Indonesia releases prisoners
Nederlands Dagblad, 3 December 1976, p. 3: Jakarta announces release of 2,650 communist prisoners held since 1965 without trial, repeats the promise to free the remaining 29,000 within three years. At a ceremony 150 swore loyalty to Suharto; they included students, ex-civil servants and members of the banned women's mo
TAPOL Bulletin no. 19, January 1977. Leads on 'release equals transmigration': Sudomo's 1 Dec 1976 release of 2,500 B-category tapols into 'transmigration centres' and Buru. Reports that women tapols at Plantungan (since 1971) were moved to Bulu prison, Semarang, apparently for transfer to a 'hard-core' women's camp at
TAPOL Bulletin no. 20, February 1977. Leads on East Timor massacres and torture; also a Jakarta detention-centre riot, US and Dutch aid, a Sulawesi tapol interview, 'double counting' of releases and non-involvement certificates. Item 'Plantungan to Close?' (p.4) reports about 100 women tapols moved to Bulu Prison, Sema
Lecture on women (Maria Ulfah; S.K. Trimurti mentioned), Tempo, 26 Feb 1977
Tempo item (26 February 1977) profiling Maria Ulfah, who advises working women on labour rights and the marriage law and speaks against polygamy. It says she works with 'dra. SK Trimurti' in the Yayasan Tenaga Kerja Indonesia (YTKI) on women workers' workshops, seminars and legal information. Trimurti, a Gerwis founder
TAPOL Bulletin no. 21, April 1977 (London). Covers the ICRC mission to seven Indonesian detention sites, Carter and human rights, East Timor testimony, Kopkamtib detention legality, official denials and the May elections. It prints a smuggled letter from a Salemba tapol to the Red Cross describing starvation, beri-beri
US Embassy Singapore cable, 6 Oct 1977: was Dr Sutanti Aidit a PKI Central Committee member?
Confidential cable from the US Embassy Singapore (Ingraham) to State, 6 Oct 1977, declassified 2009. It debates whether Dr Sutanti Aidit was a PKI Central Committee member, prompted by Congressman Koch's queries. He recalls a 1974-75 Jakarta message saying she was a Class A prisoner whom the Indonesian government claim
US Embassy Singapore cable, 6 Oct 1977: was Dr Sutanti Aidit a PKI Central Committee member?
Confidential cable from the US Embassy Singapore (Ingraham) to State, 6 Oct 1977, declassified 2009. It debates whether Dr Sutanti Aidit was a PKI Central Committee member, prompted by Congressman Koch's queries. He recalls a 1974-75 Jakarta message saying she was a Class A prisoner whom the Indonesian government claim
TAPOL Bulletin no. 25, December 1977 (London). Focuses on the 20 December releases from Buru and Tanjung Kasau, new 'resettlement' labour camps, the Amnesty report and Sudomo interview, the Sawito trial, student protests, and press reports (Newsweek, Economist, Age, Asahi, De Telegraf, FEER) on Buru. Page 11 rebuts Jen
Asian Women and Political Repression (poem), Quest: A Feminist Quarterly, Winter 1978
Quest: A Feminist Quarterly, Vol. IV no. 2 (Winter 1978, 'International Feminism'), carrying on p. 32 the poem 'Asian Women and Political Repression' by Sugiarti Siswadi, in which women declare they are no longer only wives of heroes but 'worker soldiers'. A headnote begins 'Mrs. Siswadi, a well-known Indonesian poet,
Asian Women and Political Repression (poem), Quest: A Feminist Quarterly, Winter 1978
Quest: A Feminist Quarterly, Vol. IV no. 2 (Winter 1978, 'International Feminism'), carrying on p. 32 the poem 'Asian Women and Political Repression' by Sugiarti Siswadi, in which women declare they are no longer only wives of heroes but 'worker soldiers'. A headnote begins 'Mrs. Siswadi, a well-known Indonesian poet,
After 12 Years Freedom (Post-Courier, 19 January 1978)
Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, 19 January 1978, p. 5, feature by George Oliver on the release of 10,000 political prisoners held since the 1965 coup, with PKI members forced to swear loyalty. It describes the Category A, B, C system, the 1965-66 massacres (estimates up to half a million killed), Amnesty International's
After 12 Years Freedom (Post-Courier, 19 January 1978), clean OCR
Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, 19 January 1978, p. 5, clean OCR of George Oliver's feature on the release of 10,000 political prisoners held since the 1965 coup (same article as GA-00267). It covers the official and alternative accounts of 30 September, killings of perhaps half a million, half to three-quarters of a mi
US Embassy Jakarta cable, 19 Jan 1978: P.E.N. 'Freedom to Write' list of imprisoned Indonesian writers
Declassified Jakarta cable (Jakarta 0836, 19 Jan 1978, signed Masters) on P.E.N.'s list of 40 imprisoned Indonesian writers; the embassy has records on nine. Entry 30 reads 'Mrs. Sugiarti Siswadi - reportedly arrested in 1966'. It also notes Pramoedya on Buru, and says those listed were apparently held for suspected in
US Embassy Jakarta cable, 19 Jan 1978: P.E.N. 'Freedom to Write' list of imprisoned Indonesian writers
Declassified Jakarta cable (Jakarta 0836, 19 Jan 1978, signed Masters) on P.E.N.'s list of 40 imprisoned Indonesian writers; the embassy has records on nine. Entry 30 reads 'Mrs. Sugiarti Siswadi - reportedly arrested in 1966'. It also notes Pramoedya on Buru, and says those listed were apparently held for suspected in
The NVB (International Women's Day 1978)
De Waarheid, 4 Mar 1978, p. 5: article on the NVB's record around International Women's Day, listing its causes since the war: disarmament, anti-nuclear action, opposition to wars in Korea and Vietnam, international solidarity with Gerwani in Indonesia and anti-apartheid women, and women's rights at home. Contrasts the
US Embassy Jakarta cable, 2 Aug 1978: coup plotter Latief sentenced; Mrs Sutanti Aidit to be tried next
US Embassy Jakarta cable to State (2 August 1978) on the life sentence given to ex-colonel Abdul Latief for the 1965 coup attempt. Paragraph 3 says trials of other Category A detainees continue and that the next major figure to be tried is reported to be Mrs Sutanti Aidit, widow of the former PKI chief.
US Embassy Jakarta cable, 2 Aug 1978: coup plotter Latief sentenced; Mrs Sutanti Aidit to be tried next
US Embassy Jakarta cable to State (2 August 1978) on the life sentence given to ex-colonel Abdul Latief for the 1965 coup attempt. Paragraph 3 says trials of other Category A detainees continue and that the next major figure to be tried is reported to be Mrs Sutanti Aidit, widow of the former PKI chief.
Berliner Zeitung, 26 Feb 1979, p. 6: Socialism secures women's rights
Berliner Zeitung, 26 Feb 1979, p. 6: report on the international Bebel conference in Berlin (60 speakers). A short paragraph says Satiajaya Sudiman, member of the PKI leadership, described harsh conditions for Indonesian women: unequal pay and dismissal of women workers who marry or become pregnant. No mention of Gerwa
Neues Deutschland, 26 Feb 1979, p. 6: Discussion on questions of our time
Neues Deutschland, 26 February 1979, p. 6: report 'Aussprache über Fragen unserer Zeit' on the international SED Central Committee conference marking 100 years of Bebel's 'Woman and Socialism'. Satiajaya Sudiman, speaking for the Communist Party of Indonesia, said that Kartini, drawing on Bebel, had developed ideas on
'IGGI aid is howling with Suharto's hangmen' (picket Amstel Hotel)
De Waarheid, 4 Apr 1979, p. 1: report on a picket line at Amsterdam's Amstel Hotel against the IGGI conference where donors and Suharto regime ministers set aid for the year; organisations including CPN, PPR, PvdA Amsterdam, Komitee Indonesie, ANJV and NVB carried boards demanding 'Sulami, Suharti, Sudjinah, Sri Ambar,
