The Indonesian parliament and Linggadjati: strengthened left wing supports Sjahrir cabinet
Long article in the Dutch communist daily De Waarheid (15 Jan 1947) by its "Indonesian collaborator" assessing support for the Linggarjati draft in the Indonesian provisional parliament: Masjumi and PNI divided or opposed, while the PKI, Partai Sosialis, Pesindo, Christian parties, Partai Buruh, Perwari and BTI back it
Balance sheet of Indonesian political parties
Nieuw Utrechtsch Dagblad, 17 January 1947, p. 2: list drawn up by the Republican paper De Patriot of Indonesian groups for and against the Linggadjati draft agreement. Perwari, PKI, Sobsi, BTI and the Partai Sosialis are listed for; Masjumi, PNI and Partai Wanita Rakjat against. Gerwani/Gerwis (founded later) does not
Dictatorial powers for President Sukarno (Madiun affair)
Indische Courant voor Nederland front page (29 Sep 1948) on the Madiun affair: the KNIP working committee grants Sukarno full emergency powers for three months (25-1); Hatta blames 'PKI-Musso'; arrests of FDR communist leaders in Magelang, curfews in Kediri; Solo youth back the government. Soewarti of the labour party
Abadi, 31 July 1951, p. 1: Two 17 August Committees in Yogya
Abadi, 31 July 1951, p. 1: Aneta report that SOBSI and left groups including Gerwis formed a separate 17 August committee in Yogyakarta, denouncing the municipal committee as undemocratic.
In Yogyakarta two committees for 17 August
De Nieuwsgier, 31 July 1951: in Yogyakarta SOBSI initiates a rival '17 August' committee including trade unions, the youth front, PKI, PSII, Murba, BTI and Gerwis, claiming the city's official committee only wants to 'celebrate' without expressing the people's struggle. It will explore a merger. Another item (Pakistan-
Two committees in Yogyakarta for 17 August
Aneta item in De Vrije Pers (31 Jul 1951): on SOBSI's initiative a "17 August" committee was formed in Yogyakarta with trade unions, Front Pemuda, PKI, PSII, Murba, BTI and Gerwis, as an alternative to the city administration's committee, which SOBSI said would only "celebrate a feast".
Mrs Mudigdio (PKI) in parliament on the August raid arrests (Harian Rakjat, 16 February 1952)
Harian Rakjat, 16 Feb 1952, front page continued p.4: parliamentary debate on the government's account of the August 1951 razzia (mass arrests of leftists). Nyonya Mudigdio (PKI) is reported proposing that the DPR form a committee to investigate the arrests; Sakirman (PKI) notes most victims were PKI members. A detaine
Harian Rakjat, 23 April 1952: Kartini Day commemorations, Mrs Sri Kusnapsiah speaks
Page of the Jakarta daily Harian Rakjat, 23 April 1952 (Kartini Day issue; OCR very noisy). It reports Hari Kartini commemorations in Jakarta (about 650 women at Garden Hall), in The Hague, where Ny. S. Sri Kusnapsiah spoke on Kartini's aims and thought, and in Semarang, Bogor and elsewhere, alongside Wilopo-cabinet an
Analysis of Communist Propaganda in Indonesia (OIR 5714.7, 1952)
OSS/State Department report OIR 5714.7 (30 May 1952) analysing PKI propaganda: party structure, front organisations, relations with international communism and themes. Names Gerwis under Mrs Mudigdo as the communist vehicle competing with Kowani for women, and BTI under S. Sardjono; appendices cover publishing, films,
CIA report, 23 February 1953: Meeting of the sub-section committees, PKI Surabaya
CIA report, 23 February 1953, on a PKI Surabaya sub-section committees' meeting (Dec 1952) with directives on discipline, cadres and election preparation, including 'more support' for Gerwis. Shows Gerwis treated as a PKI-supported front.
