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
FO 371/180323: Attempted Coup against Sukarno [14] (Nov 1965)
UK Foreign Office file FO 371/180323 (c. 4-16 Nov 1965): Djakarta telegrams, Antara extracts and Foreign Office correspondence on the PKI's destruction, Subandrio, Nasution and Sukarno. Gerwani items: tel. 2480 (p. 39) reports a 8 Nov Jakarta rally of women's organisations demanding dissolution of the PKI and Gerwani;
Anger mounts against the PKI over the killings (Berita Harian, 1965)
Berita Harian, 7 October 1965, p. 1: Sukarno's first cabinet meeting after 30 September; Nahdlatul Ulama demands a PKI ban and claims rebels armed Pemuda Rakyat, Gerwani and SOBSI, and that Pemuda Rakyat and Gerwani members trained at 'Sarang Buaya' (Lubang Buaya). Also press and rally restrictions in Sumatra and an ar
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
Der Bund, 12 October 1965: The instigator of the coup captured
Der Bund (Bern), 12 Oct 1965, Reuter report from Singapore: Lt Col Untung, leader of the 30 September Movement, reported captured; tense Central Java as armed Communists flee to the mountains; curfew reduced. Citing Malaysian radio quoting Radio Jakarta, a crowd burned down the Gerwani premises in Aceh (North Sumatra),
Telegram 779A to Secretary of State, 18 Oct 1965
US Embassy telegram 779A, 18 Oct 1965: Foreign Ministry aide Sutarto says anti-PKI action is spreading across Sumatra, Sulawesi and Central Java, targeting Subandrio. Early-aftermath political context; no Gerwani content.
The Anti-Communist Campaign in Indonesia: A Chronology (USIA R-158-65), Nov 1965
USIA Research and Reference Service report R-158-65 (November 1965), a chronology of the anti-Communist campaign in Indonesia, 1-20 October 1965, built on Indonesian and foreign radio and press. Gerwani entries: Suharto's 4 Oct TV statement linking the generals' murders to Pemuda Rakjat and Gerwani training grounds; NU
Sukarno: my life is in danger
Twentsch Dagblad Tubantia (3 Nov 1965): Sukarno tells cabinet his life is in danger; 100,000 demonstrate at the Chinese consulate in Medan demanding Subandrio's dismissal; army purge in Central Java hampered by unreliable troops; Gerwani expelled from the women's congress Kowani, chaired by Mrs Subandrio; soldiers kill
Nógrád, 7 Nov 1965: army kills communist women demonstrators in Solo
Page of Hungarian county daily Nograd, 7 Nov 1965, with an MTI Djakarta dispatch: the army press office says paratroopers 'were forced to take the lives' of Gerwani women who blocked a military column in Solo (Surakarta), Central Java; the communique does not state numbers. Also Pravda's Jakarta report on the banning o
Aidit surrounded by army in Central Java: Gerwani 'suicide squad' in Solo (Berita Harian, 1965)
Berita Harian, 7 November 1965, p. 1: reports Aidit surrounded in Central Java (Col. Jasir) and, from army broadcasts, that nine 'suicide' members of Gerwani blocked tanks in Solo, jeered at paratroopers and were killed when they would not move. The text does not say how; the account is army-sourced and unverified. Als
Indonesia: golden time
Algemeen Handelsblad column 'Golden time' (1965-11-29) on post-coup Indonesia: loyalty advertisements in newspapers, frozen bank accounts for suspected persons, price rises and Conefo stamps, a quarrel in a Malang court. A final item, 'Gerwani, kill her', describes villagers near Tasikmalaya chasing 'Gerwani' with kniv
Telegram 183A, US Consulate Medan, 6 December 1965
US Consulate Medan telegram, 6 December 1965: after the PKI's 'virtual destruction' in Sumatra the Army extends control over civil service, press, youth, National Front and Hansip. Shows the institutional consolidation that followed the killings.
Telegram 184A, US Consulate Medan, 6 December 1965
US Consulate Medan telegram, 6 December 1965: Muhammadiyah preachers say 'conscious' PKI members must be killed, like NU's final interpretation. Evidence of religious legitimation of killing; Gerwani not mentioned but relevant to women members.
US Embassy Djakarta, Joint Sitrep No. 68, Telegram 1842 (22 December 1965)
US Embassy Djakarta telegram 1842, Joint Sitrep No. 68 (22 Dec 1965, Secret, sanitized, OCR rough). Reports Sukarno's speeches defending the PKI, including a Mother's Day gathering where he defended the PKI's women's affiliate (Gerwani), Nasution's 'basic guide' for crushing the PKI, the PNI purge, anti-Chinese violenc
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'.
