CIA report, 6 April 1950: Ho Chi Minh's Indonesian agents
CIA report, 6 April 1950, claiming Aidit and Trimurti visited Ho Chi Minh and would return as his 'agents' to build a people's army in Indonesia. Almost certainly unreliable but links future Gerwis founder S.K. Trimurti to alleged transnational conspiracy.
Razzia Victims Committee (Sulami) meets PM Wilopo on East Java detainees (Harian Rakjat, 21 August 1952)
Harian Rakjat, 21 Aug 1952, p. 1: the central Razzia Victims Committee and its East Java branch, including Sulami, Suwarinah and Ny. Taha (central: Ny. Suprapto), met PM Wilopo and the defence minister about the detainees of the August 1952 razzia (Tanggerang camp, exile to Malang). Both ministers denied knowing of any
Arrest of Sunito and Go Gien Tjwan: countermeasures demanded in Indonesia
De Waarheid, 9 Dec 1952, p. 4: Jakarta dispatch on reactions to the Dutch arrest of Indonesians Sunito and Go Gien Tjwan in Amsterdam and action against PKI representatives Aidit and Njoto. The PKI Central Committee calls it arbitrary and urges reprisals; Gerwis also asked the government for counter-measures. A Dutch p
Joys and sorrows of Indonesia in the past year
Indische Courant voor Nederland, 7 Jan 1953, p. 3: year-in-review chronology for 1952 (selected entries translated). Mentions the August 1951 raids, the 17 October 1952 affair, release of East Java arrestees on 30 Oct, a goodwill mission to Kahar Muzakkar under Mrs Salawati (8 Apr), and Aidit and Njoto refused entry to
Documents of the Fifth National Congress of the PKI (Bintang Merah IX, 2-3), 1954
Special issue of Bintang Merah with documents of the PKI Fifth National Congress (Jakarta, 16–20 March 1954): congress report, greetings from sixteen foreign communist parties, and a 400,000-strong closing rally.
Harian Rakjat, 24 May 1954, p. 1
Harian Rakjat, 24 Mei 1954, hlm. 1. Front page with D.N. Aidit's 34th-anniversary message setting two tasks of the Fifth Congress: a national united front and party building; women are not mentioned.
Agrarian affairs again: PKI central committee plenum chaired by Aidit
De Vrije Pers report (19 Nov 1954), citing Pedoman, on the PKI central committee plenum (8-10 Nov) chaired by Aidit and attended by Pemuda Rakyat, SOBSI, Gerwani and Perbepsi representatives. It decided to seek a place in the Ali cabinet, delegating MPs Sakirman and Mrs. Mudigdo, and not to make the agrarian portfolio
Creators of the proclamation deliberate (1945 generation gathering)
De Nieuwsgier report (13 Dec 1954, p. 1) on a gathering of "creators of the proclamation" generation of 1945 at the Jakarta mayor's house, attended by D.N. Aidit, Isa Anshary, Mrs. Trimurti (S.K. Trimurti) and others, discussing the external situation. Trimurti appears only in the attendee list.
Elections with symbols: preparations for Indonesia's first general election
De Waarheid, 22 Jan 1955, p. 5: feature on preparations for Indonesia's first general elections, with voter registration, party symbols for illiterate voters, the PKI-and-independents list and attacks on it from Masjumi and PSI. It names independent candidates, among them Salawati (Daud), described as a guerrilla leade
Editorial board of the magazine Wanita Indonesia (Harian Rakjat, 26 February 1955)
Harian Rakjat, 26 Feb 1955: page 3 carries an advertisement and masthead for the monthly women's magazine 'Wanita Indonesia' (PKI-linked): editor Nn. Siti Asiyah, contributors including S.K. Trimurti, Ruslati, Sumbiyah and Kartinah (administration, CC PKI Jakarta), Maasje Siwi in Berlin as foreign correspondent. Page 1
CIA intelligence survey of the PKI's history, structure and front organisations, May 1955, before the September 1955 elections. Section III.E (report pp. 49-50) profiles Gerwani: founded 1950 as Gerwis, renamed Gerwani at the March 1954 congress, 25,000+ members, S.K. Trimurti general chairman and Umi Sardjono chairman
Harian Rakjat, 26 May 1955, p. 1
Harian Rakjat, 26 Mei 1955, hlm. 1. Front page reporting the PKI's 35th-anniversary celebrations in Jakarta; Aidit's speech and greetings including from 'wanita' at home.
Harian Rakjat, 26 May 1955, p. 3
Harian Rakjat, 26 Mei 1955, hlm. 3. First instalment of D.N. Aidit's address 'Lahirnja PKI dan perkembangannja' at the PKI's 35th-anniversary reception; women and Gerwani have no place in the party's official history here.
Harian Rakjat, 27 May 1955, p. 3
Harian Rakjat, 27 Mei 1955, hlm. 3. Concluding instalment of Aidit's 35th-anniversary address: 1945–48 errors, Madiun 1948 as a Hatta provocation, the 1951 Sukiman raids and the post-1951 line of national united front and party building.
Theft by Dutch imperialism: one cow per farmer per year (Aidit speaks in Bandung)
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad (1955-05-31, p. 2): PKI election rally at Tegallega, Bandung, with tens of thousands present. Candidates Eddy Abdurrachman and Mrs. Suwarti open, she stressing women's interests; D.N. Aidit criticises post-RTC governments and the Madiun executions of Musso and Sjarifuddin without trial. Archive
Other speakers at the PKI meeting: Umi Sardjono explains choosing PKI
De Nieuwsgier report (31 May 1955, p. 2) on a PKI anniversary/election rally in Jakarta where Aidit spoke. Mrs. Oemi Sartono (Umi Sardjono), described as a non-party Gerwani member, said she chose the PKI because it is a choice of being for or against the people; non-party candidate Astrawinata also spoke.
