Another demonstration against the PKI (women cheer Suharto)
Het Parool wire report (9 Nov 1965) under 'Women cheer Suharto': 100,000 anti-communist demonstrators in Jakarta demand a ban on the PKI and 'crushing' of the 30 September movement; the army searches a Chinese quarter. Thousands of women marched to National Front headquarters; Suharto thanked them for loyalty to the ar
Another demonstration against the PKI: women cheer Suharto
Het Rotterdamsch Parool report (9 Nov 1965, p.1) under 'Women cheer Suharto', same wire text as other Dutch papers: 100,000 anti-communist demonstrators in Jakarta demand banning the PKI; the army searches a Chinese quarter; thousands of women march to the National Front HQ, are addressed by Suharto and cheer him, repr
Indonesia: KOTI Overhaul Could Show Where Power Is (Canberra Times, 15 November 1965)
Canberra Times, 15 Nov 1965, p. 5 (AAP): Suharto says Sukarno's KOTI command will be overhauled; analysis of the Sukarno-Army power struggle and Subandrio's fate. Reports that 1,000 women marched on government offices backing the anti-Communist purge and presented a National Front resolution announcing suspension of Ge
Indonesia: KOTI Overhaul Could Show Where Power Is (Canberra Times, 15 November 1965), duplicate
Canberra Times, 15 Nov 1965, p. 5 (AAP): Suharto says Sukarno's KOTI command will be overhauled; analysis of the Sukarno-Army power struggle and Subandrio's fate. Reports that 1,000 women marched on government offices backing the anti-Communist purge and presented a National Front resolution announcing suspension of Ge
Coup atmosphere in Jakarta: Subandrio under arrest
Leeuwarder Courant, 18 March 1966, p. 1: report on Suharto's army placing Foreign Minister Subandrio, twelve other ministers and Saleh in 'protective custody' after the 11 March order, with tanks aimed at the Merdeka palace, Adam Malik made acting foreign minister, and student demonstrations. Suharto cites trial testim
Sukarno and Subandrio under guard: Indonesian army quietly completes grab for power
Nieuwsblad van het Noorden, 19 March 1966, p. 1: report on Suharto's 'quiet 12-hour coup' that purged Sukarno's cabinet and arrested 15 ministers including Subandrio. A photo caption says Indonesian women loudly cheered the new regime at a Jakarta mass meeting. Gerwani is not mentioned.
Vilification of Sukarno after loss of 'president for life' title
Commentary by C.H. Schaap in De Tijd (10 Sep 1966) on the campaign to vilify Sukarno after he lost the "president for life" title, including his private life and wives (Fatmawati, Hartini, Ratna Sari Dewi, Haryati). It says this is "a slap in the face for the Indonesian women's movement, which strives for monogamy"; Ge
Not the old Subandrio (The Scotsman, 29 October 1966)
The Scotsman, 29 Oct 1966, 'Not the old Subandrio': profile of Sukarno's former foreign minister, condemned to death by a military tribunal for treason and bearing 'heavy responsibility for the rise of the PKI'. It traces his career and notes he is a scapegoat the Suharto regime can blame while Sukarno is retained for
Sukarno Will Explain His Actions (Canberra Times, 6 January 1967)
Canberra Times, 6 Jan 1967, p. 1 (AAP): Sukarno promises a written account of his policies and role in the 1965 coup within a week; Cabinet Presidium plans debt-rescheduling teams; Indonesia to hold West Irian plebiscite in 1969. A brief item says Mrs Tanti Aidit, wife of the dead PKI chairman, captured last month, wil
Sukarno Will Explain His Actions (Canberra Times, 6 January 1967), duplicate
Canberra Times, 6 Jan 1967, p. 1 (AAP): Sukarno promises a written account of his policies and role in the 1965 coup within a week; Cabinet Presidium plans debt-rescheduling teams; Indonesia to hold West Irian plebiscite in 1969. A brief item says Mrs Tanti Aidit, wife of the dead PKI chairman, captured last month, wil
Communist leader in West Java captured near Bandung: Gerwani members arrested (Berita Harian, 1967)
Berita Harian, 11 July 1967, p. 3, Reuters: the army announces capture near Bandung of Yakob Margolang, who allegedly tried to form a new Communist party in West Java; several women believed to be members of Gerwani, 'the secret organisation of Communist women', were also arrested. Context: army warnings against pro-Su
Adam Malik visits colleague Luns
Tubantia profile (25 Oct 1967) of Adam Malik on his visit to The Hague to meet Luns: Dutch plea for clemency for Subandrio, New Guinea, credit needs, his role against Sukarno. Notes that in 1965 Mrs Subandrio led a women's demonstration against Malik, then trade minister. Gerwani not named; context for Subandrio's wife
A flood of rumours about the Sukarno affair
Trouw (7 Oct 1968), badly garbled OCR, on rumours of a 'Sukarno affair': interrogation of Sukarno's household, an army officer's claim that communists are trying to regain power, and a mention of an investigation concerning communist Gerwani, whose connection to Sukarno is unclear. Writer warns rumours are used to elim
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
Megalomania: retrospective on Sukarno after his death
De Tijd retrospective on Sukarno's megalomania (22 Jun 1970, after his death): his second marriage to Hartini in 1954 provoked opposition from the monogamy-minded women's movement, then the 1965 coup, Suharto's rise, the March 1966 transfer of powers and the PKI ban. Gerwani is not named.
