FO 371/180333: Bilateral Relations with China (1965)
UK Foreign Office file FO 371/180333 (Jan-Dec 1965): Peking, Djakarta and Hanoi telegrams on Sino-Indonesian relations: Subandrio's visit, delegations, PKI-China links, then the post-coup anti-Chinese wave, attacks on Chinese premises and Medan riots. Only Gerwani mention: Angkatan Bersendjata (29 Oct, p. 82) says the
Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 24 April 1965: Aidit and Indonesian communism - on the springboard to power
Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 24 April 1965, long analytical article 'Aidit and Indonesian Communism: on the springboard to power'. It reviews the Indonesian crisis, PKI history from 1920 through Madiun 1948, Aidit's rise and biography. Gerwani appears once, as a PKI front organisation with 1.5 million members, alongside SOBSI
Fifteen Years of Gerwani (Harian Rakjat, 4 June 1965; JPRS 30968)
JPRS 30968 translation of the unsigned Harian Rakjat article 'Fifteen Years of Gerwani' (4 June 1965). Traces three periods: Gerwis (1950, 500 members; 74,977 by 1954 Congress), Gerwani (631,342 in 1957; 1,056,436 in 1961), and support for the women's front. Covers Melati kindergartens, peasant integration, the Kowani
D.N. Aidit, 'Step up the revolutionary offensive on all fronts': political report to PKI plenum
Long Xinhua summary in Renmin Ribao (12 June 1965, p. 3) of D.N. Aidit's political report to the enlarged PKI Central Committee plenum, 'Step up the revolutionary offensive on all fronts': Nasakom, bureaucratic capitalists, takeovers of US firms, the Murba/BPS ban, Vietnam, the UN exit, Khrushchev's fall; PKI over 3 mi
LBJ National Security File: Indonesia, Communists and Internal Politics (Oct-Nov 1965)
Compilation from the LBJ National Security File (ProQuest), Oct-Nov 1965: State Department memos, CIA intelligence memoranda and Indonesia Working Group situation reports on the 30 September Movement and army counter-moves. Gerwani appears only in passing: arrests of Gerwani and Pemuda Rakyat members (6 Oct), CIA claim
LBJ National Security File: Indonesian Military Coups, Oct-Nov 1965 (Airgram A-300 'The September 30 Affair')
Supplement to the LBJ National Security File (cables, Oct-Nov 1965), centred on the long Djakarta embassy airgram A-300 'The September 30 Affair' plus telegrams. A-300 repeats the Lubang Buaya account that the generals were 'taunted and humiliated' by Gerwani women before being killed, and says Gerwani members were pla
FBIS-monitored Jakarta radio text (5 Oct 1965) of the Nahdlatul Ulama executive board and affiliates' statement. It cites authorities' 'fact' that Pemuda Rakjat and Gerwani members were brought from afar to be trained at Lubang Buaya where the generals' bodies were found, and asks Sukarno to disband PKI, Pemuda Rakjat,
FRUS 1964-68 vol. XXVI, doc. 149: Intelligence memorandum, The Upheaval in Indonesia (6 October 1965)
FRUS 1964-68 vol. XXVI, doc. 149: CIA/OCI Intelligence Memorandum 'The Upheaval in Indonesia' (6 Oct 1965). Describes the 30 September Movement, Suharto's takeover and Sukarno's manoeuvres, and says GERWANI (the 'Communist women's front group') was reportedly involved. Quotes Suharto's 4 Oct statement that an area near
Berita Yudha, 7 October 1965
Berita Yudha, 7 Oktober 1965. Week after 30 September: Pemuda Rakyat members captured in Krukut allegedly took part in the Lubang Buaya killings; Sukarno's Bogor cabinet session condemns the killings; Gerwani mentioned on p. 2.
Furious: Suharto's statement on the generals' bodies near the Halim training base
De Telegraaf item (7 Oct 1965) on General Suharto's television statement: the generals' bodies were found near the air-force base where Pemuda Rakyat and Gerwani volunteers were trained, and an arrested female volunteer in Cirebon reportedly said volunteers came from Central Java. An early press link of Gerwani to the
Film of murder of generals
Het Rotterdamsch Parool/ANP report (7 Oct 1965, p.1): Jakarta television showed a film of the exhumation of seven officers from the well at Lubang Buaya, with Suharto, voice trembling, saying the bodies were found near the air-force base training Pemuda Rakjat men and 'Gerwani' (for women) volunteers. A female voluntee
Dramatic funeral in Jakarta: lieutenant saved Nasution's life
Leeuwarder Courant, 7 October 1965, p. 1: report on the exhumation of the seven murdered army officers from the Lubang Buaya well and the generals' funeral, with Nasution's escape and Lt Tendean's death. It relays Suharto's televised claim that the bodies lay next to a base where the air force trained Pemuda Rakjat and
Jakarta saw gruesome TV film of exhumation of generals' bodies
Twentsch Dagblad Tubantia (7 Oct 1965): Jakarta TV shows exhumation of the generals' mutilated bodies from the Lubang Buaya well; Suharto says they were found near the air-force base where Pemuda Rakyat and Gerwani volunteers were trained, citing an arrested female volunteer from Cirebon. Also the generals' funeral and
FBIS-monitored Jakarta radio item (7 Oct 1965): Gertasi, a Gasbiindo transport union and the Progressive Pioneer Youth called for dissolving PKI and its mass organisations. The transport union salutes ABRI for arresting 'members of the people's youth (Pemuda Rakjat) and the Indonesian Women's Movement (Gerwani), both s
