The coup in Madiun: 'purge action against reactionaries'
Nieuwe Courant, 22 September 1948: Antara reports on the Madiun events: Murba's correspondent describes the 12 September communist takeover, Musso's radio speech (claiming millions of women became widows through Japanese romusha), Suripno calling it a 'purge action', and Col. Djokosujono's claim of a clean-up of reacti
Joys and sorrows of Indonesia in the past year
Indische Courant voor Nederland, 7 Jan 1953, p. 3: year-in-review chronology for 1952 (selected entries translated). Mentions the August 1951 raids, the 17 October 1952 affair, release of East Java arrestees on 30 Oct, a goodwill mission to Kahar Muzakkar under Mrs Salawati (8 Apr), and Aidit and Njoto refused entry to
Latest news from Indonesia (4-7 May 1953)
Antara news roundup, Indische Courant voor Nederland, 13 May 1953, p. 4 (4-7 May). Relevant item: Setiati Surasto, Maasje Siwi and Kartinah left for the WIDF congress in Copenhagen. Rest covers the bank strike, the 17 October affair and the Wilopo cabinet's refusal to seek a confidence vote.
Mangunsarkoro (PNI) and Roem (Masjumi) cabinet formateurs
Indische Courant voor Nederland, 24 Jun 1953, p. 1: Sukarno appoints Mangunsarkoro (PNI) and Roem (Masjumi) as cabinet formateurs after Wilopo's fall; reports party programmes. Gerwis issues a statement urging a cabinet that protects working and pregnant women, curbs unemployment, raises education budgets, controls pri
Java-Bode 30 Nov 1954, page: Gerwani congress (whole page)
Whole-page OCR of Java-Bode, 30 November 1954, p. 2. The only Gerwani item is the Bandung branch congress: sympathy for Maisuri (forced marriage victim), call to abolish forced marriage, ban modern dances and immoral films, and support for the Ali-Arifin cabinet. Other articles cover West Irian at the UN, the Chinese a
Gerwani congress (newspaper page, early December 1954)
Whole newspaper page, Indische Courant voor Nederland, c. 1-4 Dec 1954 (columns interleaved). Gerwani-relevant item: Bandung branch congress backs Maisuri, opposes forced marriage and 'immoral' films, supports the Ali cabinet. Other articles: PRN women's congress, no-confidence motion, West Irian at the UN, Bogor confe
Djakarta postpones the evil day (The Observer, 16 January 1955)
The Observer, 16 Jan 1955, p.7, Rawle Knox, 'Djakarta Postpones the Evil Day': impressionistic report from Jakarta on a lively, disorderly capital, the Ali Sastroamidjojo government's dependence on Communist support, Sukarno's drift from impartiality, the delayed first election and anti-Dutch boycotts. A passing quote
P.N.I. (analysis of the 1955 election result)
Het Parool column 'P.N.I.' (11 Nov 1955) analysing the 1955 Indonesian election result: the PNI did well despite corruption; Sukarno's second marriage (Hartini) had been thought to hurt him as it moved many prominent Indonesian women to militant counter-action, but the fight against polygamy was a concern of a handful
First Lady
Short Algemeen Indisch Dagblad item 'First Lady' (1955-12-31, p. 1): Perwari chair Mrs. Kartowijono says any socially acceptable woman can be First Lady and urges a marriage law quickly. Muslimat (Masyumi) and Gerwani are still deliberating on the question and could not yet comment, in the context of the Sukarno marria
Communist crowd welcomes the president at Kemayoran airport
De Nieuwsgier report (19 Mar 1956) on Sukarno's return to Kemajoran airport, where PKI supporters, communist veterans and the "communist women's organisation Gerwani" demanded PKI inclusion in Ali Sastroamidjojo's cabinet. Sukarno urged calm; Gerwani appears only among the crowd with banners.
'One-man factions' in parliament disappointed
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad political roundup (1957-03-02, p. 2) on Sukarno's 'conception' of gotong-royong cabinet: one-man MP factions complain of exclusion, Nasution meets Sukarno, PNI Surabaya rallies, Natsir attacks the plan. An 'Adhesion' item says declarations of support came from the youth council DPI, Gerwani Ban
'The fathers are not pure': Mrs Fatmawati Sukarno: 'Let me form a cabinet'
Dagblad voor Noord-Limburg, 30 Mar 1957: Fatmawati, Sukarno's first wife, who left the palace after his 1954 marriage to Hartini 'to the great indignation of the Indonesian women's organisation', proposes in an open letter that a non-party woman form the new cabinet ('the fathers are not pure'). Page also covers anti-c
Masyumi leader warns against 'playing with fire'
Winschoter Courant (30 Mar 1957), news round-up. Relevant: Fatmawati Sukarno writes asking why a woman cannot form a cabinet, with a note that women's organisations took Sukarno's second marriage badly. Also Masyumi's Isa Anshary on cabinet formation, searches of Jakarta banks, and Aidit threatening a general strike un
Satisfied with decisions of national conference: general debates on normalisation of the country's situation
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad (1957-09-27, p. 2): parliamentary general debates on the national conference results and Soekarno-Hatta cooperation. PKI women MPs speak: Nungtjik A.R. calls the results a merit of the cabinet and asks for a gotong-royong cabinet; Mrs. Suharti Suwarto criticises regional councils and military a
Indonesian parliament wants more concrete Sukarno-Hatta cooperation
Ons Noorden (27 Sep 1957) on the parliamentary debate after the national consultation conference. PKI MP Suharti Suwarto sharply criticised the revolutionary councils in Sumatra and Celebes for arresting local communist leaders, warning the conference decisions cannot work until they are freed. Other speakers urge Suka
General debates on normalisation of the country's situation
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad (1957-09-28, p. 2): continuation of the parliamentary debate on normalisation after the national conference, with seven speakers. Mrs. Umi Sardjono (Pembangunan) calls the result a positive principle showing the government's authority, but doubts it can be realised while arbitrary arrests and b
The revolution passes Indonesia by: interview with Ernst Utrecht
Second half of a De Volkskrant interview (29 Aug 1970) with Prof. Ernst Utrecht on his book on Indonesia ahead of Suharto's Dutch visit. Utrecht says the Jakarta branches of Gerwani and Pemuda Rakyat "wanted to take part and did take part" in the 1965 coup, that the PKI leadership said these were independent organisati