The trauma of 1965 itches and nags
Jan Bezemer's long Trouw weekend feature (30 Sep 1995) on the unresolved 1965 trauma. Covers the 30 September events, Suharto's role, US encouragement, massacres (Gatot's trial testimony) and the smear campaign against Gerwani. Draws on Saskia Wieringa's doctoral research: Gerwani was blamed for mutilating the generals
Suharto's fear of the voice of Gerwani (on Saskia Wieringa's research)
De Vrijdag (Het Parool, 6 Oct 1995) article by Hanneke de Wit on Saskia Wieringa's Amsterdam PhD on the Indonesian women's movement. It recounts the 1965 press claims that Gerwani girls castrated and blinded generals and danced naked, which Wieringa calls lies; autopsies showed the generals intact. It details forced 'c
Amien Rais: Communism, the cruellest ideology
Bali Post, 30 Sept 1996, p. 1: at a youth seminar on the 'latent danger of communism' Amien Rais says Gerwani 'slashed' the generals; Taufiq Ismail cites S.K. Trimurti as ex-Gerwani; PRD branded 'new PKI'.
Hari Kesaktian Pancasila is not only remembering a bloody event
Analisa (Medan), 4 Oct 1997, p. 7: commentary for Hari Kesaktian Pancasila repeating the official G30S account and invoking 'the barbarity of the PKI with its Gerwani and Pemuda Rakyat'.
South China Sunday Morning Post, 26 Apr 1998, p.8, Jenny Grant: report on the trial in Medan of the sorcerer Datuk (Achmad Suradji), accused of killing 42 young women. After first confessing he retracted and blamed 'an outlawed communist women's group known as Gerwani', claiming police forced his confession; the articl
Bali Post, 7 April 2000: Revoking MPRS Decree No. XXV/1966
Bali Post, 7 Apr 2000, p. 7: editorial on Wahid's proposal to revoke the 1966 PKI ban, saying the military's stories of sadism by Gerwani and Pemuda Rakyat made the killings 'barbarity' in public memory and enabled mass slaughter.
Women in the Current of the Times (Sulami, 1995/2001)
Sulami's essay 'Perempuan dalam Arus Zaman' (written Dec 1995, published Aug 2001) surveying women's condition before globalisation using Kompas reports on rapes, Julia Suryakusuma's 1981 article and a seminar paper on women workers. Does not mention Gerwani.
Bali Post, 16 February 2001: Opposed, proposal to stamp sex workers
Bali Post, 16 Feb 2001, p. 14: a radio caller opposes stamping sex workers by recalling that in the G30S period 'Gerwani women were stamped' though innocent.
Waspada, 7 October 2002: Commemoration at the Sudjono monument, Bandar Betsy
Waspada, 7 Oct 2002, p. 11: feature on the 1 Oct 2002 commemoration at the Sudjono monument in Bandarbetsy, retelling the 1965 killing of Peltu Sudjono by BTI squatters joined by Pemuda Rakyat, Gerwani and Lekra who 'sang and danced'.
TAPOL Bulletin No. 169/170, Jan/Feb 2003: obituary of Sulami (Gerwani deputy secretary-general)
TAPOL Bulletin no. 169/170 (Jan/Feb 2003), with Carmel Budiardjo's obituary of Sulami (pp. 13-15). Born Sragen 15 Aug 1926, she joined Gerwis (Gerwani from 1951), became East Java executive member (1954) and second deputy secretary-general (1957), attended WIDF meetings, and was deputy secretary-general in 1965. Arrest
Tempo.co, 9 May 2010: Defending Gerwani from New Order slander (Wieringa book)
Tempo.co book notice (9 May 2010) on Saskia Wieringa's Indonesian edition of 'Penghancuran Gerakan Perempuan' (Galangpress 2010, transl. Harsutejo). Recounts the military propaganda of naked dancing, razor-cutting and castration at Lubang Buaya, Wieringa's rebuttal from 1982-85 interviews and autopsy results, and Siti
Tempo.co, 17 May 2010: Defending Gerwani from New Order slander (Wieringa book, second version)
Tempo.co book notice (17 May 2010) (second Tempo.co version, with a lead on the penis-cutting allegation) on Saskia Wieringa's Indonesian edition of 'Penghancuran Gerakan Perempuan' (Galangpress 2010, transl. Harsutejo). Recounts the military propaganda of naked dancing, razor-cutting and castration at Lubang Buaya, Wi
IPT 1965 prosecution indictment (posted 28 Oct 2015) charging the Indonesian state under Suharto with crimes against humanity and the US, UK and Australia with complicity; the preamble cites hate propaganda painting the PKI as 'hyper-sexual' and sexual violence.
