Appeal for Solidarity with Gerwani and the Women of Indonesia (WIDF Bureau, June 1966)
WIDF Bureau appeal (Berlin, 2-5 June 1966), German original with English translation and notes by Faye Chan (2015). It states that tens of thousands of Indonesian women were murdered or are held and tortured, that Gerwani's leaders and several thousand members were arrested, and that Gerwani and other women's organisat
Thai Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee protests repression in Indonesia (snippet)
Snippet-only Renmin Ribao extract (19 Apr 1966, p. 4) from a Thai Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee communiqué protesting Indonesia's repression. It lists banned mass organisations including Gerwani and notes the 12 March 1966 ban on the PKI; truncated. Full text is GA-01992.
Gerwani Leader Suwarti Will Stand Trial (FBIS, 18 Nov 1966)
Two-page FBIS extract (18 Nov 1966) from HathiTrust. The Gerwani-relevant item says PKI Central Committee member Suwarti, called a Gerwani leader, will be tried by the South Sumatra Mahmilub, the first woman Gestapu-PKI leader to be tried. Other items cover Indonesian students in Bulgaria and a radio commentary on rumo
Gerwani Leader Suwarti Will Stand Trial (FBIS, 18 Nov 1966)
Brief FBIS item (Jakarta radio, 18 Nov 1966): Suwarti, a former PKI Central Committee member described as a Gerwani leader, will soon be tried by the South Sumatra Mahmilub, the first woman leader of the Gestapu-PKI so tried. The regional commander alleged she tried to build an underground PKI chapter there in June.
Toronto Daily Star, 20 Dec 1966: Indonesian Red's wife (arrest of Mrs Aidit)
Page 17 of the Toronto Daily Star (20 Dec 1966), a general world-news page. A short wire item headed 'Indonesian Red's wife' reports, citing the army paper Berita Yudha, the arrest of Mrs Aidit, a doctor and chairman of the Communist women's organization, accused of propaganda after the coup. The OCR is badly garbled;
Vancouver Sun, 20 Dec 1966: 'Family Captured' (wife and daughter of D.N. Aidit)
Reuters item on a Vancouver Sun 'Names in the News' page (20 December 1966): the wife and daughter of D.N. Aidit, former Indonesian Communist leader, 'have been captured' in Jakarta; Mrs Aidit, a doctor, is described as chairman of the Communist women's (movement, text cut off). The wife is Sutanti Aidit, presented as
Mrs. Aidit Reported Seized (New York Times, 21 Dec 1966)
New York Times headline item, 21 December 1966, p. 16: 'Mrs. Aidit Reported Seized'. Per the sweep log it reports the arrest of Dr Soetanti Aidit, wife of PKI chairman D.N. Aidit. Only the citation header was captured, not the article text.
Letter from Betka Papanek to Nani Suwondo, 15 March 1967
Letter dated 15 March 1967 from Betka Papanek to Mrs Nani Suwondo, Djalan Pasar Minggu 39, Jakarta, apparently about a conference. OCR is almost entirely unreadable, so content beyond the address, date and a mention of a conference cannot be confirmed; summary rests on title and legible fragments. Nani Suwondo was a wo
Washington Post, 6 Jan 1968: 'Red Defenders Held in Djakarta' (Trees Sunito)
Washington Post (6 January 1968, p. A9), an AP report headed 'Red Defenders Held in Djakarta'. Per the sweep log, it says woman lawyer Trees Sunito, who defended Njono, has been arrested and is described as a former leader of the women's section of the Communist Party. Only the page header is in the text; the article b
Arrest of Suharti Suwarto, Gerwani Deputy Chairman, and Husband Subarto (FBIS, 29 Mar 1968)
HathiTrust FBIS Daily Report extract (29 Mar 1968). It reports the arrest on 22-23 March of Mrs Suharti Suwarto, called Gerwani deputy chairman and head of the PKI women's division, and her husband Subarto, alleged to have posed as a religious teacher among Muslims. It places them in 'Operation Kalong', with about 300
Izvestiia, 15 Aug 1968: arrests of communists in East Java
Izvestiia, 15 Aug 1968, p. 2, TASS citing Antara: about 850 members of the banned PKI arrested in East Java, including six Central Committee members; the chairwoman of Gerwani has also been arrested. A fragment 'Sukatno' follows the sentence but cannot reliably be attached to her.
FCO 15/1941: Political Detainees in Indonesia (1974-75)
British Foreign and Commonwealth Office file FCO 15/1941 (1974-75), 'Political detainees in Indonesia': ministerial letters on the National Peace Council and TAPOL campaigns, Research Department notes on Carmel Budiardjo, UN human-rights briefing, ICRC/Buru material and TAPOL Bulletin extracts. Gerwani features in the
Tempo, 29 June 1974: S.K. Trimurti's birthday
Tempo profile (29 June 1974) of S.K. Trimurti on her 64th birthday by the Javanese calendar: ex-Minister of Labour (1946-47), journalist since 1933, now editing the spiritual magazine Mawas Diri. Notes her will asking for cremation, her economics degree at 48, a forthcoming biography by Kustiniati Mochtar. No mention o
Subversion Trial of Four Gerwani Leaders (FBIS, 3 Feb 1975)
Short FBIS item (Jakarta radio, 3 Feb 1975): four leaders of the PKI-affiliated Gerwani, Mrs Sri Ambar, Sujinah, Sulami and Suharti, went on trial in the Central Jakarta district court on subversion, conspiracy and rebellion charges linked to Gestapu-PKI. The report calls them the first PKI woman leaders to be tried.