US State Dept. report IR-6165, January 1953: Communism in the Free World - Indonesia section on Gerwis
US State Department Office of Intelligence Research report IR-6165, 'Communism in the Free World' (January 1953), a compilation of about 30 country studies of communist capabilities, held in the CIA reading room. The Indonesia study (IR-6165.3) covers PKI aims and tactics, labour, and front organisations. Section VI.A
Sumatran groups up in arms against Masjumi
De Locomotief, 27 July 1953: a Palembang delegation (PIR, PNI, PKI) flies to Jakarta with a statement signed by six parties and 22 organisations including SOBSI, BTI, Pemuda Rakjat and Gerwis. It demands early elections, anti-corruption action, settlement of the Tanjung Morawa affair and a democratic cabinet without Ma
Statement of groupings in South Sumatra
De Nieuwsgier, 27 July 1953: Palembang delegation (PIR, PNI, PKI) flies to Jakarta with a joint statement by six parties and 22 organisations including SOBSI, BTI, Pemuda Rakjat and Gerwis. It says a PNI-Masjumi cabinet is no longer possible, urges a democratic parliamentary cabinet under Wongsonegoro, action against D
Delegation of parties in South Sumatra to Jakarta
Het Nieuwsblad voor Sumatra (29 Jul 1953, p.2): a delegation of parties and organisations in Palembang flew to Jakarta with a joint declaration signed by six parties (PIR, PNI, PKI, Partai Buruh, Permai, Murba) and 22 organisations including SOBSI, BTI, Pemuda Rakjat and Gerwis. It rejects a cabinet built on PNI and Ma
Joint declaration of thirty parties (abolition of the Netherlands-Indonesian Union)
Het Nieuwsblad voor Sumatra (24 Jun 1954, p.1): the Jakarta cooperation committee of about thirty parties and organisations, including PNI, PKI, Partai Buruh, Pemuda Rakjat, Gerwani, SOBSI, BTI and Wanita Rakjat, issued a joint declaration demanding immediate abolition of the Indonesian-Dutch Union, blaming Dutch imper
PKI candidates: prominent non-party figures agree to stand
De Vrije Pers item (20 Aug 1954): the PKI central committee announced that Prof. Purbodiningrat, Dr. Tjokronegoro and painter Hendra Gunawan agreed to be on its list of PKI and non-party candidates; it notes that Ir. Taher Thajeb, Mrs. Salawati Daud and Ngantung had earlier agreed.
PKI candidates and non-party people
Java-Bode, 20 August 1954, p. 2: PKI central committee announces non-party figures willing to stand on its list in the coming elections: Prof. Purbodiningrat, Dr Tjokronegoro and painter Hendra Gunawan, adding earlier announced Tahir Thajeb, Salawati Daud and Henk Ngantung. Salawati Daud, a Gerwis-linked figure, appear
Three non-party candidates on the PKI election list
Het Nieuwsblad voor Sumatra (21 Aug 1954, p.1): the PKI central committee announces that three non-party leaders (Prof. Purbodiningrat, Dr Tjokronegoro and the painter Hendra Gunawan) will appear on its election list, and recalls earlier announcement that Taher Thajeb, Mrs Salawati Daud and Henk Ngantung agreed to stan
PKI and non-party candidates
Indische Courant voor Nederland, 26 Aug 1954, p. 2: the PKI central committee announces non-party figures Purbodiningrat, Dr Tjokronegoro and painter Hendra Gunawan will stand on its election list, adding that Taher Thajeb, Salawati Daud and Henk Ngantung had earlier agreed to be candidates.
Non-party candidates on the PKI list for the 1955 elections
De Nieuwsgier item (15 Dec 1954, p. 1) listing new non-party candidates on the PKI list for the 1955 elections (Affandi, Basuki Resobowo, Witarsa and others). Earlier non-party names include Mrs. Salawati (Salawati Daud), Henk Ngantung and Mrs. S.D. Susanto.
