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
Trial begins in Jakarta: Dutch woman defends Untung
Trouw (14 Feb 1966): on the eve of the Untung and Njono trials in Jakarta, Dutch-born lawyer Trees Soenito-Heyligers, herself a PKI member, takes on the defence after others refused. Profiles her and her husband as 'non-extreme' communists with Leiden training. No mention of Gerwani; context for the 1965-66 Mahmillub t
Dutch woman sole defender
ANP report in Algemeen Dagblad (1966-02-15) on Dutch-born lawyer Trees Sunito-Heyligers, the only Indonesian jurist willing to defend PKI/SOBSI leader Njono before the special military tribunal. Her husband Sunito was jailed after the coup and she was dismissed from the state bank. No Gerwani mention; context for the 1
Not public: the Njono trial
Limburgsch Dagblad, 15 February 1966, p. 1: start of the closed Mahmillub trial of SOBSI leader Njono, who says he was told to inform Sukarno of a 'council of generals' but joined the coup instead. Students demanded a public trial; only selected journalists are admitted. Njono is defended by Dutch-born lawyer Trees Soe
After death-penalty demand: Njono's counsel pleads acquittal
Trouw (21 Feb 1966): after the prosecutor demanded the death penalty for SOBSI leader Njono, his lawyer Trees Soenito-Heyligers argues nothing proves a plot to overthrow the government; Njono gave an hour-long political defence. Lawyer complains of two days' preparation; PKI-linked Colonel Latief reportedly arrested. N
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.
Untung confesses to murder of six generals
Algemeen Dagblad (1966-02-25) on Lt.-Col. Untung's trial before the special military tribunal: he now admits that 'taking away' the six generals meant killing, denies PKI membership and claims he acted against a 'council of generals'. Notes Trees Sunito refused to defend him and sought clemency for the condemned Njono.
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
Trial after failed coup: Untung admits order to murder generals
Het Vrije Volk/Reuters report (25 Feb 1966, p.21) on Colonel Untung's trial before the Jakarta court-martial: he admits his order to take away the generals meant they should be killed, says he acted to save Sukarno from a military plot and denies PKI membership. Lawyer Trees Soenito-Heyligers asked Sukarno to pardon Nj
Lively discussion: twenty years of the Dutch Women's Movement
De Waarheid, 7 Nov 1966, p. 3: report on the NVB's 20th-anniversary congress and gathering in Amsterdam. Chair Heiltje de Vos recalls NVB solidarity with Indonesia and proudly notes that first NVB chair Trees Sunito-Heyligers recently defended PKI leader Njono before the generals' military tribunal in Jakarta. Greeting
Executions in Indonesia: Untung and others, with Gerwani blamed
De Tijd commentary by C.H. Schaap (29 Sep 1967) on the executions of Untung and others for the 1965 coup. It says the generals were killed at Halim by "volunteers" trained by Maj. Sujono, "among them members of the communist women's organisation Gerwani", and notes the trials were broadcast and published.
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'.
Dutch jurist arrested
Nederlands Dagblad, 6 January 1968, p. 1: brief report that Jakarta police arrested Dutch-born lawyer Trees Soenito-Heyligers on suspicion of membership in the banned scholars' association HSI; she had defended SOBSI leader Njono, who was sentenced to death for the 1965 coup. A second item on Cyprus is unrelated. No Ge
More Indonesian lawyers arrested
Trouw (6 Jan 1968), UPI: arrests continue of Indonesian lawyers who defended former communists. After Subandrio's counsel, two more were detained, including Dutch-born Trees Soenito, who had defended PKI leader Njono. No reason given. Shows the New Order's persecution of 1965 defence lawyers; Gerwani not mentioned.
Army leadership in Jakarta: 'infamy' as Njono, Sudisman, Wirjomartono executed
De Waarheid, 29 Oct 1968, p. 1: report, via Reuters, that the Indonesian military regime executed PKI Central Committee members Njono and Sudisman and Yogyakarta PKI secretary Wirjomartono by firing squad in Jakarta Bay after secret tribunal hearings; an initial report on Supardjo and Ruslan Kamaludin was retracted. It
Austrian minister at Israeli reception (with note on Sulami trial)
Amigoe di Curaçao news roundup, 8 Oct 1973. The only relevant item is a brief note that the trial of Mrs Sulami, 50, secretary-general of the PKI women's section (Gerwani), is about to begin in Jakarta for alleged part in the 1965 coup. The rest concerns Austrian and Israeli diplomacy.
