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
Berita Harian, 12 Feb 1974: former Gerwani chair jailed for life in Tebing Tinggi
Berita Harian, 12 Feb 1974 (AP, lead only). A court in Tebing Tinggi, North Sumatra, sentenced Amnah, a former leader of the Indonesian women's movement (Gerwani), to life imprisonment for involvement in the PKI's 1965 coup attempt.
Dunántúli Napló, 12 Feb 1974: former Indonesian women's movement chair sentenced to life
Dunántúli Napló, 12 Feb 1974, brief Jakarta report (via radio): the former chairwoman of the Indonesian women's movement, name garbled in OCR as 'Amnah', was sentenced to life imprisonment for taking part in the September 1965 events; a former BTI chairman got twenty years. The translator's guess of Umi Sardjono is uns
Former Gerwani chair jailed (Berita Harian, 1974)
Berita Harian, 12 February 1974, p. 3, AP: a court in Tebing Tinggi, North Sumatra, sentences Mrs Amnah, former Gerwani chair, to life imprisonment for involvement in the PKI's failed 1965 'power seizure' (per Radio Jakarta); Maryo, ex-chair of the BTI, gets 20 years. Shows continuing New Order trials of Gerwani leader
TAPOL Bulletin no. 6, August 1974. Covers the Hariman Siregar (Malari) trial, tapol forced labour on the Cilacap oil pipeline and Nusakambangan cement works, prison conditions, Australian and British military links and trials of 1965 detainees. It reports on Plantungan women's camp (food, commander Major Prayoga, death
US Embassy Jakarta cable, 15 Aug 1974: congressional inquiries on Dr Sutanti Aidit and Yusuf Roni
Declassified US Embassy Jakarta cable (15 Aug 1974) answering congressional inquiries. It states that Sutanti Aidit is the wife of D.N. Aidit, that her fate is unknown, that she was born 1 Nov 1923 in Sungai Liat, Bangka, was a PKI member and radiobiology consultant at the National Atomic Energy Agency, and was dismiss
US Embassy Jakarta cable, 15 Aug 1974: congressional inquiries on Dr Sutanti Aidit and Yusuf Roni
Declassified US Embassy Jakarta cable (15 Aug 1974) answering congressional inquiries. It states that Sutanti Aidit is the wife of D.N. Aidit, that her fate is unknown, that she was born 1 Nov 1923 in Sungai Liat, Bangka, was a PKI member and radiobiology consultant at the National Atomic Energy Agency, and was dismiss
TAPOL Bulletin no. 7, October 1974. Covers the Indonesian Defence Department's attack on TAPOL, the Hariman Siregar trial, admissions on tapol forced labour, 'C' category releases and re-arrests, non-involvement certificates, civil-service purges (teachers and PLN staff dismissed) and plans for October Week in Britain.
US Embassy Jakarta cable, 16 Dec 1974: inquiry on the Sutanti Aidit case
Declassified US Embassy Jakarta cable (16 Dec 1974). The embassy says all information on Mrs Aidit was reported in an earlier cable and that it is asking the Indonesian government to clarify her status, to help the Department reply to a query from Rosenthal. Metadata tags: amnesty, US congressional hearings, political
US Embassy Jakarta cable, 16 Dec 1974: inquiry on the Sutanti Aidit case
Declassified US Embassy Jakarta cable (16 Dec 1974). The embassy says all information on Mrs Aidit was reported in an earlier cable and that it is asking the Indonesian government to clarify her status, to help the Department reply to a query from Rosenthal. Metadata tags: amnesty, US congressional hearings, political
US Embassy Jakarta cable, 30 Dec 1974: Sutanti Aidit confirmed as 'Class A' detainee
Confidential US Embassy Jakarta cable to the State Department, 30 December 1974 (declassified), reporting that Indonesian government sources confirm Sutanti Aidit is a 'Class A' detainee, i.e. slated for trial over the 1965 'coup attempt'. They describe her as a PKI central committee member, leading supporter of husban
US Embassy Jakarta cable, 30 Dec 1974: Sutanti Aidit confirmed as 'Class A' detainee
Confidential US Embassy Jakarta cable to the State Department, 30 December 1974 (declassified), reporting that Indonesian government sources confirm Sutanti Aidit is a 'Class A' detainee, i.e. slated for trial over the 1965 'coup attempt'. They describe her as a PKI central committee member, leading supporter of husban
The line of the Communist Party of Indonesia explained: interview with Setiati Surasto (Indonesian Tribune, Tirana, 1974
JPRS translation of an Indonesian Tribune (Tirana) 1974 report of Radio Tirana interview with Setiati Surasto, leader of the PKI delegation to Albania's 30th liberation anniversary. She describes Indonesia as a US neo-colony under Suharto's 'fascist' regime, cites 28 million unemployed and about 100,000 political priso
TAPOL Bulletin no. 8, January 1975. Leads on Papuan mass killings and the Indonesian ban on the word 'tapol'; also Buru unrest and health conditions, the British Foreign Office meeting with religious leaders, non-involvement certificates, 'C' category releases, Hariman Siregar's six-year sentence and Carmel Budiardjo's
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.
