The bridge of Chinese-Indonesian friendship will be further strengthened (Renmin Ribao, 1 April 1961)
Renmin Ribao, 1 Apr 1961, p. 5 (Xinhua, Jakarta): Jakarta press coverage of Chen Yi's visit, and over a hundred representatives of the Friendship Association, SOBSI, BTI, Pemuda Rakjat and Gerwani presenting gifts (handicrafts, batik, Indonesian translations of Mao and Liu Shaoqi) to Chen Yi, with Sain Nasution speakin
The bridge of Chinese-Indonesian friendship will be further strengthened (Renmin Ribao, 1 April 1961)
Renmin Ribao, 1 Apr 1961, p. 5 (Xinhua, Jakarta): Jakarta press coverage of Chen Yi's visit, and over a hundred representatives of the Friendship Association, SOBSI, BTI, Pemuda Rakjat and Gerwani presenting gifts (handicrafts, batik, Indonesian translations of Mao and Liu Shaoqi) to Chen Yi, with Sain Nasution speakin
Dilemmas of Indonesian Communism (van der Kroef, 1962)
Article by Justus M. van der Kroef (Pacific Affairs, summer 1962) on the PKI's dilemmas under Guided Democracy: dependence on Sukarno, the July 1960 'Evaluation' clash with the army, and the party's use of mass fronts. Gerwani is named as the PKI's women's front: its organ was aggressive without censure in 1961, and in
Asian opinion widely opposes the US Seventh Fleet: press and organisation reactions
Xinhua roundup in Renmin Ribao (29 Dec 1963, p. 4) of Asian press and organisational reactions against the US Seventh Fleet entering the Indian Ocean. For Indonesia, Gerwani issued a statement backing Sukarno's refusal to bow to intimidation; dockers' unions, Harian Rakjat and Bintang Timur also quoted. Other items cov
How to deal with US imperialism's overbearing conduct: Indonesian responses
Xinhua report in Renmin Ribao (12 Jan 1964, p. 4) on Indonesian responses to US pressure: a Harian Rakjat editorial calling for 'confrontation' of Malaysia, the Seventh Fleet and SEATO, and New Year messages from SOBSI, BTI, Pemuda Rakyat and the Peace Committee. The Gerwani Central Committee pledges support for the go
Neues Deutschland, 18 Feb 1964, p. 5: Successful visit to Indonesia
Neues Deutschland, 18 February 1964, p. 5. Correspondent Eberhard Pett's press review 'Erfolgreicher Besuch in Indonesien' on the Indonesian press response to Bruno Leuschner's GDR government delegation. Gerwani is not named; the only women's link is that the women's magazine 'Api Kartini' ran an article on 'Women of t
Njoto urges the people to carry out Sukarno's order, at a Gerwani training course
Xinhua report in Renmin Ribao (22 Sept 1964, p. 4), citing Harian Rakjat: PKI second deputy chairman Njoto, at a Gerwani training course, names three roads for carrying out Sukarno's order to smash 'Malaysia' (moderate, adventurist, revolutionary) and backs the revolutionary one, praising Sukarno's 17 August speech. Ad
FO 371/180309: Periodic Reports on Indonesia's Internal Political Situation (1965)
UK Foreign Office file FO 371/180309 (1965), periodic reports on Indonesia's internal political situation, mostly weekly letters from the British Embassy in Djakarta (S.J.G. Cambridge, M.J.T. McCann) to D. Tonkin, January to July 1965, with Antara and press extracts. It covers Aidit and the arming of peasants, Chairul
FO 371/180312: Internal Political Situation, Attempted Coup against Sukarno [3] (1965)
UK Foreign Office file FO 371/180312 (1965), 'Internal political situation, Attempted coup against Sukarno [3]', a volume of Embassy letters and telegrams from Djakarta (Ambassador Gilchrist, S.J.G. Cambridge), February to April 1965. It includes Gilchrist's character notes on Subandrio, Aidit and the generals, the tak
FO 371/180317: Attempted Coup against Sukarno [8] (2-9 Oct 1965)
UK Foreign Office file FO 371/180317 (2-9 Oct 1965): Jakarta embassy and Foreign Office telegrams on the 30 September coup, Suharto's takeover, Sukarno and Omar Dani, Soviet press silence, and a Singapore proposal for unattributable propaganda to blacken the PKI. Gerwani is named in Suharto's 4 Oct statement and a 6 Oc
FO 371/180318: Attempted Coup against Sukarno [9] (Oct 1965)
UK Foreign Office file FO 371/180318 (Oct 1965): Djakarta embassy telegrams, minutes and copied US cables on the 30 September affair. Covers the anti-PKI demonstration and burning of PKI HQ, Sukarno's return, Suharto and Nasution, and Anglo-American debate on backing the generals. Only Gerwani-relevant item: the 10 Oct
FO 371/180320: Gilchrist Despatch of 8 October 1965 on the Coup and Counter-Coup
UK Foreign Office file FO 371/180320 (Oct-Nov 1965): Gilchrist's despatch no. 13 of 8 Oct 1965 on the coup and counter-coup, plus telegrams, NATO and Commonwealth reports and Chinese/Soviet/Hanoi reactions. The despatch lists GERWANI among 'chief suspects' (p. 11) and says members of PKI youth and women's groups took p
Sukarno chairs KOTI; organisations hail killing of Darul Islam leader Kahar Muzakkar
Xinhua dispatches in Renmin Ribao (8 Feb 1965, p. 4): Sukarno chairs KOTI, hears Subandrio's China report and news that the army killed Darul Islam leader Kahar Muzakkar; PNI, IPKI, SOBSI (3.5 million), youth groups and Gerwani acclaim the killing, with Bintang Timur and Harian Rakjat editorials on US/British threats.