Jakarta trial for women (South China Morning Post, 4 February 1975)
South China Morning Post, 4 Feb 1975, p.22 (AFP, Jakarta, 3 Feb): four leading women of the outlawed PKI went on trial in Jakarta District Court charged with conspiracy to topple the Government. Miss Sulami was secretary general and the other three were board members of the 'defunct communist women's movement' (Gerwani
Daily World, 26 July 1975: Women leaders jailed by Indonesian junta
Daily World (New York), 26 July 1975, p. 9: Foreign Department report that a Jakarta court on 16 June 1975 sentenced four women after a five-month trial: Sulami (general secretary of the Indonesian Women's Movement, 20 years), Sudjinah (magazine editor, 18), Sri Ambar (SOBSI women's section, 15) and Suharti Alimarkaban
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
Women round the World: Indonesian Women (Kinesis, June 1977)
Kinesis (Vancouver feminist paper), June 1977, p.10, 'Women round the World': a section on Indonesian women. It says Gerwani, the largest women's organisation (over one million members), was banned for alleged complicity in the 1965 coup and blamed for atrocities; many members suffered torture and sexual abuse in inter
The Times of India, 6 Sep 1977, p.11 (Reuter, London, 4 Sep): Amnesty International lists 62 imprisoned or missing parliamentarians in 17 countries; Indonesia tops the list with 23, most held without trial since 1965 for links with the PKI, SOBSI, BTI or the women's organisation Gerwani. Named are Subandrio, Oei Tjoe T
FBIS Daily Report, 8 Jul 1978: Wife of 1965 coup attempt leader to be tried (Mrs Tanty Aidit)
FBIS Daily Report item (8 Jul 1978) quoting Kuala Lumpur radio: Mrs Tanty (Sutanti) Aidit, a medical doctor and widow of PKI chairman D.N. Aidit, will soon be tried for complicity in the 1965 coup attempt, a Jakarta prosecution spokesman said. She has been in military detention since 1965. Gerwani is not mentioned.
Prisoners of Conscience (The Observer, 12 August 1979)
The Observer, 12 Aug 1979, p.8, 'Prisoners of Conscience': Amnesty International notes up to 20,000 untried political prisoners remain in Indonesia and takes up four women active in Gerwani, arrested 1966 and tried nine years later: Sulami (20 years), Sudjinah (18), Sri Ambar Rukmiati and Suharti Harsono (15 each). It
Released from detention (Sutanti Aidit), Tempo, 5 Jan 1980
Short Tempo item, 5 January 1980, on the release of Dr Soetanti Aidit, 57, widow of PKI chairman D.N. Aidit, from detention on 20 December 1979. Held from 1966 in Bukit Duri women's prison and never moved, she was separated from her five children for 13 years, declines to talk about the past and hopes to practise medic
Army Spokesman on Release of Gerwani Ex-Chairwoman Sundari Abdulrahman (FBIS, 23 Aug 1989)
FBIS item (ANTARA, 23 Aug 1989): armed forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Nurhadi Purwosaputro said the release of Sundari Abdulrahman, 68, former chairwoman of Gerwani, followed completion of her term and presidential remission. She had been sentenced to life in 1976 in Tanjungkarang and held in Tangerang Women's Prison. He
Mami, no longer discussed: Sundari Abdulrachman released (Tempo, 2 Sep 1989)
Tempo, 2 Sep 1989. Reports the release from Tangerang women's prison on 17 August 1989 of Sundari Abdulrachman (68), former chair of Gerwani Pusat and PKI member of DPRGR, sentenced to life at Tanjungkarang on 16 Oct 1976 (commuted 1982) for organising Gerwani in Lampung. Officials deny that Inter-Parliamentary Union p
From politics to mysticism: S.K. Trimurti in her own words (Tempo, 21 Apr 1990)
Tempo profile (21 April 1990), in S.K. Trimurti's own first-person voice, of her life from teacher and Partindo cadre to labour minister and spiritualist. She says she co-founded Gerwis around 1950 (Ketua III, Yogyakarta), that Gerwis became Gerwani at its third congress under Umi Sardjono, and that in 1965 she quit Ge
Tempo, 12 May 1990: S.K. Trimurti sets the record straight (reader's letter)
Reader's letter in Tempo (12 May 1990) responding to Trimurti's memoir excerpt of 21 April 1990, praising her 'steel mentality' after a six-hour beating by the Dutch police and contrasting it with migrant worker Kurtiah's abuse abroad. The heading also carries a correction: Trimurti born in Sawahan, Boyolali, 11 May 19
Saskia Wieringa's 1992 article comparing Gerwani and the New Order's PKK to criticise Molyneux's practical/strategic gender interests; contrasts Gerwani's alliance with Sukarno/PKI and democratic centralism with PKK's subordination via husbands. Foundational theoretical comparison.
Wieringa's 1993 article comparing Gerwani and PKK: Gerwani's growth from 500 Gerwis members in 1950 to a claimed 3 million, its campaigns, an eyewitness account of Lubang Buaya and the army's slander, ideology and a composite life history. Early comparative study.
Sexual Metaphors in the Change from Soekarno's Old Order to Soeharto's New Order (Wieringa, RIMA 1998)
Published RIMA version (1998) of Wieringa's 1996 paper, revised after Suharto's fall: the New Order legitimated itself through the army's slander campaign against Gerwani, part of an 'extended coup' of Oct 1965-Mar 1967, with a compact Gerwani history. Companion to the 1996 draft.
Tempo, 29 August 1999: Interview with Sulami - 'I have an obsession to expose the G30S killings'
Tempo interview (29 Aug 1999) with Sulami, former Deputy Secretary-General II of Gerwani, with a short biography: arrested 12 Feb 1967 on Amir Machmud's order, tried 1975, released 1984, torture by rattan between fingers and threats of rape; founded the 1965-66 victims research foundation. She denies any Gerwani role a