FO 371/180326: Political Parties and Communism (Feb-Aug 1965)
UK Foreign Office file FO 371/180326 (Feb-Aug 1965): embassy telegrams, letters and Antara extracts on the PKI's growth before the coup: its 45th anniversary, Aidit's speeches, Mao's greeting, Sino-Soviet positions and Sukarno's leftward drift. Gerwani items: Antara of 9 June reports Sukarno addressing Gerwani, chaired
FO 371/180333: Bilateral Relations with China (1965)
UK Foreign Office file FO 371/180333 (Jan-Dec 1965): Peking, Djakarta and Hanoi telegrams on Sino-Indonesian relations: Subandrio's visit, delegations, PKI-China links, then the post-coup anti-Chinese wave, attacks on Chinese premises and Medan riots. Only Gerwani mention: Angkatan Bersendjata (29 Oct, p. 82) says the
FO 371/180337: Bilateral Relations with the US [3] (1965)
UK Foreign Office file FO 371/180337 (Mar-Nov 1965): telegrams and letters on US-Indonesian relations: Bunker mission, Peace Corps withdrawal, anti-American demonstrations, Ambassador Green, Palmer affair, then Anglo-American talks on aid to the generals after 1 October. No mention of Gerwani; 'women' appear only among
Aidit accuses Chaerul Saleh of fabricating a document (speech to Gerwani, Berita Harian, 1965)
Berita Harian, 23 January 1965, p. 3: D.N. Aidit, speaking to Gerwani, accuses Deputy Prime Minister Chaerul Saleh of spreading a forged document claiming the PKI planned to seize power in 1970; he says he reported this to Sukarno. Clipping is partly unreadable. Shows Aidit using Gerwani as an audience for PKI rebuttal
Renmin Ribao, 23 Jan 1965: Indonesia seethes with revolutionary fervour; Aidit at Gerwani CC plenum
Renmin Ribao p. 3 (23 Jan 1965). The excerpt says D.N. Aidit spoke on 19 January at the closing of the Fourth Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Indonesian Women's Movement Association (Gerwani), saying Indonesia's political life was entering a period of clarification. Surrounding headlines concern Sukarno
Renmin Ribao, 23 Jan 1965: Indonesia seethes with revolutionary fervour; Aidit at Gerwani CC plenum
Renmin Ribao p. 3 (23 Jan 1965). The excerpt says D.N. Aidit spoke on 19 January at the closing of the Fourth Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Indonesian Women's Movement Association (Gerwani), saying Indonesia's political life was entering a period of clarification. Surrounding headlines concern Sukarno
Neues Deutschland, 4 Feb 1965, p. 2: Relations with Indonesia deepened
Neues Deutschland, 4 February 1965, p. 2: report on the Volkskammer session at which President Johannes Dieckmann reported on the delegation's 30 Nov–14 Dec 1964 trip to Indonesia. Quoting his report: on the penultimate day the delegation held talks 'with the leadership of Gerwani, the women's organisation of the Commu
Sukarno chairs KOTI; organisations hail death of Kahar Muzakkar (snippet)
Snippet-only Renmin Ribao extract (8 Feb 1965, p. 4): after KOTI met under Sukarno, parties and organisations, including Gerwani, are said to hail the killing of Darul Islam rebel leader Kahar Muzakkar in South Sulawesi. Truncated; full text is GA-01960.
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.
Reds, pressing reforms, win wide peasant support in Java (New York Times, 27 March 1965)
New York Times, 27 March 1965, p.55, Neil Sheehan from Klaten, Central Java: on how the PKI and affiliates win peasant support through land-reform agitation and practical projects. Mrs. Sukarni, chair of the Klaten district women's organisation (Gerwani) and district committee member, says Gerwani works to remove restr
Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 24 April 1965: Aidit and Indonesian communism - on the springboard to power
Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 24 April 1965, long analytical article 'Aidit and Indonesian Communism: on the springboard to power'. It reviews the Indonesian crisis, PKI history from 1920 through Madiun 1948, Aidit's rise and biography. Gerwani appears once, as a PKI front organisation with 1.5 million members, alongside SOBSI
Communists against the 'Murba party'
Short ANP wire item in Amigoe di Curaçao, 20 May 1965: Gerwani urges President Sukarno to ban the Murba party for good, calling it 'anti-Sukarno, anti-communist and anti-Nasakom'. Murba had been provisionally banned in January 1965. Shows Gerwani as a PKI-aligned political voice in the Nasakom polarisation.
