Harian Rakjat celebrates its sixth anniversary (Renmin Ribao, 2 February 1957)
Renmin Ribao, 2 Feb 1957, p. 5 (Xinhua, Jakarta): the PKI daily Harian Rakjat marks its sixth anniversary at a Jakarta meeting of about 1,000 on 31 Jan; Njono gives circulation as 60,000 and Aidit speaks for the PKI. Gerwani appears only among bodies sending congratulatory telegrams.
Harian Rakjat celebrates its sixth anniversary (Renmin Ribao, 2 February 1957)
Renmin Ribao, 2 Feb 1957, p. 5 (Xinhua, Jakarta): the PKI daily Harian Rakjat marks its sixth anniversary at a Jakarta meeting of about 1,000 on 31 Jan; Njono gives circulation as 60,000 and Aidit speaks for the PKI. Gerwani appears only among bodies sending congratulatory telegrams.
Aidit returns to Jakarta (Renmin Ribao, 9 April 1959)
Renmin Ribao, 9 Apr 1959, p. 4 (Xinhua, Jakarta): PKI delegation led by Aidit returns from the CPSU's 21st Congress via China and Vietnam. Gerwani leaders are named only among those greeting it at the airport, with Njono, PKI MPs, SOBSI and Pemuda Rakjat.
Aidit returns to Jakarta (Renmin Ribao, 9 April 1959)
Renmin Ribao, 9 Apr 1959, p. 4 (Xinhua, Jakarta): PKI delegation led by Aidit returns from the CPSU's 21st Congress via China and Vietnam. Gerwani leaders are named only among those greeting it at the airport, with Njono, PKI MPs, SOBSI and Pemuda Rakjat.
Izvestiia, 2 Mar 1960: 'A moving meeting', Khrushchev with Indonesian delegations in Jakarta
Izvestiia, 2 Mar 1960, p. 3, conclusion of a report on Khrushchev's farewell meeting in Jakarta with Indonesian representatives; Gerwani leaders are listed among those present with SOBSI, BTI, Pemuda Rakyat, Lekra. Speeches by Njono, Buntaran Martoatmodjo and peace activist Setiadi (probably not Gerwani); Khrushchev's
Pravda, 2 Mar 1960: Gerwani among Indonesian mass organisations at Khrushchev's farewell
Pravda, 2 Mar 1960 (No. 62), pp. 1-3, 5 (machine-translated): coverage of the end of Khrushchev's 12-day visit to Indonesia (farewell speeches by Khrushchev and Sukarno; Calcutta stop). Pp. 2-3 report a farewell meeting on 29 Feb with delegates of mass organisations, naming 'the Indonesian women's movement (Gerwani)' a
Pravda, 2 Mar 1960: Gerwani welcomes Khrushchev among mass organisations (excerpt)
Keyword-hit excerpt of Pravda, No. 62, 2 March 1960, report 'People must live happily!' on Khrushchev's Indonesia visit. Leading figures of SOBSI, BTI, Pemuda Rakjat, the women's movement Gerwani, the Peace Committee, the Soviet friendship society and Lekra gathered with gifts at his residence; SOBSI's Njono spoke of f
Sovetskaya Kirgiziya, 3 Mar 1960: Khrushchev's visit to Indonesia
Sovetskaia Kirgiziia, 3 Mar 1960, p. 2: TASS coverage of Khrushchev's 12-day Indonesia visit: toasts with Sukarno, Khrushchev's farewell at Kemayoran, and crowds. On the last day Khrushchev received delegates of mass organisations including SOBSI, BTI, Pemuda Rakyat and Gerwani; Njono spoke. No Gerwani speaker is named
Chen Yi arrives in Jakarta bringing the Chinese people's friendly wishes (Renmin Ribao, 29 March 1961)
Renmin Ribao, 29 Mar 1961, p. 1 (Xinhua, Jakarta): Chen Yi arrives in Jakarta on a friendship visit and is met by Subandrio, Henk Ngantung, PKI's Njono and heads of mass organisations including the Indonesia-China Friendship Association and Gerwani, with crowds and banners; Sukarno receives him at Merdeka Palace. Gerwa
Chen Yi arrives in Jakarta bringing the Chinese people's friendly wishes (Renmin Ribao, 29 March 1961)
Renmin Ribao, 29 Mar 1961, p. 1 (Xinhua, Jakarta): Chen Yi arrives in Jakarta on a friendship visit and is met by Subandrio, Henk Ngantung, PKI's Njono and heads of mass organisations including the Indonesia-China Friendship Association and Gerwani, with crowds and banners; Sukarno receives him at Merdeka Palace. Gerwa
