Layout Sheet of Diorama Figures, Museum of the Extreme Left, Lubang Buaya
Typed layout sheet listing the 37 diorama titles of the Museum Pengkhianatan PKI ('Museum Ekstrim Kiri'), opened 1 Oct 1992, from Madiun 1948 through Aidit's capture, the Njono trial and 1974. Shows how the official PKI-treachery narrative was structured.
Band leader Lot Salawati arrested in cave
Indische Courant voor Nederland, 16 Nov 1949, front page: correspondent's report from Makassar that Salawati Daud, municipal councillor and 'well-known extreme-leftist lady', led the armed gang that raided Masamba prison and abducted Th. Pluyter, using the mayor's car; arrested in a cave. Frames it as exposing a politi
Harian Rakjat celebrates its sixth anniversary (Renmin Ribao, 2 February 1957)
Renmin Ribao, 2 Feb 1957, p. 5 (Xinhua, Jakarta): the PKI daily Harian Rakjat marks its sixth anniversary at a Jakarta meeting of about 1,000 on 31 Jan; Njono gives circulation as 60,000 and Aidit speaks for the PKI. Gerwani appears only among bodies sending congratulatory telegrams.
Harian Rakjat celebrates its sixth anniversary (Renmin Ribao, 2 February 1957)
Renmin Ribao, 2 Feb 1957, p. 5 (Xinhua, Jakarta): the PKI daily Harian Rakjat marks its sixth anniversary at a Jakarta meeting of about 1,000 on 31 Jan; Njono gives circulation as 60,000 and Aidit speaks for the PKI. Gerwani appears only among bodies sending congratulatory telegrams.
Pravda, 2 Mar 1960: Gerwani among Indonesian mass organisations at Khrushchev's farewell
Pravda, 2 Mar 1960 (No. 62), pp. 1-3, 5 (machine-translated): coverage of the end of Khrushchev's 12-day visit to Indonesia (farewell speeches by Khrushchev and Sukarno; Calcutta stop). Pp. 2-3 report a farewell meeting on 29 Feb with delegates of mass organisations, naming 'the Indonesian women's movement (Gerwani)' a
Pravda, 2 Mar 1960: Gerwani welcomes Khrushchev among mass organisations (excerpt)
Keyword-hit excerpt of Pravda, No. 62, 2 March 1960, report 'People must live happily!' on Khrushchev's Indonesia visit. Leading figures of SOBSI, BTI, Pemuda Rakjat, the women's movement Gerwani, the Peace Committee, the Soviet friendship society and Lekra gathered with gifts at his residence; SOBSI's Njono spoke of f
Sovetskaya Kirgiziya, 3 Mar 1960: Khrushchev's visit to Indonesia
Sovetskaia Kirgiziia, 3 Mar 1960, p. 2: TASS coverage of Khrushchev's 12-day Indonesia visit: toasts with Sukarno, Khrushchev's farewell at Kemayoran, and crowds. On the last day Khrushchev received delegates of mass organisations including SOBSI, BTI, Pemuda Rakyat and Gerwani; Njono spoke. No Gerwani speaker is named
Chen Yi arrives in Jakarta bringing the Chinese people's friendly wishes (Renmin Ribao, 29 March 1961)
Renmin Ribao, 29 Mar 1961, p. 1 (Xinhua, Jakarta): Chen Yi arrives in Jakarta on a friendship visit and is met by Subandrio, Henk Ngantung, PKI's Njono and heads of mass organisations including the Indonesia-China Friendship Association and Gerwani, with crowds and banners; Sukarno receives him at Merdeka Palace. Gerwa
Chen Yi arrives in Jakarta bringing the Chinese people's friendly wishes (Renmin Ribao, 29 March 1961)
Renmin Ribao, 29 Mar 1961, p. 1 (Xinhua, Jakarta): Chen Yi arrives in Jakarta on a friendship visit and is met by Subandrio, Henk Ngantung, PKI's Njono and heads of mass organisations including the Indonesia-China Friendship Association and Gerwani, with crowds and banners; Sukarno receives him at Merdeka Palace. Gerwa
Chairman Aidit leads delegation to the Soviet Union and China (Renmin Ribao, 21 July 1963)
Renmin Ribao/Xinhua report (21 July 1963, p. 3) on PKI chairman Aidit's delegation leaving Jakarta for Moscow, Beijing and Cuba, with his airport statements on the Sino-Soviet dispute, Nasakom and 'Malaysia'. Gerwani appears once, its head among mass-organisation leaders at the send-off. Useful for Gerwani's place in P
FO 371/180318: Attempted Coup against Sukarno [9] (Oct 1965)
UK Foreign Office file FO 371/180318 (Oct 1965): Djakarta embassy telegrams, minutes and copied US cables on the 30 September affair. Covers the anti-PKI demonstration and burning of PKI HQ, Sukarno's return, Suharto and Nasution, and Anglo-American debate on backing the generals. Only Gerwani-relevant item: the 10 Oct
FO 371/180322: Attempted Coup against Sukarno [13] (28 Oct-5 Nov 1965)
UK Foreign Office file FO 371/180322 (28 Oct-5 Nov 1965): Djakarta telegrams quoting Antara on the post-coup purge, Sukarno versus the generals, Medan and Central Java. Gerwani items: tel. 2418 (2 Nov, p. 52) reports a Kowani/women's congress move to expel Gerwani members; tel. 2421 (p. 57) quotes Suharto naming 'Pemud
Abrupt change in Indonesia's political situation: Suharto takes control, mass arrests, PKI offices burned
Xinhua survey in Renmin Ribao (20 Oct 1965, p. 1) of Indonesia's first three weeks after 30 September, from Chinese-side sources: Suharto takes control, mass arrests (3,000 by 17 October), PKI headquarters burned, Harian Rakjat closed, universities shut, anti-Chinese incidents. Gerwani appears in the NU demand to disso
Njono: PKI coup hastened by Sukarno's illness
Leeuwarder Courant, 1 December 1965, p. 11: relays armed-forces newspaper reports of SOBSI chief Njono's interrogation statements: planning began in July, Aidit's claim that Sukarno was gravely ill was decisive, and Njono was to raise a 2,000-man reserve from PKI, Pemuda Rakjat, Sobsi, BTI and Gerwani members, learning
Further Report on Confessions of Njono (FBIS, 2 Dec 1965)
FBIS item (ANTARA, 2 Dec 1965) reporting Njono's army-publicised interrogation: PKI Politburo allegedly planned the coup from July to August 1965 under Aidit. Gerwani is named among the organisations expected to support military operations and, with Pemuda Rakyat, BTI and SOBSI, in Njono's Jakarta force. Lubang Buaya i
Berita Yudha, 3 December 1965
Berita Yudha, 3 Desember 1965. Army's version of the 'confession' of SOBSI chair and Politburo member Njono, with Gerwani items on pp. 1–2.