D.N. Aidit, 'Step up the revolutionary offensive on all fronts': political report to PKI plenum
Long Xinhua summary in Renmin Ribao (12 June 1965, p. 3) of D.N. Aidit's political report to the enlarged PKI Central Committee plenum, 'Step up the revolutionary offensive on all fronts': Nasakom, bureaucratic capitalists, takeovers of US firms, the Murba/BPS ban, Vietnam, the UN exit, Khrushchev's fall; PKI over 3 mi
PKI demands expulsion of US ambassador (Gerwani demand, Berita Harian, 1965)
Berita Harian, 26 July 1965, p. 3: the PKI renews its demand that Sukarno cancel acceptance of new US ambassador Marshall Green; the demand, issued through its women's organisation Gerwani, also asks Sukarno to break diplomatic relations with the United States. Clipping breaks off. Evidence of Gerwani's anti-American c
LBJ National Security File: Indonesia, Communists and Internal Politics (Oct-Nov 1965)
Compilation from the LBJ National Security File (ProQuest), Oct-Nov 1965: State Department memos, CIA intelligence memoranda and Indonesia Working Group situation reports on the 30 September Movement and army counter-moves. Gerwani appears only in passing: arrests of Gerwani and Pemuda Rakyat members (6 Oct), CIA claim
LBJ National Security File: Indonesian Military Coups, Oct-Nov 1965 (Airgram A-300 'The September 30 Affair')
Supplement to the LBJ National Security File (cables, Oct-Nov 1965), centred on the long Djakarta embassy airgram A-300 'The September 30 Affair' plus telegrams. A-300 repeats the Lubang Buaya account that the generals were 'taunted and humiliated' by Gerwani women before being killed, and says Gerwani members were pla
FBIS-monitored Jakarta radio text (5 Oct 1965) of the Nahdlatul Ulama executive board and affiliates' statement. It cites authorities' 'fact' that Pemuda Rakjat and Gerwani members were brought from afar to be trained at Lubang Buaya where the generals' bodies were found, and asks Sukarno to disband PKI, Pemuda Rakjat,
FRUS 1964-68 vol. XXVI, doc. 149: Intelligence memorandum, The Upheaval in Indonesia (6 October 1965)
FRUS 1964-68 vol. XXVI, doc. 149: CIA/OCI Intelligence Memorandum 'The Upheaval in Indonesia' (6 Oct 1965). Describes the 30 September Movement, Suharto's takeover and Sukarno's manoeuvres, and says GERWANI (the 'Communist women's front group') was reportedly involved. Quotes Suharto's 4 Oct statement that an area near
FBIS-monitored Jakarta radio item (7 Oct 1965): Gertasi, a Gasbiindo transport union and the Progressive Pioneer Youth called for dissolving PKI and its mass organisations. The transport union salutes ABRI for arresting 'members of the people's youth (Pemuda Rakjat) and the Indonesian Women's Movement (Gerwani), both s
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
FBIS item (7 Oct 1965, Jakarta radio): the Perti party's executive board denounces the 'gestapo-style' terror, backs NU and PSII demands that Sukarno dissolve the PKI and its affiliates, listing Pemuda Rakjat, Gerwani, SOBSI, CGMI, Lekra, and suspends three members, placing the party under Rusli Abdul Wahid. Another ea
Anger mounts against the PKI over the killings (Berita Harian, 1965)
Berita Harian, 7 October 1965, p. 1: Sukarno's first cabinet meeting after 30 September; Nahdlatul Ulama demands a PKI ban and claims rebels armed Pemuda Rakyat, Gerwani and SOBSI, and that Pemuda Rakyat and Gerwani members trained at 'Sarang Buaya' (Lubang Buaya). Also press and rally restrictions in Sumatra and an ar
Neues Deutschland, 7 Oct 1965, p. 7: Sukarno chaired the session
Neues Deutschland, 7 October 1965, p. 7: ADN/ND report 'Sukarno leitete Sitzung', quoting TASS on the Indonesian cabinet meeting at Bogor after the 30 September events. Sukarno urged calm; the newspaper 'Angkatan Bersendjata' published the demand of Nahdlatul Ulama and others that he ban the PKI, Pemuda Rakyat, the wom
Backgrounds of the rebellion in Djakarta (conclusion)
Algemeen Handelsblad (1965-10-09), concluding part of 'Backgrounds of the rebellion in Djakarta': surveys PKI under Aidit, PNI infiltration (including its women's movement), PKI campaign against village ulama, the banned BPS and the army's rising role under Nasution. Names S.K. Trimurti as wife of Sajuti Melik and chai
Mass arrests by Indonesian army: Communist offices burned (The Irish Times, 11 October 1965)
The Irish Times, 11 Oct 1965, p.66 (Reuter and AP): mass arrests of Communists in Jakarta (about 1,500 detained) after PKI headquarters were burned; Muslims and army organise processions demanding Aidit be hanged. Those arrested include Gerwani members, some alleged to have tortured the six generals, and a crowd of Mus
Mass arrests in Jakarta: anti-Communist drive (The Times, 11 October 1965)
The Times, 11 Oct 1965, p.9, whole page scan; only the first article, 'Mass arrests in Jakarta: anti-Communist drive', concerns Indonesia (other items cover Aden, Cuba, Bulgaria, etc.). It reports 1,500 detained, the burning of PKI headquarters, Muslim demands that Aidit be hanged, and that arrested Communists include
Country-wide hunt for Reds in Indonesia: weapons seized (The Times of India, 11 October 1965)
The Times of India, 11 Oct 1965, p.11 (Times of India News Service, Reuter, AFP): country-wide hunt for Communists and weapons seized; 1,500 reported detained; mobs raid Njoto's and Aidit's houses; Radio Jakarta urges people to report members of the PKI, its youth and women's wings. A Muslim crowd ransacked a suburban
Evening Post (Wellington), 11 Oct 1965, AAP-Reuter/AP/NZPA report: mass arrests of Communists in Jakarta (about 1,500 detained in a week, 2,000 in Java) and fears of a Communist counter-terror. A Muslim mob ransacked a suburban Gerwani office, destroying files and furniture. Saura Islam alleges Communist women tried to
Fears of a New Surge of Red Terror in Indonesia (Evening Post, 11 October 1965), headline clipping
Headline-only clipping 'Fears of a New Surge of Red Terror in Indonesia' from the Evening Post of 11 Oct 1965; no further text.
Fears of a New Surge of Red Terror in Indonesia (Evening Post, 11 October 1965), opening clipping
Opening clipping of the Evening Post article of 11 Oct 1965: mass arrests of Communists continued in Jakarta, with fears of a retaliatory terror campaign; unofficial estimates of 1,500 detained in a week and 2,000 captured in Java. Gerwani is not mentioned in this fragment.