Short FBIS item (7 Oct 1965, Jakarta radio): Pemuda Pantjasila's executive board says Pemuda Rakjat and Gerwani 'obviously helped' the 30 September Movement, and asks Sukarno to disband the PKI, its mass organisations and affiliates, revoke permits for Harian Rakjat and Kebudajaan Baru, and purge those involved from st
FBIS item (7 Oct 1965, Jakarta radio): the Perti party's executive board denounces the 'gestapo-style' terror, backs NU and PSII demands that Sukarno dissolve the PKI and its affiliates, listing Pemuda Rakjat, Gerwani, SOBSI, CGMI, Lekra, and suspends three members, placing the party under Rusli Abdul Wahid. Another ea
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
Neues Deutschland, 7 Oct 1965, p. 7: Sukarno chaired the session
Neues Deutschland, 7 October 1965, p. 7: ADN/ND report 'Sukarno leitete Sitzung', quoting TASS on the Indonesian cabinet meeting at Bogor after the 30 September events. Sukarno urged calm; the newspaper 'Angkatan Bersendjata' published the demand of Nahdlatul Ulama and others that he ban the PKI, Pemuda Rakyat, the wom
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
Torture squads in Djakarta: how Indonesian generals died (South China Morning Post, 15 October 1965)
South China Morning Post, 15 Oct 1965, p.12, 'Torture squads in Djakarta: how Indonesian generals died', by a special correspondent. A lurid account of the 1 October killings: it says 'frenzied members of the Gerwani women's organisation' chanted insults and danced naked while Pemuda Rakjat youths emasculated six gener
Jakarta women danced as generals were murdered (The Hindustan Times, 15 October 1965)
The Hindustan Times, 15 Oct 1965: report of a police witness's account at Lubang Buaya that Communist women danced naked in a circle while six generals and a lieutenant (mistaken for Nasution) were tortured to death, with torn-out fingernails and faces mutilated. Gerwani is not named, but this is an early instance of t
Developments in Indonesia (editorial, Berita Harian, 1965)
Berita Harian editorial, 16 October 1965, p. 4, assessing the aftermath of the 30 September Movement: Untung's arrest crushes the armed army opposition, but 'opposition from cadres of Pemuda Rakyat and Gerwani as well as SOBSI' continues, probably as guerrilla action; speculates on a Sukarno-Nasution compromise over th
Red Party outlawed: Indonesia bans Communist party, Pemuda Rakjat and Gerwani (Kitchener-Waterloo Record, 18 October 196
Kitchener-Waterloo Record, 18 Oct 1965, p.1 (AP): Radio Jakarta announced a military ban on the Indonesian Communist Party and affiliates, issued in the name of Maj-Gen Umar Wirahadikusumah for the Jakarta area; SOBSI was banned, and Pemuda Rakjat and Gerwani, 'the party's women's wing', were also placed under the ban.
Jakarta military bans Red groups (Leader-Post, Regina, 18 October 1965)
Leader-Post (Regina), 18 Oct 1965, p.10 (AP, Singapore/Jakarta): Radio Jakarta announced a military ban on the PKI and affiliates in the name of Maj-Gen Umar Wirahadikusumah; SOBSI banned, and Pemuda Rakjat and Gerwani, 'the party's women's wing', also placed under the ban. Further reports: attacks on PKI offices in Ba
Jakarta outlaws Communist party (Ottawa Citizen, 18 October 1965)
Ottawa Citizen, 18 Oct 1965, p.3 (AP, Singapore): 'Jakarta outlaws Communist party.' Radio Jakarta announced a military ban on the PKI and affiliates in the name of Maj-Gen Umar Wirahadikusumah; SOBSI was banned nationwide, and Pemuda Rakjat and Gerwani, 'the party's women's wing', were also banned, with leaders ordere
Ban on Communists reported (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, 18 October 1965)
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, 18 Oct 1965, p.1 (AP, Jakarta/Singapore): Radio Jakarta announced a military ban on the PKI and affiliates in the name of Maj-Gen Umar Wirahadikusumah; SOBSI banned, and Pemuda Rakjat and Gerwani, 'the party's women's wing', also placed under the ban. Also reports attacks on PKI offices in Banda
Gerwani among banned Communist fronts (Vancouver Sun, 18 October 1965)
Vancouver Sun, 18 Oct 1965, p.3, whole page (Reuters/UPI); relevant items: Jakarta commander Maj. Gen. Umar Wirahadikusumah, in defiance of Sukarno, orders temporary suspension of the PKI and other pro-communist organisations in the Jakarta area, leaders to report within five days. Banned groups include the Youth Front
PKI Affiliates Including Gerwani Suspended (FBIS, 18-21 Oct 1965)
FBIS Daily Report pages (19 and 21 Oct 1965; HathiTrust scans) with the Jakarta war administrator's reporting order: from 19 to 24 October board members of PKI, Pemuda Rakjat, Gerwani, BTI, CGMI, Perhimi, IPPI, Lekra and HSI must report to police or military posts or face action. Also the bans on PKI and affiliates, Ge
Communist Party Banned in Indonesia (Canberra Times, 19 October 1965)
Canberra Times, 19 Oct 1965, p. 1 (AAP-Reuter): Radio Jakarta reports the PKI and affiliates banned, including Pemuda Rakjat, Gerwani (called the women's wing), Sobsi, BTI and the student movement; the ban is by the Jakarta military commander, not Sukarno. Notes Army-led anti-Communist drive and Chinese protests. Early
Communist Party Banned in Indonesia (Canberra Times, 19 October 1965), duplicate
Canberra Times, 19 Oct 1965, p. 1 (AAP-Reuter): Radio Jakarta reports the PKI and affiliates banned, including Pemuda Rakjat, Gerwani (called the women's wing), Sobsi, BTI and the student movement; the ban is by the Jakarta military commander, not Sukarno. Notes Army-led anti-Communist drive and Chinese protests. Early