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
Tempo, 1972: The political prisoner problem
Tempo article (online archive, dated 1972) on the political prisoner (tapol) problem: Archbishop Leo Soekoto urges society to help, Amnesty and the Red Cross press Jakarta, Buru resettlement of about 5,000 Group B prisoners is presented as the best option, and officials still see ex-PKI as a threat. No Gerwani content.
Tempo, 11 December 1976: Political prisoners released
Tempo brief (11 Dec 1976) on release of another 2,500 G30S/PKI prisoners; all 540,000 Group C released, leaving 1,821 Group A, 27,132 Group B, 2,041 Group X. Sudomo says about 500,000 were killed 'but by the people'. Mentions 10 middle-aged women among 319 Group B freed in Jakarta; no Gerwani named.
Released from detention (Sutanti Aidit), Tempo, 5 Jan 1980
Short Tempo item, 5 January 1980, on the release of Dr Soetanti Aidit, 57, widow of PKI chairman D.N. Aidit, from detention on 20 December 1979. Held from 1966 in Bukit Duri women's prison and never moved, she was separated from her five children for 13 years, declines to talk about the past and hopes to practise medic
Tempo, 25 October 1980: Criticism of Tapol (Carmel Budiardjo vs Derek Davies)
Tempo piece (25 Oct 1980) on the polemic between British activist Carmel Budiardjo, editor of the Tapol bulletin in London, and Far Eastern Economic Review editor Derek Davies, who criticised her past communist links and new sponsors. Concerns advocacy for ex-G30S prisoners; no Gerwani content.
Mami, no longer discussed: Sundari Abdulrachman released (Tempo, 2 Sep 1989)
Tempo, 2 Sep 1989. Reports the release from Tangerang women's prison on 17 August 1989 of Sundari Abdulrachman (68), former chair of Gerwani Pusat and PKI member of DPRGR, sentenced to life at Tanjungkarang on 16 Oct 1976 (commuted 1982) for organising Gerwani in Lampung. Officials deny that Inter-Parliamentary Union p
Tempo, 29 August 1999: 'Gulag' called the New Order (review of Carmel Budiardjo's memoir)
Tempo book review (29 Aug 1999) of Carmel Budiardjo's prison memoir on New Order detention (Likdam, Bukit Duri, 'bon' interrogations, ET stigma). It records her witness to teenage women political prisoners tortured to make the script of Gerwani's involvement in the Lubang Buaya killings work, and notes she founded Tapo
Tempo, 29 August 1999: Interview with Sulami - 'I have an obsession to expose the G30S killings'
Tempo interview (29 Aug 1999) with Sulami, former Deputy Secretary-General II of Gerwani, with a short biography: arrested 12 Feb 1967 on Amir Machmud's order, tried 1975, released 1984, torture by rattan between fingers and threats of rape; founded the 1965-66 victims research foundation. She denies any Gerwani role a
The Aidit family: after that night of horror (Tempo, 1 Oct 2007)
Tempo special (1 October 2007) on what happened to D.N. Aidit's family after 30 September 1965. It recounts the fates of his father, siblings and children, and of his wife Dr Soetanti Aidit, who fled, lived in disguise, was arrested, held in Kodim 66 and Bukit Duri until about 1980, and died in 1991. Her Gerwani member
Tempo.co, 9 May 2010: Defending Gerwani from New Order slander (Wieringa book)
Tempo.co book notice (9 May 2010) on Saskia Wieringa's Indonesian edition of 'Penghancuran Gerakan Perempuan' (Galangpress 2010, transl. Harsutejo). Recounts the military propaganda of naked dancing, razor-cutting and castration at Lubang Buaya, Wieringa's rebuttal from 1982-85 interviews and autopsy results, and Siti
