Angkatan Bersendjata, 24 August 1968
Angkatan Bersendjata, 24 Agustus 1968. Part XIII of the 'Blitar Selatan' serial tells the story of Sri Liestyowati (Lies) Sukatno, a 'PKI/Gerwani figure' and wife of a Pemuda Rakyat leader, with gendered and sensational claims about her beauty and demands in the forest.
Berita Yudha, 27 August 1968
Berita Yudha, 27 Agustus 1968. First instalment of 'Mengungkap petualangan P.K.I. Gaja Baru di Djatim' with a photo captioned 'Gerwani members of East Java hit by Operasi Trisula', naming Nj. Kartini as East Java Gerwani chair.
Berita Harian, 7 Oct 1968: Hartini not detained
Berita Harian, 7 Oct 1968 (Reuters, lead only). Presidential secretary Col. Sutikno denied that Hartini, Sukarno's second wife, had been detained or recently questioned; the last interrogation was about 18 months earlier. Matched on Gerwani though lead does not mention it.
Eastern Sun, 7 Oct 1968: Hartini not detained, says Sutikno
Eastern Sun, 7 Oct 1968 (Reuters, lead only). Presidential secretary Col. Sutikno denied that Hartini, Sukarno's second wife, was detained or recently interrogated; the last questioning was about 18 months earlier. Matched on Gerwani though the lead does not mention it.
Mrs Hartini not under arrest
Amigoe di Curaçao, 9 Oct 1968: presidential secretary Colonel Soetikno denies that Hartini, Sukarno's second wife, has been imprisoned or recently questioned; she was last interrogated a year and a half earlier on suspicion of membership of the banned Gerwani.
Sukarno's role: an exile at home (New York Times, 27 October 1968)
New York Times, 27 Oct 1968, p.5, Terence Smith from Jakarta: Sukarno lives under house arrest at Bogor and was interrogated in Sept-Oct 1968 about clandestine contacts with former associates, after Communists captured in the Blitar operations (2,000 killed or captured, including PKI chairman Oloan Hutapea) implicated
Indonesia and the Wertheim Committee: Nijmegen congress and Dutch aid to Suharto
Long De Tijd opinion piece by Arie Kuiper (24 Apr 1969) on the Nijmegen student congress and the Wertheim Indonesia Committee's call to halt Dutch aid to Suharto's regime. It acknowledges hundreds of thousands killed and many political prisoners but blames Muslim hatred and defends Suharto; it repeats that generals wer
Angkatan Bersendjata, 8 May 1969
Angkatan Bersendjata, 8 Mei 1969. Antara: a military court in Tanjungkarang sentenced warrant officer Fauzi Totong, Natar (Lampung) officer, to seven years for rape and adultery against detained Gerwani women; evidence of sexual violence against detainees.
Dutch Senate written questions 1969-1970, no. 70: Political prisoners in Indonesia
Dutch Senate written questions (19 May 1970) by Senator Van Hulst on Indonesian political prisoners, with PM De Jong's answer of 10 June 1970. Context on Dutch parliamentary attention to post-1965 detainees.
The forgotten massacre: 'More killed than in Vietnam so far'
Tribune (Sydney), 21 Jan 1970, p. 8: extract from Hong Kong's Eastern Horizon of letters by an Indonesian writing as 'Barbro Karabuda' on the 1965-66 massacre and prisoners (official 86,000 detainees; torture; Army extortion). The writer finds Tanti Aidit in Bukit Duri women's prison in Jakarta with Aidit's mother-in-l
The forgotten massacre: 'More killed than in Vietnam so far'
Tribune (Sydney), 21 Jan 1970, p. 8: extract from Hong Kong's Eastern Horizon of letters by an Indonesian writing as 'Barbro Karabuda' on the 1965-66 massacre and prisoners (official 86,000 detainees; torture; Army extortion). The writer finds Tanti Aidit in Bukit Duri women's prison in Jakarta with Aidit's mother-in-l
Indonesian Girl's Ordeal: Victim of 'Classic Conspiracy Case' (Canberra Times, 2 January 1971)
Canberra Times, 2 Jan 1971, p. 8 (Hugh Mabbett): reports the Sum Kuning case in Yogyakarta, where a 17-year-old egg seller was raped, then tortured by police and charged with a false report. Police tried to tar her with an accusation that in 1965, aged about 12, she was a Gerwani member; the court exposed the fabricati
Indonesian Girl's Ordeal: Victim of 'Classic Conspiracy Case' (Canberra Times, 2 January 1971), duplicate
Canberra Times, 2 Jan 1971, p. 8 (Hugh Mabbett): reports the Sum Kuning case in Yogyakarta, where a 17-year-old egg seller was raped, then tortured by police and charged with a false report. Police tried to tar her with an accusation that in 1965, aged about 12, she was a Gerwani member; the court exposed the fabricati
Tempo, 1972: The political prisoner problem
Tempo article (online archive, dated 1972) on the political prisoner (tapol) problem: Archbishop Leo Soekoto urges society to help, Amnesty and the Red Cross press Jakarta, Buru resettlement of about 5,000 Group B prisoners is presented as the best option, and officials still see ex-PKI as a threat. No Gerwani content.