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
Stance of other parties in Indonesia: statements demanding dissolution of PKI and mass organisations
Renmin Ribao compilation (20 Oct 1965, p. 5) of Indonesian organisations' statements after 30 September, taken from Radio Republik Indonesia and Antara. Nahdlatul Ulama and affiliates, Perti and others demand dissolution of the PKI, Pemuda Rakyat and Gerwani; the NU text alleges Gerwani and Pemuda Rakyat members were t
Abrupt change in Indonesia's political situation: Suharto takes control, mass arrests, PKI offices burned
Xinhua survey in Renmin Ribao (20 Oct 1965, p. 1) of Indonesia's first three weeks after 30 September, from Chinese-side sources: Suharto takes control, mass arrests (3,000 by 17 October), PKI headquarters burned, Harian Rakjat closed, universities shut, anti-Chinese incidents. Gerwani appears in the NU demand to disso
Dossier of the Indonesian Drama (Lucien Rey, New Left Review, 1966)
Article by Lucien Rey (New Left Review no. 36, March 1966) reconstructing the 1 October 1965 events as a plot by dissident Central Java officers, plus a translated Asahi Shimbun interview with PKI deputy chair Njoto. Says People's Youth and Gerwani auxiliaries trained at Halim took part in the generals' executions in r
Interpretations of the 1965 Indonesian Coup: a review of the literature (van der Kroef, 1970)
Review essay by Justus M. van der Kroef (Pacific Affairs, winter 1970) surveying interpretations of the 1965 coup (Wertheim, Rey, the Cornell Report, Utrecht, Pluvier, Hughes, Nugroho/Saleh) from a pro-PKI-complicity standpoint. Several passages mention Gerwani members' role at Halim; he cites 'Mrs Djamilah's' confessi
Dynamics of Tokyo-Djakarta Interactions, 1951-1966 (Nishihara, 1973)
Masashi Nishihara's 1973 Michigan PhD thesis on Japanese-Indonesian relations 1951-1966: war reparations, the Kishi-Sukarno settlement, lobbies, the Malaysia confrontation and the 'Sukarno groups'. Gerwani appears only once (pp. 285-286): the Nasution-Suharto group's claim that Pemuda Rakyat, Gerwani and SOBSI trained
The 1965 Coup in Indonesia: The CIA's Version (van der Kroef, 1976)
Critical review by Justus M. van der Kroef (Asian Affairs, Nov 1976) of the CIA's declassified 1968 report 'Indonesia-1965: The Coup That Backfired'. Takes issue with the CIA's claim that Lubang Buaya victims were not mutilated and that Gerwani/Pemuda Rakyat confessions were Army-contrived, quoting Gerwani member Djami
Harian Rakjat, Daily Newspaper of the Communist Party of Indonesia (Groves, 1983)
Kerry Groves's ANU MA thesis (1983) on Harian Rakjat, the PKI daily: its stance on press freedom, administration, polemics (e.g. with Merdeka, 1964), content and treatment of leaders, drawing on Indonesian sources and interviews with ex-prisoners. Gerwani appears in Chapter VI (pp.142-149) on the paper's women's column
Tempo, 2 October 2021: Limp before Bung Karno (why Gerwani did not criticise Sukarno's polygamy)
Tempo piece (2 Oct 2021, Hussein Abri and Stefanus Pramono) on why Gerwani, loudly anti-polygamy, stayed silent when Sukarno married Hartini. Umi Sardjono told Ruth Indiah Rahayu it was a private matter and Gerwani still needed Sukarno against imperialism (Harian Rakjat, 4 Jan 1956); Perwari backed Fatmawati; Amurwani
Tempo English, 4 October 2021: Soft on Sukarno (Gerwani and Sukarno's polygamy)
Tempo English cover story 'Soft on Sukarno' (4 Oct 2021, Hussein Abri) on why Gerwani, which campaigned against polygamy, stayed silent when Sukarno married Hartini in 1954. Umi Sardjono told Ruth Indiah Rahayu the group still needed Sukarno against imperialism, and defended him in Harian Rakjat (4 Jan 1956). The stanc