Books restrained, writers in cell: Bandar Harahap, 'Sarinah and I' (BZZLLETIN)
De Waarheid, 24 Apr 1979, p. 4: review of the BZZLLETIN issue on 'books under restraint', arguing that Indonesian literature is little translated while many writers are jailed under Suharto: Pramoedya on Buru, Bandar Harahap, Buyung Saleh and writer Sudjinah, held since 1966 in Bukit Duri women's prison. Covers Rendra
'Children are tortured' (The Observer, 14 October 1979)
The Observer, 14 Oct 1979, p.2, Ian Mather, 'Children are tortured': on an Amnesty International report on torture of children in many countries. For Indonesia it reports that the daughter of Sri Ambar, a woman trade unionist, was tortured in her mother's presence and disappeared, that many children arrested in 1965 re
FCO 15/2701: Political Detainees in Indonesia (1980)
British FCO file FCO 15/2701 (1980), 'Political detainees in Indonesia': Amnesty International's April 1980 letter and memorandum to the UK government before the IGGI meeting, on release of B-category prisoners, restrictions on ex-detainees, missing persons and unfair A-category trials, plus TAPOL Bulletin extracts (No
New objectives at 11th NVB congress
Front-page De Waarheid report (12 Feb 1980) on the 11th congress of the Nederlandse Vrouwenbeweging (NVB), which re-elected Riek Hoogkamp. The congress adopted a declaration asking Dutch ministers to press Indonesia to restore civil rights of released political prisoners, grant amnesty to women independence fighters, a
TAPOL Bulletin No. 41/42, Sep/Nov 1980: restrictions on ex-prisoners, doctors barred from practice
Double issue of TAPOL Bulletin (London), no. 41/42, September/November 1980. An article on ex-prisoners' continuing restrictions says many doctors are still refused permission to practise, naming Dr Sutanti Aidit with Drs Sumanto, Sumiarsih and Djajus; ex-tapols also cannot testify in court without a 'certificate of no
Women of Indonesia (review of the Komitee Indonesie women's group booklet)
De Waarheid review (4 Mar 1981, p.8) by Joop Morriën of a Vrouwengroep Komitee Indonesië booklet 'Vrouwen van Indonesië: strijd om bestaan'. It covers women's position under colonialism, adat and Islam, rural-urban migration and prostitution after 1965, and ends with a chapter on NVB–Gerwani solidarity with recollectio
TAPOL Bulletin No. 46, July 1981: 'A Hundred Minus Six' (S. Rukiah among banned writers)
TAPOL Bulletin No. 46 (July 1981). A note, 'A Hundred Minus Six', reports that a four-volume Indonesian short-story anthology had to drop six writers deemed involved in G30S/PKI, among them S. Rukiah (Rukiah Kertapati), alongside Pramoedya. The same issue covers the banning of Pramoedya's Buru novels. Gerwani is not me
TAPOL Bulletin no. 47 (London, September 1981): East Timor offensive and the East Timor assembly's report, West Papuan refugees, Pramoedya's re-arrest, the new Procedural Code, and rape and lesbianism cases. Its new 'Spotlight on a Prisoner' profiles Suwardiningsih, the only woman full member of the PKI Central Committ
Conversation on the 35th anniversary of the Dutch Women's Movement (Annie van Ommeren-Averink)
De Waarheid interview (20 Oct 1981, p.5) with Annie van Ommeren-Averink, CPN politician and NVB board member, on the NVB's 35th anniversary. She recalls labour and women's struggles; a photo of Umi Sardjono, freed after years of imprisonment, hangs in her home, last seen in March 1965, and she works for the CPN's Indon
Berita Yudha, 13 March 1982: 'Latent danger of extreme left and right in Indonesia' (4)
Berita Yudha, 13 Mar 1982, p. 1: final part of a series retelling the official PKI chronology to 30 September 1965 and asserting that 3,000 'youth and Gerwani' trained at Lubang Buaya.