PKI is 35 years old
Java-Bode, 31 May 1955, p. 2: report on the PKI's 35th anniversary rally on Merdeka Square. D.N. Aidit urged the Dutch to leave and stressed Muslim-Nationalist-Communist unity; Umi Sardjono, Gerwani general chair, spoke sharply against surviving feudalism and large landownership; judge Astrawinata explained his PKI can
The Ali cabinet: PKI mass meeting with Umi Sardjono
De Locomotief, 1 June 1955: report of a PKI mass meeting in Jakarta where Aidit backs the Ali cabinet and urges peaceful election campaigning. Mrs Umi Sardjono, introduced as a non-party Gerwani member and PKI candidate, says she chose the PKI because it is a choice of being for or against the people. Date: the party's
The PKI is 35 years old
Indische Courant voor Nederland, 8 Jun 1955, p. 2: report on the PKI's 35th-anniversary rally at Merdeka Square, Jakarta. Umi Sardjono, general chairwoman of Gerwani, attacks feudalism and large landownership; Aidit speaks on Muslim-nationalist-communist unity and Dutch profits, with slogans against Dutch and landlords
Harian Rakjat, 5 September 1955, p. 4
Harian Rakjat, 5 September 1955, hlm. 4. Advertisement page with a Jajasan Pembaruan offer to sell PKI literature at the 'Pesta Rakjat' and a list of 31 titles; no Gerwani item.
Grand PKI election campaign: Aidit speaks to 700,000 in Yogyakarta
De Waarheid, 21 Sep 1955, p. 5: air-mail report on the PKI's 1955 election campaign: Aidit speaking to 700,000 in Yogyakarta, 550,000 in Semarang, Njoto and Lukman elsewhere. In Jakarta, Umi Sardjono, chair of Gerwani, explained why she stands as a non-party candidate on the PKI list, saying its programme matches the d
P.K.I. (list of PKI candidates)
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad (1956-03-02, p. 2): list of PKI candidates by electoral district across East Java, Central Java, West Java, Greater Jakarta and Sumatra. It includes women: Umi Sardjono (Mrs. Sukisman), Suharti Suwarto (Solo), Mudigdio (Siti Aminah Mochsjam, Jakarta), Sundari Abdulrachman (Semarang), Salawati D
PKI has one million members: Aidit interview with Ogonyok
De Waarheid, 23 Mar 1956, p. 2: Moscow dispatch that the PKI has one million members, per Aidit in an interview with the Soviet magazine Ogonyok; SOBSI has 2.6 million, the peasant union BTI 2.5 million, Pemuda Rakjat 700,000 and Gerwani about 500,000. Useful as a contemporary membership figure for Gerwani.
Pravda, 5 Sep 1956: President Sukarno's visit to the Soviet Union
Pravda, 5 Sept 1956 (No. 249), partial issue (pp. 1, 4, 6, machine-translated): TASS and correspondents' reports on President Sukarno's tour of the USSR (Sverdlovsk, Tashkent) and Indonesian reactions. On p. 6 O. Chechetkina quotes Darmini, 'one of the leaders of the mass women's organization Gerwani', hailing the visi
Pravda, 5 Sep 1956: Gerwani leader on Sukarno's visit to the USSR (excerpt)
Keyword-hit excerpt of Pravda, No. 249, 5 Sept 1956, report by correspondent O. Chechetkina (Jakarta, 4 Sept) on Indonesian reactions to President Sukarno's visit to the USSR. D. N. Aidit and Darmini, 'one of the leaders of the mass women's organization Gerwani', hail it as the first visit of Indonesia's president to t
Peace council and PKI Konstituante faction: Setiati Surasto, Suwarti (Harian Rakjat, 18 February 1957)
Harian Rakjat, 18 Feb 1957, p. 3: mixed news page on Sukarno's Konsepsi and Middle East/Suez. Names Ny. Setiati Surasto and Suwarti in the PKI faction list of a 13-member Konstituante committee (with Aidit, Nyoto, Munir), and an Indian peace-council statement (Kitchlew, Rameshwari Nehru). Both are Gerwis/Gerwani figure
'The fathers are not pure': Mrs Fatmawati Sukarno: 'Let me form a cabinet'
Dagblad voor Noord-Limburg, 30 Mar 1957: Fatmawati, Sukarno's first wife, who left the palace after his 1954 marriage to Hartini 'to the great indignation of the Indonesian women's organisation', proposes in an open letter that a non-party woman form the new cabinet ('the fathers are not pure'). Page also covers anti-c
Masyumi leader warns against 'playing with fire'
Winschoter Courant (30 Mar 1957), news round-up. Relevant: Fatmawati Sukarno writes asking why a woman cannot form a cabinet, with a note that women's organisations took Sukarno's second marriage badly. Also Masyumi's Isa Anshary on cabinet formation, searches of Jakarta banks, and Aidit threatening a general strike un
Documents of the Sixth Plenum of the PKI Central Committee, 1958
English edition (Jajasan Pembaruan, 1958) of the PKI CC Sixth Plenum documents (Jakarta, 31 Mar–3 Apr 1958), chiefly D.N. Aidit's report 'The New Phase', delivered during suppression of the PRRI/Permesta rebellion. Background on PKI strategy.
Documents of the Sixth National Congress of the PKI (Vols I-II), 1959
Compiled text of PKI Sixth National Congress documents (Jakarta, 7–14 Sept 1959) from Bintang Merah: Aidit's opening speech, the CC general report 'Untuk Demokrasi dan Kabinet Gotong Royong', and other speeches and reports.