Army-published record of the second Mahmillub trial, of Lt. Col. Untung, commander of the 30 September Movement: indictment, eleven sessions (23 Feb-7 Mar 1966), witnesses, pleas; printed in 10,000 copies. Primary source on the official case.
Berita Harian, 13 Feb 1966 (lead only). A woman lawyer, Dr Tien Sunito, described as a PKI member, was appointed to defend Lt Col Untung and Njoto, whose trials were due Monday. Not about Gerwani directly, but about women's roles in the 1965 trials.
Trouw (14 Feb 1966): on the eve of the Untung and Njono trials in Jakarta, Dutch-born lawyer Trees Soenito-Heyligers, herself a PKI member, takes on the defence after others refused. Profiles her and her husband as 'non-extreme' communists with Leiden training. No mention of Gerwani; context for the 1965-66 Mahmillub t
Canberra Times, 21 Feb 1966, p. 6 (AAP-Reuter): the military tribunal trying PKI leader Njono is due to give its verdict; prosecution demanded death. His government-appointed woman lawyer, Mrs Trees Sunito, had 32 hours to prepare. Foreign press barred; Chinese agency criticism of the trial noted. Gerwani not named.
Canberra Times, 21 Feb 1966, p. 6 (AAP-Reuter): the military tribunal trying PKI leader Njono is due to give its verdict; prosecution demanded death. His government-appointed woman lawyer, Mrs Trees Sunito, had 32 hours to prepare. Foreign press barred; Chinese agency criticism of the trial noted. Gerwani not named.
De Volkskrant report (24 Feb 1966) on unrest in Jakarta and the opening of Untung's trial. The prosecutor said his strike force of 5,000 included 2,000 communists, "men and women, of the organisations Gerwani, Pemuda Rakjat and the BTI". No claims of torture or sexual misconduct appear in this item.
Berita Yudha, 25 Februari 1966. Reports of the Mahmillub trial sessions of Lt. Col. Untung with two Gerwani items; Sukarno warns he will not be 'dongkel'-ed amid KAMI blockades.
Algemeen Dagblad (1966-02-25) on Lt.-Col. Untung's trial before the special military tribunal: he now admits that 'taking away' the six generals meant killing, denies PKI membership and claims he acted against a 'council of generals'. Notes Trees Sunito refused to defend him and sought clemency for the condemned Njono.
Gereformeerd Gezinsblad wire item (25 Feb 1966, p.1) on the opening of Colonel Untung's trial in Jakarta for treason and armed rebellion. The prosecutor claimed Untung gathered 5,000 people before the coup, including Tjakrabirawa troops, paratroops and 2,000 members of the PKI and its linked women's organisation Gerwan
Het Vrije Volk/Reuters report (25 Feb 1966, p.21) on Colonel Untung's trial before the Jakarta court-martial: he admits his order to take away the generals meant they should be killed, says he acted to save Sukarno from a military plot and denies PKI membership. Lawyer Trees Soenito-Heyligers asked Sukarno to pardon Nj
UK Foreign Office file FCO 15/155 (Feb 1967 to June 1968) of Jakarta embassy letters, press cables and an air attache's report on the Mahmilub trials of Supardjo and Omar Dani, plus a June 1968 note on a Soviet protest over PKI prisoners. Gerwani appears only in the Omar Dani report, as female youth trained at Lubang B
De Tijd commentary by C.H. Schaap (29 Sep 1967) on the executions of Untung and others for the 1965 coup. It says the generals were killed at Halim by "volunteers" trained by Maj. Sujono, "among them members of the communist women's organisation Gerwani", and notes the trials were broadcast and published.
US Embassy Jakarta cable to State (2 August 1978) on the life sentence given to ex-colonel Abdul Latief for the 1965 coup attempt. Paragraph 3 says trials of other Category A detainees continue and that the next major figure to be tried is reported to be Mrs Sutanti Aidit, widow of the former PKI chief.
US Embassy Jakarta cable to State (2 August 1978) on the life sentence given to ex-colonel Abdul Latief for the 1965 coup attempt. Paragraph 3 says trials of other Category A detainees continue and that the next major figure to be tried is reported to be Mrs Sutanti Aidit, widow of the former PKI chief.
Journal article by Coen Holtzappel (Journal of Contemporary Asia, 1979) analysing the Untung and Njono trial records to argue the 30 September Movement was steered by Air Force and Army intelligence, with Sjam's Pringgodani group deliberately compromising the PKI and Aidit. Gerwani is mentioned only once, in a footnote
Closing section of a Wertheim piece in De Volkskrant (28 Apr 1981). It states that women active in Gerwani are still prosecuted: in 1979 two were given extremely heavy sentences without credit for detention since 1965, and with six other Gerwani women were moved to Tangerang. The rest concerns ex-CIA officer McGehee an
De Waarheid item (21 Aug 1985, p.3) profiling death-row PKI prisoners Djoko Untung and Gatot Sutarjo, sentenced at Blitar on 2 Jan 1976, with Suharto rejecting clemency. Untung's wife Natsia, a known East Java Gerwani member, was arrested in 1968 and still imprisoned; Sutarjo's wife Poedji Aswati was jailed for 15 year
Official Army history (Pusjarah TNI, Jakarta 2009), vol. IV of 'Komunisme di Indonesia', presenting Gerwani as a PKI mass organisation in the 1960-65 build-up and the G30S. It reports Gerwani's Nov-Dec 1964 housewives' seminar (p. 70), 'unilateral actions' (p. 122), the 27 Sept 1965 Surabaya governor's-office raid unde
Official Army history (Pusjarah TNI, Jakarta 2009), vol. IV of 'Komunisme di Indonesia', presenting Gerwani as a PKI mass organisation in the 1960-65 build-up and the G30S. It reports Gerwani's Nov-Dec 1964 housewives' seminar (p. 70), 'unilateral actions' (p. 122), the 27 Sept 1965 Surabaya governor's-office raid unde