Tempo.co, 17 May 2010: Defending Gerwani from New Order slander (Wieringa book, second version)
Tempo.co book notice (17 May 2010) (second Tempo.co version, with a lead on the penis-cutting allegation) on Saskia Wieringa's Indonesian edition of 'Penghancuran Gerakan Perempuan' (Galangpress 2010, transl. Harsutejo). Recounts the military propaganda of naked dancing, razor-cutting and castration at Lubang Buaya, Wi
Tempo, 31 January 2011: Gerwani in choreography ('Tjap Merah')
Tempo review (31 Jan 2011) of 'Tjap Merah', a dance piece by Yosep Prihantoro Sadsuitubun (grandson of K.S. Tubun) at GoetheHaus, Jakarta, closing the exhibition 'Indonesia and the World 1959-1966'. It stages the stigma on Gerwani women (Lubang Buaya dancing and castration myth, 'ET' label, Genjer-genjer); he says most
Tempo, 7 March 2011: A critique of Plantungan (documentary review)
Tempo review (7 Mar 2011) by Martin Aleida of Putu Oka Sukanta's documentary 'Plantungan', screened at GoetheHaus, finding it under-researched. It features former Plantungan prisoners Siti Suratih, Suci Danarti, Pujiati, Mujiati and Sp. Tican and rebuts the Pengkhianatan G30S/PKI film's slander of women; Aleida adds Ta
Tempo, 1 October 2012: Bangsawan Karaeng Lira - 'Crushing one's own family'
Tempo testimony (1 Oct 2012) of Bangsawan Karaeng Lira, 72, who led the mob that destroyed the BTI leader's house in Bontolanrang, Takalar (South Sulawesi), in late 1965. Describes forced labour (irrigation, roads) by detained PKI/BTI members, with a BTI survivor, Kamaruddin Bella, who lost relatives. Gerwani not menti
Tempo, 1 October 2012: Erwin's rice and tajin porridge (1965 detention in Jakarta)
Tempo piece (1 Oct 2012) on conditions of 1965 political prisoners in Jakarta: torture and tiny rations at Cipinang, Salemba, Kalong HQ and Bukit Duri, with testimony of Eko Wardoyo, Bedjo Untung, Jawito. Includes Gerwani member and journalist Sri Sukatno, jailed years at Bukit Duri, describing electric torture at 'Gan
Tempo, 1 October 2012: From the rice warehouse to the banana grove (Grobogan massacre)
Tempo reconstruction (1 Oct 2012) of army-directed killings of PKI members in Grobogan/Purwodadi, 1967-68 (Operasi Kikis), centred on a rice-warehouse detention camp at Kuwu. Draws on Poncke Princen's 1969 exposure, Henk Kolb's list of mass graves, Hanra Inti militia and Kodam Diponegoro intelligence figures. Gerwani i
Tempo, 1 October 2012: Under Kopkamtib's grip
Tempo explainer (1 Oct 2012) on Kopkamtib, set up by Suharto on 2 Oct 1965 as the 'super organisation' that planned and drove the mass killings and detentions (Komnas HAM names it chief perpetrator). It notes army-controlled media showing Lubang Buaya photos with stories that Gerwani women tortured the generals, and ci
Tempo, 1 October 2012: Gulag on the bank of the Lampir river (Plantungan camp)
Tempo report (1 Oct 2012) on the Plantungan camp (Kendal) for women Group B political prisoners, opened 1971 in a former leprosarium. Names Gerwani activists and others held there: Sumiyarsi Siwirini ('Lubang Buaya doctor'), Siti Suratih, Mia Bustam, Pujiati, C.H. Sumarmiyati, Mujiati. Covers conditions, 'santi aji' in
Tempo, 1 October 2012: The irony of Gandhi Street in Medan (detention house)
Tempo report (1 Oct 2012) on the Jalan Gandhi detention house in Medan, a former Baperki school used by Kopkamtib for over a decade; Komnas HAM names it a torture site (beatings, confinement in toilets with faeces). Testimony from Astaman Hasibuan (Lekra) and soldier Eddy Sartimin. Gerwani is not mentioned.
