New demonstrations in West Java? Delegation presents open letter to Sukarno
Aneta report in De Vrije Pers (16 Jul 1953) that a delegation of parties and groups (PPDI, Partai Buruh, PNI, PKI, Gerwis, Permai) which demonstrated in Bandung met Sukarno to present an open letter urging a decree declaring Darul Islam bands terrorists to be destroyed. The Badan Kontak Nasional demanded a progressive
New demonstrations in prospect: open letter to Sukarno after Bandung rally
De Nieuwsgier, 17 July 1953 (PIA): a delegation from the PPDI, Partai Buruh, PNI, PKI, PRIM, Gerwis and Permai, whose parties held a large Bandung demonstration, presents Sukarno with an open letter asking him to decree Darul Islam and other bands terrorists to be exterminated. Sukarno agrees personally but says cabine
Delegation of Bandung demonstrators to the president
Het Nieuwsblad voor Sumatra (17 Jul 1953, p.2): a delegation of PPDI, Partai Buruh, PNI, PKI, PRIM, Gerwis and Permai, after a large Bandung demonstration, met Sukarno to present an open letter asking for a decree declaring DI and other bands enemies of the state to be eradicated by force. Sukarno agreed personally but
Marriage Stir in Indonesia (Sydney Morning Herald, 21 September 1954)
Sydney Morning Herald, 21 Sep 1954, p. 1 (AAP-Reuter): a deputation from 30 Indonesian women's organisations, headed by Mrs Katowijono of Perwani, protested to Sukarno over his marriage to a second wife, Mrs Suwondo, without the first wife's consent. Press debate; women leaders say it dealt the women's movement a bad b
Women's delegation at the palace: uproar over Sukarno's new marriage
Leeuwarder Courant, 21 September 1954, p. 3: Dutch roundup of the uproar over Sukarno's marriage to Hartini. A four-woman delegation led by Perwari chair Mrs Kartowijono visited the palace; Indonesian, Chinese and Malayan-region papers are quoted, some warning that the fuss helps the PKI, Indonesia Raya calling it a bl
Uproar over Sukarno's marriage not yet calmed: women's delegation received by the president
Provinciale Drentsche en Asser Courant (21 Sep 1954): uproar over Sukarno's marriage to Mrs Suwondo (Hartini). A four-woman delegation led by Perwari chair Mrs Kartowijono spent an hour at the palace. Indonesian papers divide; Keng Po fears PKI advantage, Indonesia Raya calls the marriage 'a great blow to the women's m
Sukarno's second marriage: Indonesian press deplores president's decision
Provinciale Overijsselsche en Zwolsche Courant (21 Sep 1954) survey of Indonesian press reaction to Sukarno's second marriage (to Mrs Suwondo): attacks on the 'palace clique', Keng Po's fear it will favour the PKI, Suara Rakyat and Pikiran Rakyat lamenting a presidential crisis. A Perwari-led women's delegation visited
Gerwani member Sansia arrested during Dulles visit to Jakarta (Kankakee Daily Journal, 12 March 1956)
Full 20-page issue of the Kankakee Daily Journal (Illinois), 12 March 1956. Front-page AP/UP report on US Secretary of State Dulles's visit to Jakarta (talks with Sukarno) says police arrested a woman named Sansia, who said she was a member of Gerwani, 'a leftist women's organization founded in 1954', over a banner pro
America offers Jakarta economic aid - Dulles in Indonesia
Arnhemsche Courant, 13 Mar 1956 (UP-Reuters): John Foster Dulles visits Sukarno in Jakarta and informally offers economic aid. A young woman of Gerwani among about two dozen protesters shouting 'Abolish SEATO' threw a piece of paper at his car and was detained for questioning.
Economic aid offered to Indonesia (Dulles in Jakarta)
Nieuwe Tilburgsche Courant, 13 March 1956: report on US Secretary of State Dulles's visit to Jakarta, where about two dozen demonstrators shouted 'Abolish SEATO' and a young woman of the left-leaning Gerwani threw a paper at his car and was detained for questioning. Dulles also met Sukarno, discussed New Guinea and off
High Commissioner absent at Dulles's arrival
Nieuwsblad van het Zuiden, 13 March 1956: report on Dulles's arrival in Jakarta (no Dutch high commissioner present), his statement, and an airport incident in which a young Gerwani woman threw a paper at his car and was detained. Also Sukarno's accepted invitation to the US and discussion of New Guinea and economic ai
Dulles in Indonesia: America offers Jakarta economic aid
Nijmeegsch Dagblad (13 Mar 1956) on John Foster Dulles's brief Jakarta visit and offer of economic aid. A young woman belonging to Gerwani, among about two dozen demonstrators shouting 'Abolish SEATO', threw a piece of paper at his car and was detained for questioning.
Communist crowd welcomes the president at Kemayoran airport
De Nieuwsgier report (19 Mar 1956) on Sukarno's return to Kemajoran airport, where PKI supporters, communist veterans and the "communist women's organisation Gerwani" demanded PKI inclusion in Ali Sastroamidjojo's cabinet. Sukarno urged calm; Gerwani appears only among the crowd with banners.