Indonesian Plot: Tribunal Verdict on Njono Due Today (Canberra Times, 21 February 1966)
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.
Indonesian Plot: Tribunal Verdict on Njono Due Today (Canberra Times, 21 February 1966), duplicate
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.
Students try to prevent swearing-in: trial of Untung begun
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
Dossier of a slaughter
Tribune (Sydney), 29 Jun 1966, p. 5: editorial attacking Western press whitewashing of the Suharto regime plus a long reconstruction of 30 Sep-1 Oct 1965 taken from the British New Left Review, portraying the movement as junior officers' action. It mentions that Halim auxiliaries from Pemuda Rakyat and Gerwani took par
Dossier of a slaughter
Tribune (Sydney), 29 Jun 1966, p. 5: editorial attacking Western press whitewashing of the Suharto regime plus a long reconstruction of 30 Sep-1 Oct 1965 taken from the British New Left Review, portraying the movement as junior officers' action. It mentions that Halim auxiliaries from Pemuda Rakyat and Gerwani took par
Tricontinental Bulletin no. 21 (Havana, Dec 1967): denunciation of Suharto regime and death sentences
Tricontinental Bulletin no. 21 (Havana, December 1967), organ of OSPAAAL. A passage denouncing the Suharto-Nasution regime says thousands of men and women suffer torture in Indonesian prisons and names those sentenced to death: Njono, Sudisman, Sakirman, Rewang, Latief, Sujono, 'Sutanti, Aidit', Omar Dani. The printed
Tricontinental Bulletin no. 21 (Havana, Dec 1967): denunciation of Suharto regime and death sentences
Tricontinental Bulletin no. 21 (Havana, December 1967), organ of OSPAAAL. A passage denouncing the Suharto-Nasution regime says thousands of men and women suffer torture in Indonesian prisons and names those sentenced to death: Njono, Sudisman, Sakirman, Rewang, Latief, Sujono, 'Sutanti, Aidit', Omar Dani. The printed
Heating oil 1.5 cents dearer (with AP report on the arrest of Trees Soenito)
Het Parool item (5 Jan 1968) in a page of unrelated news (heating oil prices). The AP paragraph reports Jakarta police arrested Dutch-born lawyer Trees Soenito, former defender of PKI's Njono, who according to the armed forces daily is suspected of communist sympathies and 'would have been a former leader of Gerwani'.
Jakarta, Friday (AP): arrest of Trees Soenito
One-paragraph AP wire item in Het Rotterdamsch Parool (5 Jan 1968, p.1): Jakarta police arrested Dutch-born lawyer Trees Soenito, earlier defender of PKI's Njono. According to the armed forces daily she is suspected of communist sympathies and 'would have been a former leader of Gerwani'. Allegation only; no other deta
Indonesian Communism since the 1965 Coup (van der Kroef, 1970)
Article by Justus M. van der Kroef (Pacific Affairs, spring 1970) on the PKI underground and army counter-campaign after 1965, from the Blitar and Purwodadi operations to political prisoners and Moscow/Beijing exile factions. Gerwani appears once (p.50): arrests of former Communists 'including members of Gerwani (the P
Interpretations of the 1965 Indonesian Coup: a review of the literature (van der Kroef, 1970)
Review essay by Justus M. van der Kroef (Pacific Affairs, winter 1970) surveying interpretations of the 1965 coup (Wertheim, Rey, the Cornell Report, Utrecht, Pluvier, Hughes, Nugroho/Saleh) from a pro-PKI-complicity standpoint. Several passages mention Gerwani members' role at Halim; he cites 'Mrs Djamilah's' confessi
Archive of the Event of 1965 in Indonesia (compilation incl. Anderson and McVey, Preliminary Analysis of the October 1,
Internet Archive compilation on the 1965 events whose main text is Anderson and McVey's Cornell 'Preliminary Analysis of the October 1, 1965 Coup' (1971), with source documents. It says Gerwani and Pemuda Rakjat trainees at Lubang Buaya were drawn into the killings (pp. 22-23) while stressing the army-fed 'orgy' storie
Archive of the Event of 1965 in Indonesia (compilation incl. Anderson and McVey, Preliminary Analysis of the October 1,
Internet Archive compilation on the 1965 events whose main text is Anderson and McVey's Cornell 'Preliminary Analysis of the October 1, 1965 Coup' (1971), with source documents. It says Gerwani and Pemuda Rakjat trainees at Lubang Buaya were drawn into the killings (pp. 22-23) while stressing the army-fed 'orgy' storie
The 30 September Movement: a political movement of the armed forces or an intelligence operation? (Holtzappel, 1979)
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