PKI candidate list: Miss Maimunah, DPD Gerwani Central Sumatra (Harian Rakjat, 10 March 1955)
Harian Rakjat, 10 Mar 1955: PKI candidate list for the 1955 election with PKI and non-party candidates for Sumatra and elsewhere. No. 11 is Nn. Maimunah (PKI), state high-school teacher and member of DPD Gerwani Sumatera Tengah, Bukittinggi. Also lists trade-union, BTI and Perbum figures; the rest of the page is film a
CIA intelligence survey of the PKI's history, structure and front organisations, May 1955, before the September 1955 elections. Section III.E (report pp. 49-50) profiles Gerwani: founded 1950 as Gerwis, renamed Gerwani at the March 1954 congress, 25,000+ members, S.K. Trimurti general chairman and Umi Sardjono chairman
Pravda, 5 Aug 1955: Gerwani telegram in Indonesian cabinet crisis (excerpt)
Keyword-hit excerpt of Pravda, 5 Aug 1955 (TASS, Jakarta) on the cabinet crisis after Masjumi's Burhanuddin Harahap was asked to form a government. Harian Rakjat published telegrams from SOBSI, BTI, Gerwani, Pemuda Rakjat and others demanding a truly democratic government, opposing a Masjumi cabinet and 'a military dic
Ten years of the Republic (Cor Geugjes)
De Waarheid, 17 Aug 1955, p. 3: Cor Geugjes's article for the Republic's tenth anniversary, covering Dutch colonial violence, the Bandung Conference, the Ali Sastroamidjojo government's fall and replacement by a Masjumi-PSI cabinet under Harahap, and the PKI's election platform. It lists Gerwani only as 'the strong wom
Events in Indonesia (conclusion): Harahap government and mass organisations
De Waarheid, 8 Oct 1955, p. 3: final part of Cor Geugjes's series on events in Indonesia, arguing the Harahap government (which replaced Ali Sastroamidjojo) is resisted: elections could not be postponed, New Guinea was raised at the UN, and preliminary results defeat Masjumi and PSI. Cites PKI (500,000), SOBSI (3 milli
PKI has one million members: Aidit interview with Ogonyok
De Waarheid, 23 Mar 1956, p. 2: Moscow dispatch that the PKI has one million members, per Aidit in an interview with the Soviet magazine Ogonyok; SOBSI has 2.6 million, the peasant union BTI 2.5 million, Pemuda Rakjat 700,000 and Gerwani about 500,000. Useful as a contemporary membership figure for Gerwani.
Harian Rakjat, 9 March 1957: Umi Sardjono at the Women's Day exhibition
Harian Rakjat issue of 9 March 1957, very noisy OCR. Page 1 reports the International Women's Day exhibition (handicrafts, cooking, costumes, foreign stalls) in Jakarta, where Umi Sardjono (Gerwani leader) is among women leaders present alongside Fatmawati; the committee of ten women's organisations is chaired by Yahya
PKI protest over arrests in Minahassa
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad (1957-08-29, p. 3): the PKI central committee publishes North Sulawesi branch protest against arrests in Minahasa starting 20 July 1957 (about 30 detained, mostly PKI) and the sealing of the Manado PKI office. Listed detainees include Karel Supit and Mrs. Wuntu-Ottay of the Gerwani leadership i
US Monthly Indonesian Press Survey (1958): National Conference of Communist Women
US Monthly Indonesian Press Survey (1958) analysis of the First National Conference of Communist Women (Jakarta, 26-31 May 1958). Aidit's address presents the 'Communist woman' and calls for a wider Gerwani; Suharti Suwarto (Gerwani second deputy chair) and Sundari report on women's groups, only 100,000 women PKI membe
President Sukarno leaves Tokyo for home (Renmin Ribao, 16 February 1958)
Renmin Ribao, 16 Feb 1958, p. 6 (Xinhua): Sukarno ends a Japan visit, denouncing imperialism and rejecting interference; a Jakarta item reports SOBSI, Pemuda Rakjat, Gerwani, BTI and others backing the arrest of rebels such as Hussein and Lubis. Gerwani appears only in that list.