Appeal for Solidarity with Gerwani and the Women of Indonesia (WIDF Bureau, June 1966)
WIDF Bureau appeal (Berlin, 2-5 June 1966), German original with English translation and notes by Faye Chan (2015). It states that tens of thousands of Indonesian women were murdered or are held and tortured, that Gerwani's leaders and several thousand members were arrested, and that Gerwani and other women's organisat
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
Angkatan Bersendjata, 4 January 1966
Angkatan Bersendjata, 4 Jan 1966. Reports the arrest in Tangerang of Sariningsih, called a 'Gerwani Lubang Buaya' fugitive, and a joke on Gerwani 'savagery'; also 1,204 detainees (83 women) in South Jakarta.
Worries of the Indonesian housewife
Algemeen Handelsblad feature from Surabaya (1966-01-04) on housewives and domestic servants at Lebaran and rising prices. A key passage repeats the Lubang Buaya claim that Gerwani members had military training and, per arrested women's confessions, took part in the generals' murders, and alleges Gerwani members worked
Angkatan Bersendjata, 6 January 1966
Angkatan Bersendjata, 6 Jan 1966. Antara claims PKI leaders 'admitted' Gerwani and Pemuda Rakyat were physically trained in North Sumatra before 1 October; two Pekalongan women 'known as Gerwani' forced to recite the shahada; Soetiman's 'confession'.
Angkatan Bersendjata, 10 January 1966
Angkatan Bersendjata, 10 Jan 1966. Padang report that PKI leader Muin 'confessed' the party's self-dissolution was a tactic and was arrested with two Pemuda Rakyat members and 'a Gerwani chairwoman'; dismissals at Gadjah Mada.
Angkatan Bersendjata, 11 January 1966
Angkatan Bersendjata, 11 Jan 1966. NTB military order (31 Dec 1965) dissolving the PKI and affiliates including Gerwani, BTI, SOBSI, Lekra, Baperki and Universitas Rakyat (UNRA), confiscating their property; about 66,000 detainees in Central Java.
Angkatan Bersendjata, 14 January 1966: 'Half-Hour Battle at Lubang Buaya'
Angkatan Bersendjata, 14 Jan 1966. Feature from Soetiman's 17 Dec 1965 statement: Gerwani and Pemuda Rakyat 'warmly welcomed' Yani's body and fought a half-hour battle on 2 October. Gerwani militarised but no mutilation or sexual element yet.
Angkatan Bersendjata, 15 January 1966
Angkatan Bersendjata, 15 Jan 1966. Veterans' Legion denounces a rival delegation at the Havana Tricontinental of 'PKI/Pemuda Rakyat, Gerwani, SOBSI elements'; Siliwangi bans all writings of the PKI and its affiliates.
Angkatan Bersendjata, 17 January 1966
Angkatan Bersendjata, 17 Jan 1966. Semarang report on the death of Karyono Purbominoto (alleged Pati 'Dewan Revolusi' designer) noting his wife Marsih, village head and 'pentolan Gerwani', remains at large; KAMI protests.
Angkatan Bersendjata, 19 January 1966
Angkatan Bersendjata, 19 Jan 1966. Reports Hansip's arrest of Tridjoko, 'Gerwani ringleader of Tuban', and a Tabanan (Bali) round-up that included 'a local Gerwani leader'; Sukarno's dialogue with KAMI.
Berita Yudha, 21 January 1966
Berita Yudha, 21 Januari 1966. Antara from Ampenan: 'Benggolan Gerwani diamankan', a Gerwani leader in Central Lombok, Masjiah, detained in Mataram prison in the drive to wipe out the PKI.
Angkatan Bersendjata (Weekly), 30 January 1966
Angkatan Bersendjata Sunday edition, 30 Jan 1966. Includes the soldiers' joke 'Gerwani Phobi' equating Gerwani with a kuntilanak who 'snatches' genitals, an early instance of the sexual slander; plus Nasution's daughter posed with an RPKAD rifle.
Berita Yudha, 30 January 1966 (Sunday edition)
Berita Yudha, 30 Januari 1966 (edisi Minggu). Wayang-based moral column 'Tepa-Palupi (60): Bhatari Durga' retells the cursing of Uma into the demon Durga; Gerwani is invoked implicitly through the female-demon figure.
