FBIS, 15 December 1949: Lillah Suripno of Indonesia speaks
FBIS-monitored Xinhua text (15 Dec 1949) of a speech by Indonesian delegate 'Lillah' (Lily) Suripno at the Asian Women's Conference, Peking, 12 Dec. She thanks WIDF, surveys Indonesian anti-colonial history, the 1926-27 PKI revolts, Japanese occupation, women in guerrilla struggle, and calls for a PKI-led front of demo
CIA report, 6 April 1950: Persatuan Wanita Republik Indonesia, Jakarta
CIA report, 6 April 1950, listing the Jakarta council of Perwari and labelling the group 'extreme right'. Context on Gerwis/Gerwani's main rival and sometime partner, and on the instability of US intelligence categories.
FBIS, 13 November 1950: Women's federation (Kowani and WIDF delegates)
FBIS note (13 Nov 1950): the Kowani executive reports that three WIDF delegates (Shen Chi-shu, Chen Ke, Chi Yun) would leave Peking on 16 Nov to attend the Kowani Congress, 24-26 Nov; Kowani is described as a WIDF member. Shows WIDF links with Indonesia's women's federation shortly after the Sept 1950 founding of Gerwi
FBIS, 29 November 1950: Women's Congress (Kowani)
FBIS item (29 Nov 1950): the Kowani congress ended on 28 Nov and set up an all-Indonesia federation of women's organisations called the Indonesian Women's Congress. Secretariat headed by Dr Maria Ulfah Santoso (OCR: Marta Ulfan). Programme: Pancasila basis, full independence, equal rights for women, peace, and pressure
CIA report, 26 February 1951: Estimate of the current economic situation in Indonesia
CIA report, 26 February 1951, on alleged communist-directed strike sabotage in Indonesia via SOBSI and WFTU. Gerwani-relevant only for naming a batik workers' union organised by Mrs Trimurti.
FBIS, 25 January 1951: Indonesia backs Peace Congress ideals (Warsaw)
FBIS-monitored Moscow Radio text (25 Jan 1951) of a speech by an Indonesian member of the World Peace Council (name garbled), chairing the Indonesian delegation to the Warsaw Peace Congress. Describes the Indonesian Peace Committee (Yogyakarta, June 1950), the Stockholm Appeal signatures, and urges non-democratic Indon
FBIS, 3 January 1953: Women's demand (GPII women's branch congress)
One-line FBIS item (3 Jan 1953): the women's branch of the Indonesian Islamic Youth League (GPII) held a congress in Jakarta and demanded vocational training for Indonesian women and a government physical-education vocational school for women. Background on Muslim women's organisations contemporary with Gerwis.
FBIS, 21 April 1953: Kartini Day observance
FBIS item (21 Apr 1953): the Jakarta Kartini Day committee closed the 1953 observance with a grand meeting at the State Palace; Mrs Sukarno said Kartini Day's essence is charity and self-improvement and that Indonesian women's supreme duty is to take part in the coming general elections. Background for official women's
FBIS, 29 January 1954: Proposals of peace congress advanced (fragmentary)
Fragmentary FBIS entry (29 Jan 1954), a Jakarta English-language summary of editorial comment on the proposals of a peace congress; OCR is almost entirely unreadable and only says the broad programme was promised serious study. The archive tag links Salawati Daud, but her name does not appear in the legible text.
FBIS, 29 June 1956: Women's Asian-African conference (Kowani consultative committee)
FBIS item (29 Jun 1956): the Indonesian Women's Congress consultative committee (executive members of Indonesian women's organisations) will meet in Jakarta on 2 July to discuss a projected Asian-African women's conference; the organisations agreed sponsors should be the Bandung Conference countries: India, Indonesia,
FBIS, 28 October 1958: Indonesians laud CPR construction gains
FBIS-monitored Xinhua item (28 Oct 1958; header misdates 1953): Indonesian political figures returning from China praised China's construction, communes and the Great Leap Forward. Includes Mme Kartowijono, Perwari secretary-general, praising communes' labour enthusiasm, food, clothing and education; Anwar Tjokroaminot
Indonesia's New Governmental Bodies (OIR report, Oct 1959)
State Department intelligence report (13 Oct 1959) on Indonesia's new governmental bodies under Guided Democracy: Cabinet, National Advisory Council, National Planning Council. Appendices list members with functional-group labels, including S.K. Trimurti (teachers), Umi Sardjono (women), Rasuna Said and Emma Puradiredj
FBIS, 7 July 1960: Mourning of Tjimahi victims continues
FBIS-monitored Xinhua report (7 Jul 1960): over 18,000 overseas Chinese and Indonesians visited Tjimahi, West Java, to mourn two overseas Chinese women (Yang Mu-mei, Yeh Chin-niang) killed by West Java military authorities during the forced evacuation of Chinese from rural areas. Chinese groups demanded punishment and
FBIS, 22 May 1963: Envoy expresses concern over Java riots
FBIS-monitored Xinhua item (22 May 1963): Chinese ambassador Yao Chung-ming called on Deputy Foreign Minister Suwito over anti-Chinese disturbances in Indonesia, especially West Java, and welcomed Sukarno's 19 May speech to a meeting of 'Indonesian women' condemning counterrevolutionary disturbances. Suwito pledged ste