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
Dilemmas of Indonesian Communism (van der Kroef, 1962)
Article by Justus M. van der Kroef (Pacific Affairs, summer 1962) on the PKI's dilemmas under Guided Democracy: dependence on Sukarno, the July 1960 'Evaluation' clash with the army, and the party's use of mass fronts. Gerwani is named as the PKI's women's front: its organ was aggressive without censure in 1961, and in
Chairman Aidit leads delegation to the Soviet Union and China (Renmin Ribao, 21 July 1963)
Renmin Ribao/Xinhua report (21 July 1963, p. 3) on PKI chairman Aidit's delegation leaving Jakarta for Moscow, Beijing and Cuba, with his airport statements on the Sino-Soviet dispute, Nasakom and 'Malaysia'. Gerwani appears once, its head among mass-organisation leaders at the send-off. Useful for Gerwani's place in P
FO 371/180322: Attempted Coup against Sukarno [13] (28 Oct-5 Nov 1965)
UK Foreign Office file FO 371/180322 (28 Oct-5 Nov 1965): Djakarta telegrams quoting Antara on the post-coup purge, Sukarno versus the generals, Medan and Central Java. Gerwani items: tel. 2418 (2 Nov, p. 52) reports a Kowani/women's congress move to expel Gerwani members; tel. 2421 (p. 57) quotes Suharto naming 'Pemud
Indonesia: Army nets 1,500 Reds (New York Herald Tribune, European ed., 11 October 1965)
New York Herald Tribune (European ed.), 11 Oct 1965, Reuters report 'Army Nets 1,500 Reds' from Djakarta. Says the army arrested at least 1,500 Communists, including members of 'the Gerwani Communist women's movement, some members of which are alleged to have tortured the six army generals', plus PKI band and choir mem
Mass arrests in Jakarta: anti-Communist drive (The Times, 11 October 1965)
The Times, 11 Oct 1965, p.9, whole page scan; only the first article, 'Mass arrests in Jakarta: anti-Communist drive', concerns Indonesia (other items cover Aden, Cuba, Bulgaria, etc.). It reports 1,500 detained, the burning of PKI headquarters, Muslim demands that Aidit be hanged, and that arrested Communists include
Sukarno seeks to restore orderly rule (Globe and Mail, 12 October 1965)
Globe and Mail, 12 Oct 1965, p.8 (NYT/AP/Reuters wire): Sukarno returns to Jakarta and urges normal conditions two weeks after the 30 September coup; the army is cracking down on the PKI, with about 1,000 arrests. Malaysian radio reports a Muslim crowd sacked the Medan branch office of Gerwani, 'the Communist women's o
Abrupt change in Indonesia's political situation: Suharto takes control, mass arrests, PKI offices burned
Xinhua survey in Renmin Ribao (20 Oct 1965, p. 1) of Indonesia's first three weeks after 30 September, from Chinese-side sources: Suharto takes control, mass arrests (3,000 by 17 October), PKI headquarters burned, Harian Rakjat closed, universities shut, anti-Chinese incidents. Gerwani appears in the NU demand to disso
Njono: PKI coup hastened by Sukarno's illness
Leeuwarder Courant, 1 December 1965, p. 11: relays armed-forces newspaper reports of SOBSI chief Njono's interrogation statements: planning began in July, Aidit's claim that Sukarno was gravely ill was decisive, and Njono was to raise a 2,000-man reserve from PKI, Pemuda Rakjat, Sobsi, BTI and Gerwani members, learning
Further Report on Confessions of Njono (FBIS, 2 Dec 1965)
FBIS item (ANTARA, 2 Dec 1965) reporting Njono's army-publicised interrogation: PKI Politburo allegedly planned the coup from July to August 1965 under Aidit. Gerwani is named among the organisations expected to support military operations and, with Pemuda Rakyat, BTI and SOBSI, in Njono's Jakarta force. Lubang Buaya i
Berita Yudha, 3 December 1965
Berita Yudha, 3 Desember 1965. Army's version of the 'confession' of SOBSI chair and Politburo member Njono, with Gerwani items on pp. 1–2.