New victims of Suharto: life sentence demanded for secretary of Indonesian women's movement
De Waarheid, 23 Apr 1975, p. 4: report that life imprisonment was demanded in Jakarta against Sulami, secretary of Gerwani, and twenty years for three other women, on charges of undermining authority, raising money for families of imprisoned or killed patriots, and involvement in preparing the PKI's 1965 'uprising'. Th
Women - life imprisonment (Joop Morrien on the trial of Gerwani and PKI women)
De Waarheid, 25 Apr 1975, article by Joop Morrien on nearly ten years of Suharto's dictatorship. It reports the military tribunal trial of Gerwani and PKI women Sulami, Sudjinah, Sri Ambar Rukmiati and Suharti Harsono, who went underground after 1965 and were arrested in late 1966; life is demanded for Sulami and 20 ye
Release of Indonesian women demanded: Women's Action Day 1975 protest letter
De Waarheid, 2 Jun 1975, p. 1: report that the NVB's Women's Action Day '75 sent a protest letter to the Suharto regime (copy to minister Pronk) demanding release of four Gerwani women: life imprisonment demanded against Sulami, secretary of Gerwani, and 20 years each against Sri Ambar Rukmijati, Sudjinah and Suharti H
Tribunal sentences Gerwani leader (Balikpapan)
De Waarheid, 12 Jun 1975, p. 1: short report that a tribunal in Balikpapan (East Kalimantan) sentenced Sutinah Wiryosutejo, a leader of the women's organisation Gerwani, to twenty years' imprisonment, ten years after Suharto's coup, on charges of 'participation in the 1965 coup' that the paper calls false. OCR partly g
Jakarta (Reuter): female communist leader sentenced
Trouw (12 Jun 1975), short Reuter dispatch via Antara: Sutinah Wiryosutejo (Sutinah Wiryosutedjo), a former member of the banned women's organisation Gerwani, sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment for involvement in the 1965 'coup'. The court found her role proven the week before. Names a Gerwani member tried long after
Women's movement magazine condemns Indonesian trial: NVB demands freedom for Gerwani women
De Waarheid, 21 Jun 1975, p. 5: report that the NVB monthly 'Vrouwen' urges protest against the heavy sentences passed in late April on four Gerwani members. It recalls the 1965 coup, bloodbath and camps, ten years of deteriorating living conditions and foreign aid through the IGGI (up to 880 million dollars a year). T
NVB demands freedom for Gerwani women (full newspaper page, 21 Jun 1975)
Full De Waarheid page, 21 Jun 1975 (p. 5), mostly unrelated (Mokum 700 festival, EEC steel output, farmers' protests). The relevant article reports the NVB's call to protest the Jakarta trial of four Gerwani women: life demanded for Sulami (about 50), 20 years for Suharti Harsono, Sri Ambar Rukmijati and Sudjinah, accu
Trial (four Gerwani women in Jakarta)
De Waarheid, 21 Jun 1975, p. 5: boxed text on the Jakarta trial of four Gerwani women: life demanded against Gerwani secretary Sulami (aged 50) for helping reorganise the PKI after 1965; with Suharti Harsono, Sri Ambar Rukmijati and Sudjinah accused of typing and passing on pamphlets, forging ID papers and aiding priso
Protests (NVB appeal for four Gerwani women)
De Waarheid, 21 Jun 1975, p. 5: boxed NVB appeal to protest the sentences on four Gerwani women, noting Sri Ambar and Sudjinah were officials of the banned SOBSI and that all four are internationally known for women's and union work. Calls for halting financial aid to the Suharto regime, restoring democratic rights and
Berkhouwer (also for socialists) goes too far
De Waarheid, 11 Jul 1975, p. 1: report that the four women tried in Jakarta (aged 50-60, arrested 1966, nine years' detention not deducted) rejected all charges; Sri Ambar had earlier refused to testify at the 1967 trial of PKI leader Sudisman unless she could show her torture injuries. The verdict notes no sign of rem
Brave stance before tribunal: 'No regret for activities': heavy sentences against Indonesian women
De Waarheid, 11 Jul 1975, p. 1: report that the Jakarta tribunal sentenced four women: Sulami, secretary of the banned Gerwani, to twenty years; Sudjinah, editor of the organisation's paper, 18 years; Sri Ambar, SOBSI board member, and Suharti, BTI board member, 15 years each. Headlined as courageous conduct before the
Berkhouwer (also for socialists) goes too far (reprint 12 Jul 1975)
De Waarheid, 12 Jul 1975, p. 1: report that the four women tried in Jakarta (aged 50-60, arrested 1966, nine years' detention not deducted) rejected all charges; Sri Ambar had earlier refused to testify at the 1967 trial of PKI leader Sudisman unless she could show her torture injuries. The verdict notes no sign of rem
Brave stance before tribunal: heavy sentences against Indonesian women (reprint 12 Jul 1975)
De Waarheid, 12 Jul 1975, p. 1: reprint of the report that the Jakarta tribunal sentenced four women: Sulami, secretary of the banned Gerwani, to twenty years; Sudjinah, editor of the organisation's paper, 18 years; Sri Ambar (SOBSI board) and Suharti (BTI board) 15 years each. Headlined 'courageous conduct before the
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
TAPOL Bulletin no. 11, August 1975, on the 'show trials' ahead of the tenth anniversary. Key item (p.3): four women, including Gerwani General Secretary Sulami, sentenced after a five-month trial to 15-20 years for subversion (helping the PKPS movement, illegal cells, alleged recruitment of cooks and seamstresses for L