ANP news report, 21 June 1972 (Women to Buru)
ANP radio bulletin, 21 June 1972: 700 Indonesian women and their children will join husbands detained on Buru, where 10,000 alleged communist men have been held for three years. Suharto allowed family reunification, limited to one child per woman; more groups to follow. Gerwani not named but relevant to the fate of pol
FCO 24/1701: Political Detainees in Indonesia (1973)
UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office file FCO 24/1701 (1973), a TNA volume on political detainees in Indonesia. It holds briefing notes, minutes and parliamentary questions on the 1973 State Visit, the Budiardjo case and Amnesty International's campaign, plus a bound copy of Amnesty's 1973 'Indonesia Special'. In that re
Not a bit of butter: press freedom and imprisoned writers in Indonesia
Fragment of a De Volkskrant piece (2 Apr 1973) on press freedom in Suharto's Indonesia, listing imprisoned writers and journalists (Bandaharo Harahap, Oei Hay Djun, Mrs. Sugiarti Siswadi, Mrs. Rusijati, Mrs. Lies Sukatno and others) and rebutting H.B. Jassin's claim of press freedom. Gerwani is not named.
Ten torture cases to be used by Amnesty (The Guardian, 11 October 1973)
The Guardian, 11 Oct 1973, p.8, Peter Cole: Amnesty International launches Prisoner of Conscience Week with ten emblematic torture cases. One is an Indonesian woman, Mrs Sri Ambar[...] (surname cut off in OCR), head of the women's department of the SOBSI trade union federation, who after arrest in 1966 was stripped nak
Swiss press, 12 Oct 1973: Amnesty torture campaign, Sri Ambar hung by her wrists
Swiss Thurgauer Zeitung, 12 October 1973, a dpa wire report on Amnesty International's 'Week of the Political Prisoner' campaign against torture, naming ten torture victims. The Indonesian Sri Ambar (Sri Ambar Rukmiati per the sweep log) is said to have been beaten stripped and hung naked by her wrists a whole night. H
Swiss press, 12 Oct 1973: Amnesty torture campaign, Sri Ambar hung by her wrists
Swiss newspaper page (Walliser Bote, 12 Oct 1973) of agency news, mostly German Ostpolitik and Swiss matters. A short item on Amnesty International's anti-torture campaign says that the Indonesian woman Sri Ambar was beaten naked and hung by her wrists for a whole night; the catalogue identifies her as Sri Ambar Rukmia
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
TAPOL Bulletin No. 3, Jan 1974: case notes on Mrs Siti Mudigdio, Member of Parliament
TAPOL Bulletin No. 3 (January 1974) of the British Campaign for the Release of Indonesian Political Prisoners, with campaign news, prison conditions and torture reports. Its 'Case Notes' profile Mrs Siti Mudigdio, a Communist MP and vice-chair of Gerwani, once also a WIDF vice-chair, whose husband was killed in 1948. O
TAPOL Bulletin no. 5, June 1974 (London campaign for Indonesian political prisoners). Covers mass transfers of tapols to Central Java workcamps (Nusakambangan, Cilacap), British and Australian policy, IGGI aid, press bans and the January 1974 Malari aftermath. A short item, 'Ex-Gerwani Members Also in Trouble' (p.5), r
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 State Department cable, 15 Aug 1974: congressional inquiry on the status of Dr Sutanti Aidit
Declassified US State Department cable (15 August 1974, Kissinger to Embassy Jakarta) relaying a Congressional inquiry. Senator Hubert Humphrey has forwarded a constituent's letter asking the status of Dr Sutanti Aidit, 'apparently imprisoned since 1967'; the embassy is asked for details by 18 August. The same cable as
US State Department cable, 15 Aug 1974: congressional inquiry on the status of Dr Sutanti Aidit
Declassified US State Department cable (15 August 1974, Kissinger to Embassy Jakarta) relaying a Congressional inquiry. Senator Hubert Humphrey has forwarded a constituent's letter asking the status of Dr Sutanti Aidit, 'apparently imprisoned since 1967'; the embassy is asked for details by 18 August. The same cable as
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