The Observer, 16 Jan 1955, p.7, Rawle Knox, 'Djakarta Postpones the Evil Day': impressionistic report from Jakarta on a lively, disorderly capital, the Ali Sastroamidjojo government's dependence on Communist support, Sukarno's drift from impartiality, the delayed first election and anti-Dutch boycotts. A passing quote
New York Times, 16 June 1957, p.37, Special to the Times from Jakarta: Sukarno names the 45 members of the new National Council (Dewan Nasional), chaired by himself, with Roeslan Abdulgani as deputy chairman and secretary-general. About a quarter are described as Communists or sympathisers, including PKI member Sujono
Ons Noorden (27 Sep 1957) on the parliamentary debate after the national consultation conference. PKI MP Suharti Suwarto sharply criticised the revolutionary councils in Sumatra and Celebes for arresting local communist leaders, warning the conference decisions cannot work until they are freed. Other speakers urge Suka
Bintang Timur, 29 March 1958, p. 1. Among PRRI/Sumatra war news, SEATO and Khrushchev becoming Soviet premier, the page lists the members of a Dewan Nasional drafting committee (panitya perumus) on national vigilance against foreign intervention, with S.K. Trimurti named for the 'Wanita' functional group. No Gerwani co
Tages-Anzeiger analysis (11 July 1959, signed Th. v. R.) of Sukarno's return to the 1945 constitution and the army's rising power under Nasution. Lists PKI-linked mass organisations, giving Gerwani 75,000 members alongside SOBSI, Pemuda Rakyat, BTI, and notes PKI's 1957 vote.
CIA Current Intelligence Weekly Summary, 12 Nov 1959, a long multi-topic report; the Indonesia part (pp.23-27) assesses PKI strength (Aidit's claim of 1.5 million members, Java as base, army and Sukarno restrictions, Aidit's 1959 Moscow and Peking trip). It names GERWANI as the PKI's women's front, alongside Pemuda Rak
Article by Justus M. van der Kroef (Pacific Affairs, summer 1962) on the PKI's dilemmas under Guided Democracy: dependence on Sukarno, the July 1960 'Evaluation' clash with the army, and the party's use of mass fronts. Gerwani is named as the PKI's women's front: its organ was aggressive without censure in 1961, and in
LBJ Library National Security File, Indonesia (Sept 1964-Feb 1965): White House/State memoranda, Djakarta cables and CIA OCI reports on Sukarno's leftward drift, 'Sukarnoism' anti-PKI movement, succession, Malaysia and the USIS library crisis. Includes the CIA 'Sukarno and the Communists' report, listing Women's Front
CIA Office of Current Intelligence Special Report SC 00642/64A, 'Sukarno and the Communists' (23 Oct 1964, Secret; declassified 1975). Analyses Sukarno's mutual exploitation with the PKI and Aidit's strategy; lists PKI front membership claims, including Gerwani at almost two million, beside BTI, SOBSI, Pemuda Rakjat an
CIA Office of Current Intelligence report 'Sukarno and the Communists' (23 Oct 1964, ten pages), pre-coup assessment of the PKI-Sukarno relationship. Describes PKI growth to a claimed three million members and its fronts, including the Women's Front (GERWANI), 'almost two million'; also the cabinet, National Front, lan
Canberra Times, 31 Dec 1964, p. 1 (AAP-Reuter): two captured Indonesian soldiers claim Indonesia is forming a Malayan government and army in exile in Sumatra during Konfrontasi. Final paragraphs report about 500 housewives, led by Mrs Subandrio of the Indonesian Women's Congress, protesting prices in Jakarta. Gerwani n
De Volkskrant commentary (11 Oct 1965) warning that the hunt for communists could drive Aidit's followers to armed self-defence. It describes Muslim demonstrators wrecking Aidit's and Njoto's houses and then "the headquarters of the communist women's organisation Gerwani", and army occupation of PKI headquarters in Ace
Globe and Mail, 12 Oct 1965, p.8 (NYT/AP/Reuters wire): Sukarno returns to Jakarta and urges normal conditions two weeks after the 30 September coup; the army is cracking down on the PKI, with about 1,000 arrests. Malaysian radio reports a Muslim crowd sacked the Medan branch office of Gerwani, 'the Communist women's o
Headline-only clipping 'Armed Java Reds Flee to Hills to Escape Dragnet' from the Evening Post of 12 Oct 1965; the Gerwani passage is not in this fragment.
Opening clipping of the Evening Post article of 12 Oct 1965: tension in Central Java, where thousands of Communists, some armed, have fled into the hills from an Army dragnet. Gerwani is not mentioned in this fragment.
Closing clipping of the Evening Post article of 12 Oct 1965: Radio Malaysia says Army units in Sumatra are ordered to disarm and break up armed Communist groups, assisted by police; the Soviet leaders Brezhnev, Kosygin and Mikoyan warn Sukarno that blows against anti-imperialist forces are a gift to imperialism. Gerwan
Neue Zeit, 11 November 1965, p. 2: ADN/TASS item 'Kriegszustand aufgehoben'. Sukarno lifted the state of war in Jakarta imposed after the 'Movement of 30 September'; persecution of communists continues, with 346 party members arrested in Tangerang, 125 people 'including twelve women' in a Central Java town and 40 in Be
Neues Deutschland, 11 November 1965, p. 7. ADN dispatch from Djakarta under 'Sukarno kritisiert Presse': Sukarno lifts the state of war in the capital; Antara reports arrests of PKI members (346 in Tangerang, 125 people including twelve women in a Central Java town, 40 in Belawan); 102 parliamentarians removed; Sukarno
Peking Review Vol. 9 No. 18, 29 April 1966, a Chinese weekly. Besides Cultural Revolution and Afro-Asian Journalists' Association material, it carries Chinese protests against Indonesian anti-China outrages and a Renmin Ribao commentary, 'Right-Wing Reactionaries Plunge Indonesia into a Bloodbath' (p. 25), quoting New