FO 371/180320: Gilchrist Despatch of 8 October 1965 on the Coup and Counter-Coup
UK Foreign Office file FO 371/180320 (Oct-Nov 1965): Gilchrist's despatch no. 13 of 8 Oct 1965 on the coup and counter-coup, plus telegrams, NATO and Commonwealth reports and Chinese/Soviet/Hanoi reactions. The despatch lists GERWANI among 'chief suspects' (p. 11) and says members of PKI youth and women's groups took p
FO 371/180324: Attempted Coup against Sukarno [15] (Nov 1965)
UK Foreign Office file FO 371/180324 (1965), 'Attempted coup against Sukarno [15]': telegrams and letters from Djakarta, Washington and Peking, November 1965, plus appended US and Canadian reports. It records Sukarno's Heroes Day speech, Adam Malik's view of the Sukarno-generals stalemate and accounts of 30 September.
FO 371/180325: Attempted Coup against Sukarno [16] (1965-1966)
UK Foreign Office file FO 371/180325 (1965), 'Attempted coup against Sukarno [16]': letters and telegrams from Djakarta, NATO Paris, Washington and The Hague, late November 1965 to January 1966. It follows the regional bans of the PKI, Sukarno's Nasakom speeches, Aidit's fate and translated interrogations of Untung and
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
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.
FBIS-monitored VNA Domestic Service text (6 Apr 1965) on tens of thousands of Korean, Indonesian, Venezuelan, Indian and Japanese volunteers for South Vietnam. Key Indonesian item: on 4 April about 100 women volunteers led by Mrs Umi Sardjono, president of the Indonesian Women's Movement (Gerwani), went to the DRV Emba
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.
Aidit reviews ten thousand Pemuda Rakyat members (headline only)
Snippet-only entry (Renmin Ribao, 27 May 1965, p. 3) with headline only: Aidit reviews ten thousand Pemuda Rakyat members, followed by a demonstration of twenty thousand. Gerwani content is in the full text, GA-01970.
PKI 45th anniversary: Aidit reviews Pemuda Rakyat; armed women volunteers march
Xinhua report in Renmin Ribao (27 May 1965, p. 3) on events for the PKI's 45th anniversary: Aidit reviews 10,000 Pemuda Rakyat at Lapangan Banteng with a CPC delegation under Peng Zhen present. A fully armed contingent of women volunteers, made up of Gerwani leaders and women independence veterans, performs a military
Telegram 509, US Consulate Medan, June 1965
US Consulate Medan telegram 509, 7-8 June 1965: the military used Dwikora authority to overrule the governor over banning the newspaper Tjahaja, called a clear Army win. Pre-coup Army-PKI rivalry in North Sumatra; no Gerwani content.
Protest in Jakarta against high prices
Short ANP item in Het Vrije Volk (23 Sep 1965, p.9), one week before the coup attempt: thousands of Indonesian women demonstrated at the Ministry of Trade in Jakarta against rising prices of necessities, as reported by PKI paper Harian Rakjat. They demanded strong action against capitalists, bureaucrats, swindlers and
Short and small (women's price demonstration)
'Kort en klein' column, Twentsch Dagblad Tubantia (23 Sep 1965). One Indonesia item: thousands of women demonstrated before the trade ministry against high prices, per PKI paper Harian Rakjat, urging action against capitalists and bureaucrats. Organisers not named, Gerwani not mentioned. Other items unrelated.
Short and small (women's price demonstration, duplicate)
'Kort en klein' column, Twentsch Dagblad Tubantia (23 Sep 1965), duplicate of the previous item. Thousands of women demonstrated before the trade ministry against high prices, per Harian Rakjat, urging action against capitalists and bureaucrats. Organisers not named, Gerwani not mentioned.
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