FBIS, 6 May 1958: Gerwani message to the UN Secretary General protesting American intervention
FBIS Daily Report (6 May 1958), HathiTrust scan p.430: Xinhua report that Indonesian mass organisations endorsed Premier Djuanda's denunciation of US intervention (PRRI crisis). Gerwani sent a message to the UN Secretary-General strongly protesting American intervention and urging the UN to warn the US and expel the Ch
Gerwani DPP protests to the US and Taiwan governments (Bintang Timur, 6 May 1958)
Bintang Timur, 6 May 1958, p. 1 (after APRI's recapture of West Sumatran towns). Reports the Gerwani DPP's protest to the US and Taiwan governments over their intervention supporting Permesta/PRRI, demanding they stop interference, respect Indonesia's sovereignty and Asia-Africa, and appealing to American women to pres
Page 564 of the US State Department's Monthly Indonesian Press Survey (nos. 33-44, 1958), summarising the 25 Sept 1958 Nusantara. Suwardiningsih, PKI East Java committee and Constituent Assembly member, entered Kalisosok prison, Surabaya, on 22 Sept to serve a month (cut from six) for remarks about Hatta in 1953; thous
Weekly Situation Reports, Indonesia, January 1960 (State Department Central Files)
Compilation of Djakarta embassy weekly political, economic and military situation telegrams to the State Department, January 1960. One item (21 Jan) reports labour union and women representatives picketing the Trade Minister's office over prices despite an army ban, with a newspaper identifying many women as members of
Protest at US support for Dutch seizure of West Irian; Gerwani letter to Robert Kennedy (Renmin Ribao, 17 February 1962)
Renmin Ribao, 17 Feb 1962, p. 3 (Xinhua, Jakarta): during US Attorney General Robert Kennedy's visit, Indonesian student bodies, trade unions and Gerwani protest US support for Dutch 'self-determination' on West Irian; Gerwani delivered a protest letter to the US embassy. Students shout 'Recover West Irian' at Gadjah M
Protest at US support for Dutch seizure of West Irian; Gerwani letter to Robert Kennedy (Renmin Ribao, 17 February 1962)
Renmin Ribao, 17 Feb 1962, p. 3 (Xinhua, Jakarta): during US Attorney General Robert Kennedy's visit, Indonesian student bodies, trade unions and Gerwani protest US support for Dutch 'self-determination' on West Irian; Gerwani delivered a protest letter to the US embassy. Students shout 'Recover West Irian' at Gadjah M
US Embassy Weekly Situation Telegrams, April 1962
Two US Embassy Djakarta weekly situation telegrams (JOINT WEEKA 14 and 15), 6 and 13 April 1962, on the West New Guinea dispute, PKI-Sukarno friction, Partindo, wage demands and military matters. Gerwani appears only once: it joined SOBSI and others in protesting the 'undemocratic' draft election bill providing for pop
After PKI protests: Sukarno withdraws election bills
De Waarheid, 8 May 1962, p. 2: report that Sukarno withdrew four bills on representative bodies (under which only one-third of the People's Congress, parliament and regional councils would be elected, the rest appointed) after protests first from the PKI, SOBSI, women's movement Gerwani and Pemuda Rakjat, later PNI and
Sukarno rejects demand for ban on Sukarnoism (South China Morning Post, 14 December 1964)
South China Morning Post, 14 Dec 1964, p.28 (Jakarta, 13 Dec; fragmentary OCR): Sukarno rejects a demand to ban 'Sukarnoism', and the item notes that Antara reported hundreds of members of Gerwani, 'the Communist women's organisation', demonstrated outside government offices in Medan the previous Wednesday with signs d
Claim of landing by Malaysians
Toowoomba Chronicle, 31 Dec 1964, p. 1 (AAP-Reuters): Sukarno claims Indonesian police arrested two groups of armed Malaysian infiltrators and says 'Malaysia does not exist'. Second item: about 500 housewives, including Mrs Subandrio, protest rising prices in Jakarta in a demonstration organised by the Indonesian Women
CIA, The Indonesian Situation, report 61, 14 November 1965
CIA 'Indonesian Situation' report no. 61, 14 November 1965: continuing anti-communist action and mass killings, Aidit's presumed whereabouts, and 1,000 women demonstrating in Jakarta for permanent dissolution of the PKI women's auxiliary. Records an early anti-Gerwani mobilisation.
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
FBIS-monitored ANTARA report (27 Oct 1965) on a demonstration by the Action Coordinating Body to Crush the 30 September Movement at the Foreign and Home Affairs departments, demanding dissolution of the PKI and sister organisations, purges of subdistricts and the Labour Ministry, and regretting China's attitude on the
LBJ National Security File: Indonesia, Communist Parties and Internal Politics, Nov 1965-May 1966
LBJ Library National Security File, Indonesia country file (vol. VI): US Embassy Jakarta cables and withdrawal sheets, mainly December 1965 to May 1966, on the army's moves against the PKI, Sukarno's speeches, student demonstrations and Suharto's rise. Gerwani appears twice. Embtel 2077 (17 Jan 1966) reports Bogor wall
Sukarno: my life is in danger
Trouw (3 Nov 1965), wire report: Sukarno tells ministers his life is in danger; demonstrations in Medan demand Subandrio's removal; a Muslim leader urges dissolving the PKI. Reports that Gerwani was expelled from the women's congress Kowani, chaired by Mrs Subandrio. Early evidence of Gerwani's isolation weeks after 30
Sukarno: my life is in danger
Twentsch Dagblad Tubantia (3 Nov 1965): Sukarno tells cabinet his life is in danger; 100,000 demonstrate at the Chinese consulate in Medan demanding Subandrio's dismissal; army purge in Central Java hampered by unreliable troops; Gerwani expelled from the women's congress Kowani, chaired by Mrs Subandrio; soldiers kill
Neue Berner Zeitung, 3 November 1965: Anti-communist demonstration in Sumatra; Kowani expels Gerwani
Neue Berner Zeitung, 3 Nov 1965 (UPI/AFP): anti-communist demonstration in Sumatra; Sukarno tells ministers to act 'bravely'; 100,000 demonstrators at the Chinese embassy in Medan; gold and silver mines nationalised; 57 PKI parliamentarians removed. Key for Gerwani research: the Indonesian women's congress (Kowani, OCR