Tempo, 1 October 2012: Another way to settle the 1965 tragedy (M. Imam Aziz)
Opinion piece by M. Imam Aziz in Tempo (1 Oct 2012) summarising Komnas HAM's findings of nine crimes against humanity in 1965 (500,000 to 3 million killed, 1.8 million detained, Plantungan named for women) and proposing a non-judicial path: presidential apology, victim recovery, comparing ICC, South African and Austral
Tempo, 1 October 2012: Forced labour at Moncongloe
Tempo report (1 Oct 2012) on the Moncongloe 'Instalasi Rehabilitasi' camp (Gowa, South Sulawesi), open 1969-79 with about 1,000 political prisoners doing unpaid forced labour (20 km road, army land); hepatitis, sexual harassment of women prisoners, a pregnant nurse expelled. Based on Taufik's thesis/book and testimony
Tempo, 1 October 2012: Taking quotas in the red zone (Boyolali and Klaten)
Tempo report (1 Oct 2012) on the killing fields of Boyolali and Klaten at the foot of Merapi from 22 Oct 1965, with RPKAD and Kodam Diponegoro. Testimony of Soepomo (Pemuda Rakyat, now head of the 1965 victims research foundation) and Gito Sudarmo, who 'took quotas' of suspected PKI for execution at sites such as Sonol
Tempo, 1 October 2012: A camp in the middle of the river (Pulau Kemaro, Palembang)
Tempo report (1 Oct 2012) on Pulau Kemaro, Palembang, used as a military concentration camp in the 1960s-70s; Komnas HAM heard of about 30,000 killed or disappeared in South Sumatra. Testimony of Suwandi and Mochtar Effendy on torture, starvation and mass killing in Sept-Oct 1966 when prisoners dropped to 17. Gerwani i
Tempo, 1 October 2012: A confession from the clump of kapok trees (Palu)
Tempo report (1 Oct 2012) on Palu, Central Sulawesi: ex-soldier Ahmad Bantam confesses to digging the grave for three PKI leaders executed in May 1967 and tells their families; Solidaritas Korban documents 1,000+ victims; Mayor Rusdi Mastura publicly apologises (24 Mar 2012) and promises health care, scholarships, a mo
Tempo, 1 October 2012: Not only on Buru Island (Operations Kalong and Trisula)
Tempo report (1 Oct 2012) on Operasi Kalong (Jakarta, from Aug 1966) and Trisula (Blitar, 1968), Kopkamtib interrogation and torture sites (Gunung Sahari II, Plantungan, Jalan Gandhi, Kemaro, Moncongloe), with torture methods (electric shock, stingray whip, 'ayat kursi'). It lists other intelligence task forces, one at
Tempo, 3 October 2020: Cinema of friendship between women ex-prisoners ('You and I')
Tempo feature (3 Oct 2020) on Fanny Chotimah's documentary 'You and I' (DMZ festival award) about Solo ex-political prisoners Kaminah and Kusdalini, Pemuda Rakyat/Gita Patria choir members detained in 1965 and later rejected by family; contrasts it with the Pengkhianatan film's razor-blade scene and the Plantungan docu
Tempo.co, 14 April 2021: Film 'You and I' about two women ex-prisoners streams online
Short Tempo.co news item (14 Apr 2021) that the documentary 'You and I' by Fanny Chotimah, about ex-political prisoners Kaminah and Kusdalini, streams on Bioskop Online from 9 April 2021 after winning the Festival Film Indonesia 2020 documentary prize and the DMZ Asian Perspective Award. Mostly promotional; Gerwani is
Tale of two Lekra writers: S. Rukiah Kertapati (Tempo, 1 May 2021)
Tempo feature, 1 May 2021, by Moyang Kasih Dewi Merdeka and Hardian Putra Pratama, on the forgotten Lekra writer S. Rukiah Kertapati: poet and novelist, Lekra leadership member from the 1959 congress, wife of BTI leader Sidik Kertapati. Soldiers took her from Purwakarta (article dates the arrest 1969; she was held at C
Mysterious poet and supporter of children's literature: Sugiarti Siswadi (Tempo, 1 May 2021)
Tempo article, 1 May 2021, by Isma Savitri and Hardian Putra Pratama, on Lekra writer Sugiarti Siswadi: Lekra central leadership member from 1959, children's-literature advocate, author of the banned Sorga Dibumi, and editor of Api Kartini. Researchers cannot trace her life; one suspects she was jailed in Semarang in 1
Tempo, 2 October 2021: The burden of trauma of 1965 (why Umi Sardjono was not open about Gerwani's history)
Tempo feature (2 Oct 2021, Dini Pramita and Bagja Hidayat) on why Gerwani chair Umi Sardjono (Suharti Sumodiwiryo) said little after 13 years in Bukit Duri (to 1978). Drawn from Ita Nadia, Ruth Indiah Rahayu, others: she wept at accounts of rape and Sudjinah's injury, 'it is my responsibility'; friendships with Fransis