconstructing the 1 October 1965 events as a plot by dissident Central Java officers, plus a translated Asahi Shimbun interview with PKI deputy chair Njoto. Says People's Youth and Gerwani auxiliaries trained at Halim took part in the generals' executions in r
Bloody Orgy at Halim Air Base (Canberra Times, 15 April 1966)
Canberra Times, 15 Apr 1966, p. 10: concluding part of a 'Special Correspondent' account repeating the Lubang Buaya slander. Claims 100 Gerwani women at Halim took razor blades, tortured and mutilated the generals, citing 'Mrs Djamilah' via the Djakarta Mail (15 Nov), singing 'People's Blood'. Adds Nasution escape narr
Bloody Orgy at Halim Air Base (Canberra Times, 15 April 1966), duplicate
Canberra Times, 15 Apr 1966, p. 10: concluding part of a 'Special Correspondent' account repeating the Lubang Buaya slander. Claims 100 Gerwani women at Halim took razor blades, tortured and mutilated the generals, citing 'Mrs Djamilah' via the Djakarta Mail (15 Nov), singing 'People's Blood'. Adds Nasution escape narr
Press (Christchurch), 8 Oct 1966, short item with photo: anti-Communist students demonstrating in Jakarta demand the arrest and trial of Hartini Sukarno, the President's second wife, for economic deviation, affiliation with Communist leaders and patronage of Gerwani, whose members are said to have played a major role i
Students Demand Trial for Mrs Hartini Sukarno (Press, Christchurch, 8 October 1966), caption clipping
Caption clipping from the Press (Christchurch), 8 Oct 1966: anti-Communist students in Jakarta demand Hartini Sukarno's arrest and trial for economic deviation, affiliation with Communist leaders and patronage of Gerwani, 'whose members are said to have played a major role' in the killing of six Army generals in Octobe
The 1965 Coup in Indonesia: The CIA's Version (van der Kroef, 1976)
Critical review by Justus M. van der Kroef (Asian Affairs, Nov 1976) of the CIA's declassified 1968 report 'Indonesia-1965: The Coup That Backfired'. Takes issue with the CIA's claim that Lubang Buaya victims were not mutilated and that Gerwani/Pemuda Rakyat confessions were Army-contrived, quoting Gerwani member Djami