New victims of Suharto: life sentence demanded for secretary of Indonesian women's movement
De Waarheid, 23 Apr 1975, p. 4: report that life imprisonment was demanded in Jakarta against Sulami, secretary of Gerwani, and twenty years for three other women, on charges of undermining authority, raising money for families of imprisoned or killed patriots, and involvement in preparing the PKI's 1965 'uprising'. Th
Women - life imprisonment (Joop Morrien on the trial of Gerwani and PKI women)
De Waarheid, 25 Apr 1975, article by Joop Morrien on nearly ten years of Suharto's dictatorship. It reports the military tribunal trial of Gerwani and PKI women Sulami, Sudjinah, Sri Ambar Rukmiati and Suharti Harsono, who went underground after 1965 and were arrested in late 1966; life is demanded for Sulami and 20 ye
Jakarta (Reuter): female communist leader sentenced
Trouw (12 Jun 1975), short Reuter dispatch via Antara: Sutinah Wiryosutejo (Sutinah Wiryosutedjo), a former member of the banned women's organisation Gerwani, sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment for involvement in the 1965 'coup'. The court found her role proven the week before. Names a Gerwani member tried long after
Trial (four Gerwani women in Jakarta)
De Waarheid, 21 Jun 1975, p. 5: boxed text on the Jakarta trial of four Gerwani women: life demanded against Gerwani secretary Sulami (aged 50) for helping reorganise the PKI after 1965; with Suharti Harsono, Sri Ambar Rukmijati and Sudjinah accused of typing and passing on pamphlets, forging ID papers and aiding priso
Berkhouwer (also for socialists) goes too far
De Waarheid, 11 Jul 1975, p. 1: report that the four women tried in Jakarta (aged 50-60, arrested 1966, nine years' detention not deducted) rejected all charges; Sri Ambar had earlier refused to testify at the 1967 trial of PKI leader Sudisman unless she could show her torture injuries. The verdict notes no sign of rem
Berkhouwer (also for socialists) goes too far (reprint 12 Jul 1975)
De Waarheid, 12 Jul 1975, p. 1: report that the four women tried in Jakarta (aged 50-60, arrested 1966, nine years' detention not deducted) rejected all charges; Sri Ambar had earlier refused to testify at the 1967 trial of PKI leader Sudisman unless she could show her torture injuries. The verdict notes no sign of rem
Women, mothers (what Suharto's envoys kept silent about)
De Waarheid, 20 Sep 1975, p. 3: article asking what the Indonesian parliamentary delegation did not mention: Plantungan women's camp in Central Java (386 women), Bukit Duri and Semarang prisons, and named women prisoners: Umi Sardjono, chair of the underground Gerwani, vice-chairs Salawati Daud and Mudigdio, Maasje Siw
Trial against Tanti Aidit
De Waarheid, 25 Jul 1978, p. 2: report that the army paper Berita Yudha says a charge has been drawn up against Tanti (Soetanti) Aidit, physician and widow of PKI chair D.N. Aidit, arrested after 1965; she will be tried on allegations that as a board member of Gerwani she was involved in the '30 September Movement'. Th
Clinic (Gerwani polyclinic 1958, Tanti Aidit)
De Waarheid, 24 Mar 1979, p. 8: sidebar on the clinic Gerwani opened on International Women's Day, 8 March 1958, a polyclinic and advice bureau for women in its building (destroyed in 1965), run by Tanti Aidit, now 12 years in pre-trial detention. Annie van Ommeren recalls the 1975 trial of Sulami (life), Suharti Harso
Untung (Djoko Untung and Gatot Sutarjo sentenced to death)
De Waarheid item (21 Aug 1985, p.3) profiling death-row PKI prisoners Djoko Untung and Gatot Sutarjo, sentenced at Blitar on 2 Jan 1976, with Suharto rejecting clemency. Untung's wife Natsia, a known East Java Gerwani member, was arrested in 1968 and still imprisoned; Sutarjo's wife Poedji Aswati was jailed for 15 year
The moving indictment of Mohammad Munir
De Waarheid (30 Sep 1985, p.5) excerpts the 1973 defence plea of PKI/union leader Mohammad Munir, executed in May 1985, before a military tribunal. He describes the post-October 1965 hate campaign aimed at PKI, Pemuda Rakyat and Gerwani, the mass killings and camps; an editorial note says the generals' deaths were used
Not guilty (close of Mohammad Munir's plea)
Continuation of De Waarheid's excerpt of Mohammad Munir's 1973 defence plea (30 Sep 1985, p.5). He denies the PKI attempted a coup, criticises Suharto's economic policy, and demands release of all 30 September prisoners including those in Buru, Nusakambangan and the women's camp Plantungan. A footnote glosses Gerwani a
Indonesian communist free after 20 years in prison (Sundari Abdulrachman)
Front-page De Waarheid report (23 Aug 1989) on the release on 17 August of Sundari Abdulrachman, PKI central committee member and former MP, after over twenty years' imprisonment (arrested Lampung Nov 1968; life sentence 1976, commuted 1982). Notes 51 PKI members still held, fourteen under death sentence, and fourteen