Megalomania: retrospective on Sukarno after his death (second copy)
De Tijd retrospective on Sukarno's megalomania (22 Jun 1970, after his death): his second marriage to Hartini in 1954 provoked opposition from the monogamy-minded women's movement, then the 1965 coup, Suharto's rise, the March 1966 transfer of powers and the PKI ban. Gerwani is not named. Duplicate of GA-00735.
The revolution passes Indonesia by: interview with Ernst Utrecht
Second half of a De Volkskrant interview (29 Aug 1970) with Prof. Ernst Utrecht on his book on Indonesia ahead of Suharto's Dutch visit. Utrecht says the Jakarta branches of Gerwani and Pemuda Rakyat "wanted to take part and did take part" in the 1965 coup, that the PKI leadership said these were independent organisati
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
Dutch Diary, Thursday 13 Sept. (Willem Oltmans)
Willem Oltmans's 'Hollands Dagboek' in NRC Handelsblad (22 Sep 1973), entries 13-20 Sept. Covers his New Guinea/Luns campaign, Hatta, Pertamina corruption, Chile 1973 compared to Indonesia 1965 mass murder, and Nasution's letters about Aidit shared by Dewi Sukarno. Lists imprisoned Indonesian writers and journalists. N
A political fighter: profile of Ratna Sari Dewi Sukarno in Paris
De Tijd profile by Anton Koene (8 Feb 1974) of Ratna Sari Dewi Sukarno in Paris, who is serialising her memoirs to clear Sukarno's name over the 1 Oct 1965 coup, rebuts the Widjanarko report in Dake's book and criticises Suharto's regime. Gerwani and Gerwani women are not mentioned.
South China Morning Post, 26 Nov 1975, p.22, Kenneth Whiting (AP), 'Indonesia: a fresh start': ten-year retrospective on the 1965 coup and 'bloodbath' (about 300,000 killed, 100,000 jailed, 20,000 political detainees still held), with oil-led economic recovery. A short passage says women were killed if believed to be p
Remaining 29,000 follow: Indonesia releases 2,650 communists after 11 years
Limburgsch Dagblad, 2 December 1976, p. 1: Jakarta announces release of 2,650 communist prisoners held since 1965 without trial, with a promise to free the remaining 29,000 within three years. At a ceremony 150 swore loyalty to Suharto; among them were students, former civil servants and members of the banned women's m
Jakarta releases 2,650 political prisoners
Nieuwsblad van het Noorden, 2 December 1976: Reuter report that Indonesia released 2,650 prisoners held since 1965 without trial. At a ceremony 150 swore loyalty to Suharto, among them students, former civil servants and members of the banned leftist women's movement Gerwani; 29,000 remain, with a promise to free them
Indonesia releases prisoners
Nederlands Dagblad, 3 December 1976, p. 3: Jakarta announces release of 2,650 communist prisoners held since 1965 without trial, repeats the promise to free the remaining 29,000 within three years. At a ceremony 150 swore loyalty to Suharto; they included students, ex-civil servants and members of the banned women's mo
After 12 Years Freedom (Post-Courier, 19 January 1978)
Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, 19 January 1978, p. 5, feature by George Oliver on the release of 10,000 political prisoners held since the 1965 coup, with PKI members forced to swear loyalty. It describes the Category A, B, C system, the 1965-66 massacres (estimates up to half a million killed), Amnesty International's
After 12 Years Freedom (Post-Courier, 19 January 1978), clean OCR
Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, 19 January 1978, p. 5, clean OCR of George Oliver's feature on the release of 10,000 political prisoners held since the 1965 coup (same article as GA-00267). It covers the official and alternative accounts of 30 September, killings of perhaps half a million, half to three-quarters of a mi
Prisoners of Conscience (The Observer, 12 August 1979)
The Observer, 12 Aug 1979, p.8, 'Prisoners of Conscience': Amnesty International notes up to 20,000 untried political prisoners remain in Indonesia and takes up four women active in Gerwani, arrested 1966 and tried nine years later: Sulami (20 years), Sudjinah (18), Sri Ambar Rukmiati and Suharti Harsono (15 each). It
Letters: Suharto's murderous fear of old, loyal communists
Reader's letter in NRC Handelsblad (6 Jul 1985) answering a plea for clemency for old communists. The writer asserts the Lubang Buaya generals' murder was 'historically' the PKI's work, 'assisted by the communist women of the Gerwani', cites televised exhumation, and attacks Pramoedya's Nobel candidacy. Repeats the New
The Guardian (Weekend Guardian), 8 Sept 1990, p.A4, John Gittings, 'The black hole of Bali': long feature on the 1965 massacre (250,000 or more killed), how the killings were organised by the army under Suharto, the Aidit/PKI role, the US list of communists (Martens/Kadane) and US encouragement, survivors ('Tapols') an