Foreign Office/CRO Papers on the PKI and Malaysia Confrontation (DO 169/516, 1964)
British Commonwealth Relations Office/Foreign Office file (DO 169/516, 1964) on Indonesia and Malaysia. It combines handwritten minutes, an IRD intelligence paper on the PKI (Aidit's December 1963 plenum, Sino-Soviet line, the prospect of PKI power within five years), a brief 'Communists smoothing path to power in Indo
FBIS-monitored Jakarta radio excerpts (9 Mar 1964) of Sukarno's speech to an International Women's Day gathering at the State Palace. He calls Malaysia a neocolonialist project to be 'crushed', cites Khrushchev, thanks Indonesian women for agreeing, and commands them to mobilise via radio and television, convince women
FBIS-monitored Xinhua excerpt (10 Mar 1964) on the four resolutions adopted at the International Women's Day rally in Jakarta addressed by Sukarno: crush 'Malaysia' and aid North Kalimantan; help implement agrarian and crop-sharing laws against food difficulties; resist imperialist cultural infiltration; condemn US agg
Two Divisions of DPRK Volunteers to Arrive (FBIS, 19 Apr 1964)
FBIS-monitored Jakarta radio report (19 Apr 1964) of a rally welcoming a North Korean Supreme People's Assembly delegation, with speeches by Sudibjo (National Front), Arudji Kartawinata and delegation chair Choe Won-taek, who said two divisions of Korean volunteers would join the anti-Malaysia campaign. The delegation'
US Embassy Airgram A-300 (Johnson Library copy): The September 30 Affair - background to the coup
Second, noisier OCR copy of the same US Embassy Djakarta airgram A-300 of 22 October 1965 (Masters), from the Johnson Library country file, 46 pages. Covers Sukarno-PKI offensive, the coup, PKI and Sukarno roles, army prospects. Gerwani is mentioned only as PKI women taunting the generals at Lubang Buaya (p.14) and as
FO 371/180312: Internal Political Situation, Attempted Coup against Sukarno [3] (1965)
UK Foreign Office file FO 371/180312 (1965), 'Internal political situation, Attempted coup against Sukarno [3]', a volume of Embassy letters and telegrams from Djakarta (Ambassador Gilchrist, S.J.G. Cambridge), February to April 1965. It includes Gilchrist's character notes on Subandrio, Aidit and the generals, the tak
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 371/180337: 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
Record of Conversation between Qiao Guanhua and DPRK Ambassador Pak Se-chang, 5 Mar 1965
Chinese Foreign Ministry record of Vice Minister Qiao Guanhua's conversation with DPRK Ambassador Pak Se-chang, 5 March 1965 (Wilson Center; trans. Jeffrey Wang and Charles Kraus). They coordinate Kim Il Sung's and Zhou Enlai's planned travel to Indonesia for the 10th anniversary of Bandung (Jakarta, Bogor, Bali, 16-24
Zhou Enlai and Kim Il Sung, Jakarta, 16 Apr 1965
Chinese Foreign Ministry minutes of Zhou Enlai's conversation with Kim Il Sung in Jakarta, night of 16 April 1965, at Subandrio's residence (Wilson Center; trans. Caixia Lu). Kim reports on the Korea-Indonesia joint statement negotiated with Sukarno (Vietnam, Korea-Japan talks, Asian-African Conference), the push for a
Zhou Enlai and Kim Il Sung, Jakarta, 19 Apr 1965
Short Chinese Foreign Ministry minutes (Chinese original with English translation) of Zhou Enlai's 30-minute talk with Kim Il Sung at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, 19 April 1965 (Wilson Center; trans. Caixia Lu). Zhou says the UAR and Algeria opposed a pro-Vietnam document and Pham Van Dong dropped it to protect the sec
Telegram 971 to Secretary of State, 12 Oct 1965
US Embassy telegram 971, 12 Oct 1965: a German embassy source says the Army is considering overthrowing Sukarno and signalling Western embassies; Sukarno refused to read PKI-complicity papers. High-politics context; no Gerwani content.
Telegram 779A to Secretary of State, 18 Oct 1965
US Embassy telegram 779A, 18 Oct 1965: Foreign Ministry aide Sutarto says anti-PKI action is spreading across Sumatra, Sulawesi and Central Java, targeting Subandrio. Early-aftermath political context; no Gerwani content.
US Embassy Djakarta Airgram A-300, 22 October 1965: The September 30 Affair - history and interpretation of the attempte
US Embassy Djakarta airgram A-300 (22 Oct 1965, Edward Masters), a 46-page analysis of the 30 September Movement, the PKI, Sukarno, Air Force and army prospects. Gerwani appears only twice: as members of PKI paramilitary TIK units trained at Halim, and as PKI women said to have taunted and humiliated the generals at Lu
Letter from CINCPAC to Marshall Green, 23 October 1965
Secret letter, 23 October 1965, from CINCPAC political adviser Norman Hannah to Ambassador Marshall Green asking for contingency thinking on US covert or material help if the Army fought the PKI. Shows early US planning for support to the anti-PKI campaign.
Airgram A-298: The Situation in Indonesia after the Coup Attempt, 23 Oct 1965
US Embassy airgram A-298, 23 Oct 1965, on 'political moderates' helping the Army destroy the PKI, based on talks with a civilian columnist urging organisations to cleanse themselves of 30 September supporters. Shows civilian momentum for the purge.