Angkatan Bersendjata, 31 January 1966
Angkatan Bersendjata, 31 Jan 1966. The 'Pos Piket' column jokes about 'kuntilanak GERWANI'; also a 'confession' by Partindo official Waridjan and railway police seizure of 'a suitcase of human hair'.
Angkatan Bersendjata, 5 February 1966
Angkatan Bersendjata, 5 Feb 1966. Kodam Udayana round-up: 24 PKI/BTI arrests at Kupang, six 'Gerwani' escorted from Klungkung to Denpasar, and other detainees; Suharto on securing the revolution.
Angkatan Bersendjata, 7 February 1966
Angkatan Bersendjata, 7 Feb 1966. Yogyakarta report that BTI member Suradijo, called an 'executioner of Lubang Buaya', was shot 'fleeing'; his reported confession says Gerwani members tortured and stabbed the generals while singing.
Berita Yudha, 7 February 1966
Berita Yudha, 7 Februari 1966. Boxed Antara report: BTI member Suradijo, called an 'executioner of Lubang Buaya', shot dead while 'escaping'; his reported confession involves Gerwani members stabbing the generals.
Subandrio asks China for 'mutual respect'
Gereformeerd Gezinsblad roundup (8 Feb 1966, p.3) of Indonesia-China tension (Subandrio, student protest at Chinese embassy) and Indonesian-Japanese trade talks. One paragraph reports that communist Suradijo, shot while escaping, had tortured General Parman with a bamboo spear 'in front of a group of screaming women an
Berita Yudha, 10 February 1966
Berita Yudha, 10 Februari 1966. Two-sentence regional brief: Malang Kodim 0831 arrested two 'remnants of Gerwani' on 2 February 1966 for interrogation; routine hunt for individuals.
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.
Unrest in Jakarta, Untung in court: strike force included Gerwani members
De Volkskrant report (24 Feb 1966) on unrest in Jakarta and the opening of Untung's trial. The prosecutor said his strike force of 5,000 included 2,000 communists, "men and women, of the organisations Gerwani, Pemuda Rakjat and the BTI". No claims of torture or sexual misconduct appear in this item.
Angkatan Bersendjata, 25 February 1966
Angkatan Bersendjata, 25 Feb 1966, during Untung's Mahmillub trial. A Padang anecdote mocks a PKI figure who called Gerwani 'Gargani' and Lekra 'Lecigak'; new Dwikora cabinet installed.
Berita Yudha, 25 February 1966
Berita Yudha, 25 Februari 1966. Reports of the Mahmillub trial sessions of Lt. Col. Untung with two Gerwani items; Sukarno warns he will not be 'dongkel'-ed amid KAMI blockades.
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
Angkatan Bersendjata, 28 February 1966
Angkatan Bersendjata, 28 Feb 1966, during Untung's Mahmillub trial. The 'Pos Piket' corner jokes that the alleged 'Dewan Djenderal' tape is 'the tape of Gerwani at Lubang Buaya', presupposing the sexual slander as common knowledge.
Angkatan Bersendjata, 11 March 1966
Angkatan Bersendjata, 11 Mar 1966 (Supersemar day). Regional column reports Pasaman husbands divorcing wives who are Gerwani, and release of 37 ex-detainees in Pati including six ex-Gerwani; PGRI petition to dissolve the PKI.
Angkatan Bersendjata, 12 March 1966 (Supersemar Edition)
Angkatan Bersendjata, 12 Mar 1966, the Supersemar issue, with Sukarno's 8 March International Women's Day address, Muslimat NU's Mahmudah Mawardi demanding a PKI ban 'because women feel the effects', and the decree dissolving the PKI.
Berita Yudha, 3 April 1966 (Sunday edition)
Berita Yudha, 3 April 1966 (edisi Minggu). Solo feature on superstition after the March 1966 flood; one line links Solo's misfortunes to Gerwani after the kraton carriage was moved in September 1965.
Angkatan Bersendjata, 8 Apr 1966. A boxed feature blames ex-PKI mayor of Solo Utomo Ramelan's 'Silir' complex for preparing 'the immoral drama of Lubang Buaya with Gerwani and PR as actors', a sexualised slander frame.