The Politico-Military Role of the Indonesian Armed Forces, October 1965-1968 (Fox, 1968)
Edward J. Fox, University of Chicago MA dissertation (1968; the catalogue title says PhD) on the Indonesian armed forces' control programme and the pattern of violence from October 1965 to early 1968. Gerwani appears only in passing: a footnote cites 1.75 million members and notes its self-dissolution (p.32), and one u
The Indos' wrong gamble
Algemeen Dagblad feature by André Beijen (1995-07-08), first in a series before the Dutch royal visit: Indisch Dutch who stayed in Indonesia, now poor in Medan, and their grievances over Dutch benefits. Recalls the 1958 Sumatra rebellion and 'thousands murdered' in Medan after 1965 (Smit). No Gerwani content.
Killing off the communists (South China Morning Post, 17 July 1999)
South China Morning Post, 17 July 1999, p.37, Marian Wilkinson (Sydney Morning Herald), 'Killing off the communists': newly released US embassy and CIA cables show US officials encouraging the army's anti-PKI campaign in Oct-Nov 1965, urging anti-PKI propaganda that links 'diabolical murder and mutilation of the genera
Tempo, 1 October 2012: From the confessions of 1965 executioners
Tempo column (1 Oct 2012) arguing that reconciliation must start from perpetrators' confession. Discusses victim-count disputes (78,000 to 3 million), The Act of Killing and Anwar Congo, Gus Dur's apology versus NU refusals, the Palu mayor's apology, and calls for lifting the ban on Marxism. Gerwani is not mentioned.
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: Testimonies from a republic of thugs (The Act of Killing)
Tempo package (1 Oct 2012) on The Act of Killing: Ariel Heryanto's review calling it the most important film on Indonesia, and a profile of Anwar Congo (Medan, Pemuda Pancasila) with his wife Salmah and Joshua Oppenheimer's comments. It stresses perpetrators' impunity and ties to officials. Gerwani is not mentioned.
Tempo, 1 October 2012: Anwar Congo's confession
Tempo piece (1 Oct 2012) on how Joshua Oppenheimer met perpetrators, from Matapao plantation workers to Anwar Congo and the Pasukan Kodok / Pemuda Pancasila in Medan. It cites Amir Hasan's pamphlet 'Embun Berdarah' on Teluk Mengkudu, which lists 702 PKI-linked villagers by affiliation, including Gerwani, and records an
Tempo, 1 October 2012: 'I often carried a long axe' - introduction to the special edition on 1965 executioners
Editor's introduction (Tempo, 1 Oct 2012) to the special edition on 1965 executioners, prompted by The Act of Killing and Anwar Congo. It sets out the aims (view from perpetrators, Banality of Evil, verification of sources), mentions Sikka, Palembang and the camps at Buru, Plantungan and Moncongloe as an Indonesian Gul
Tempo, 1 October 2012: The question of victim statistics
Tempo explainer (1 Oct 2012) on victim statistics for 1965-66 (estimates 200,000 to 3 million; most likely about half a million), weighing the Oei Tjoe Tat commission's 78,000, Kopkamtib's 1 million, Sarwo Edhie's 3 million and census evidence. It notes army propaganda about torture of the generals at Lubang Buaya was
Tempo English, 4 October 2021: Traumatic burden of 1965 (Umi Sardjono's last years)
Tempo English cover story 'Traumatic Burden of 1965' (4 Oct 2021, Dini Pramita) on Umi Sardjono's silence and guilt after release in 1978. Ita Fatia Nadia read her a Medan woman's testimony of gang rape and public parading, and showed Sudjinah's X-ray; Umi wept, saying it was her responsibility. It covers her life in t
Detention Camps in Asia (Brill, 2022): 'Torture Camps in Indonesia, 1965-1970' (Pohlman), opening with Sudjinah's memoir
Brill edited volume (2022) on detention camps in modern Asia; the chapter 'Torture Camps in Indonesia, 1965-1970' (Annie Pohlman, pp. 137-155) opens with Sudjinah's memoir Terempas Gelombang Pasang. It names Sudjinah and Sulami as fellow leaders of Gerwani who, after eighteen months underground and a clandestine pamphl
Detention Camps in Asia (Brill, 2022): 'Torture Camps in Indonesia, 1965-1970' (Pohlman), opening with Sudjinah's memoir
Brill edited volume (2022) on detention camps in modern Asia; the chapter 'Torture Camps in Indonesia, 1965-1970' (Annie Pohlman, pp. 137-155) opens with Sudjinah's memoir Terempas Gelombang Pasang. It names Sudjinah and Sulami as fellow leaders of Gerwani who, after eighteen months underground and a clandestine pamphl