Armed Forces Information Centre, Intisari Berita, 3 December 1965: Puspenad statement on PKI as sole executor of G30S
Armed Forces Information Centre bulletin, 3 Desember 1965. Puspenad statement declaring the PKI sole executor of the 30 September Movement; Gerwani cited among armed 'auxiliary forces' trained at Lubang Buaya and as forces Njono organised; self-dissolution of a Kebayoran Gerwani ranting.
Airgram A-398: List of PKI Leaders and Their Whereabouts, 17 Dec 1965
US Embassy airgram A-398, 17 Dec 1965, listing PKI leadership bodies after May 1965 and fugitive leaders' whereabouts. Places Suharti (Gerwani chair, head of the PKI women's department), Umi Sardjono, Setiati Surasto and Mudjiatun in PKI organs; no women in the whereabouts list.
Angkatan Bersendjata, 15 February 1966
Angkatan Bersendjata, 15 Feb 1966, during Njono's Mahmillub trial. Security round-up 'Lagi-lagi Gerwani' reports arrests in Klungkung and Denpasar 'among them one Gerwani'; Aidit and the 'Revolutionary Council' testimony.
Students try to prevent swearing-in: trial of Untung begun
Gereformeerd Gezinsblad wire item (25 Feb 1966, p.1) on the opening of Colonel Untung's trial in Jakarta for treason and armed rebellion. The prosecutor claimed Untung gathered 5,000 people before the coup, including Tjakrabirawa troops, paratroops and 2,000 members of the PKI and its linked women's organisation Gerwan
Dossier of a slaughter
Tribune (Sydney), 29 Jun 1966, p. 5: editorial attacking Western press whitewashing of the Suharto regime plus a long reconstruction of 30 Sep-1 Oct 1965 taken from the British New Left Review, portraying the movement as junior officers' action. It mentions that Halim auxiliaries from Pemuda Rakyat and Gerwani took par
Dossier of a slaughter
Tribune (Sydney), 29 Jun 1966, p. 5: editorial attacking Western press whitewashing of the Suharto regime plus a long reconstruction of 30 Sep-1 Oct 1965 taken from the British New Left Review, portraying the movement as junior officers' action. It mentions that Halim auxiliaries from Pemuda Rakyat and Gerwani took par
Berita Yudha, 5 January 1968
Berita Yudha, 5 Januari 1968. Antara report on the arrest of lawyer Yap Thiam Hien, singling out Trees Sunito, defence counsel of Njono, as 'HSI figure and Gerwani leader' as proof of PKI front organisations' infiltration.
Heating oil 1.5 cents dearer (with AP report on the arrest of Trees Soenito)
Het Parool item (5 Jan 1968) in a page of unrelated news (heating oil prices). The AP paragraph reports Jakarta police arrested Dutch-born lawyer Trees Soenito, former defender of PKI's Njono, who according to the armed forces daily is suspected of communist sympathies and 'would have been a former leader of Gerwani'.
Jakarta, Friday (AP): arrest of Trees Soenito
One-paragraph AP wire item in Het Rotterdamsch Parool (5 Jan 1968, p.1): Jakarta police arrested Dutch-born lawyer Trees Soenito, earlier defender of PKI's Njono. According to the armed forces daily she is suspected of communist sympathies and 'would have been a former leader of Gerwani'. Allegation only; no other deta