Free English-language magazine issue edited by Soe Tjen Marching (Bhinneka Nusantara, Surabaya), October 2015, of victim testimonies. Ex-women prisoners Hartiti, Maria Goretti Sumilah and Theresia Kadmiyanti describe Gerwani-related interrogation: nude-dance and genital-mutilation accusations, searches for a 'Gerwani m
Free English-language magazine issue edited by Soe Tjen Marching (Bhinneka Nusantara, Surabaya), October 2015, of victim testimonies. Ex-women prisoners Hartiti, Maria Goretti Sumilah and Theresia Kadmiyanti describe Gerwani-related interrogation: nude-dance and genital-mutilation accusations, searches for a 'Gerwani m
Bhinneka, October 2015: Half a Century of the 1965 Genocide (Indonesian edition, women ex-prisoners' testimonies)
Bhinneka, October 2015 (Surabaya; ed. Soe Tjen Marching), a 1965 anniversary issue. Women ex-prisoners testify: Hartiti, a Gerwani member, was asked whether she joined the 'naked dance' and castrated the generals; Maria Goretti Sumilah was beaten and burned to confess she was Gerwani; Theresia Kadmiyanti ran a TK Melat
Bhinneka, October 2015: Half a Century of the 1965 Genocide (Indonesian edition, women ex-prisoners' testimonies)
Bhinneka, October 2015 (Surabaya; ed. Soe Tjen Marching), a 1965 anniversary issue. Women ex-prisoners testify: Hartiti, a Gerwani member, was asked whether she joined the 'naked dance' and castrated the generals; Maria Goretti Sumilah was beaten and burned to confess she was Gerwani; Theresia Kadmiyanti ran a TK Melat
Tempo.co, 9 October 2015: The fall of the PKI, Suharto and the destruction of the women's movement
Tempo.co report (9 Oct 2015) on a Yogyakarta (UIN Sunan Kalijaga) discussion of Saskia Wieringa's book on the destruction of the women's movement. It summarises her argument that the military slandered Gerwani over Lubang Buaya as a pretext to kill; army press libel, and women forced to dance naked while soldiers photo
Tempo English, 4 October 2021: Opinion - Umi Sardjono and communism phobia (the annual ghost)
English edition of the Tempo column 'Umi Sardjono and the Annual Ghost' (4 Oct 2021) arguing that 1965 history is still black and white. It uses Umi Sardjono's life (arrest without trial, Bukit Duri, Plantungan to 1979), Gerwani's Gerwis origins, a mid-1960s membership of 1.5 million, literacy classes, her immigration
Tempo.co, 11 November 2025: Saskia Wieringa - the Suharto regime was highly militaristic, like today (danger of Suharto
Tempo.co interview (11 Nov 2025, Shinta Maharani and Juli Hantoro) with Saskia Wieringa, known for Gerwani research, on Suharto's designation as national hero. She says it perpetuates symbolic violence and impunity (Drexler), recalls the brutal 1965 slander of Gerwani and the 'Gerwani baru' label, and argues Suharto de
Tempo.co, 22 December 2025: Saskia Wieringa - LGBT discrimination a colonial legacy
Tempo.co interview (22 Dec 2025, Savero Aristia Wienanto and Reza Maulana) with Saskia Wieringa on her book on the Indonesian lesbian, bisexual and trans movement. She traces discrimination to colonialism and says the 1965 sexual slander of Gerwani, accused of cutting generals' genitals while dancing erotically, was In