Furious: Suharto's statement on the generals' bodies near the Halim training base
De Telegraaf item (7 Oct 1965) on General Suharto's television statement: the generals' bodies were found near the air-force base where Pemuda Rakyat and Gerwani volunteers were trained, and an arrested female volunteer in Cirebon reportedly said volunteers came from Central Java. An early press link of Gerwani to the
ANP news report, 10 October 1965 (Indonesia: arrests continue)
ANP radio bulletin, 10 Oct 1965: arrests continue in Jakarta; among arrested communists are members of Gerwani, 'said to be responsible' for the killing/mutilation of the six generals (garbled in source). Also reports Njoto's reported arrest, soldiers at Hotel Indonesia and 1,500-2,000 arrests in Java in a week. An ear
Torture squads in Djakarta: how Indonesian generals died (South China Morning Post, 15 October 1965)
South China Morning Post, 15 Oct 1965, p.12, 'Torture squads in Djakarta: how Indonesian generals died', by a special correspondent. A lurid account of the 1 October killings: it says 'frenzied members of the Gerwani women's organisation' chanted insults and danced naked while Pemuda Rakjat youths emasculated six gener
Pregnant teenager confesses: PKI women tell of the cruel killing at Lubang Buaya (Berita Harian, 1965)
Berita Minggu/Berita Harian, 7 November 1965, p. 10, UPI: the 'confession' of Jamilah, 15 and pregnant, a Pemuda Rakyat member, reported from Angkatan Bersenjata. She says about 100 Gerwani women among 500 at Halim were given knives, struck first, and hacked a blindfolded general's genitals. A core Lubang Buaya slander
Berita Harian, 15 Nov 1965: communist woman detained in North Sumatra
Berita Harian, 15 Nov 1965 (UPI/Antara, lead only). North Sumatra authorities detained a woman, said to be a Gerwani member, accused of attempting a murder and bearing a 'secret mark' on her thigh. The 'secret mark' trope echoes slander about Gerwani women.
Communist woman detained in North Sumatra (Berita Harian, 1965)
Berita Harian, 15 November 1965, p. 3 (clipping lacks its headline), Antara via Medan: a Gerwani member is detained near an Islamic scholar's house; police say a 'secret mark' was found on her thigh and she confessed she was assigned to kill the cleric. A typical 1965 propaganda item on Gerwani as assassins and 'marked
Girl admits role in coup (South China Morning Post, 20 November 1965)
South China Morning Post, 20 Nov 1965, p.20 (Jakarta, 19 Nov; UPI/AP via Antara): a girl captured near Bandung admitted taking part in the killing of the six generals at Lubang Buaya and among those who shot the Army commander, and admitted membership of Gerwani, the Communist women's auxiliary. The item also reports a
Army plans to kill P.K.I. for ever (The Scotsman, 8 December 1965)
The Scotsman, 8 Dec 1965, Dennis Bloodworth, 'Army plans to kill PKI for ever': Suharto and Nasution press to destroy the PKI while Sukarno refuses to ban it; the article analyses the PKI's miscalculations. It repeats the slander that six generals were mutilated by 'doe-eyed girls' of the PKI's 'Gerwani' women's moveme
Almost overlords yesterday, almost outlaws today: what happened to the PKI? (Bloodworth, Straits Times, 1965)
The Straits Times, 8 December 1965, p. 12, analysis by Dennis Bloodworth on why the PKI failed. In passing it repeats the Lubang Buaya slander as fact: 'six leading generals were done to death, horribly mutilated by doe-eye girls of the PKI's Gerwani women's movement'. It then covers Sukarno's weakness, Nasution's esca
Evening Post (Wellington), 10 Dec 1965, commentary on the Indonesian Communists after the 30 September coup. It repeats the Lubang Buaya atrocity claim that six generals were 'horribly mutilated by doe-eyed girls' of the PKI's 'Gerwani' women's movement and thrown into a well, with Communist youth dancing at Halim; als
Sukarno the Key to Any Revolution in Indonesia (Evening Post, 10 December 1965), headline clipping
Headline-only clipping 'Sukarno the Key to Any Revolution in Indonesia' from the Evening Post of 10 Dec 1965; no further text. The full article repeats the Gerwani Lubang Buaya claim.
Sukarno the Key to Any Revolution in Indonesia (Evening Post, 10 December 1965), standfirst clipping
Standfirst clipping of the Evening Post article of 10 Dec 1965: the Indonesian Communists, 'almost overlords yesterday, almost outlaws today', miscalculated their moment, strength and strategy and the determination of the military and Muslims to wipe them out. Gerwani is not named in this fragment.
Sukarno the Key to Any Revolution in Indonesia (Evening Post, 10 December 1965), clipping on Gerwani claim
Clipping from the Evening Post of 10 Dec 1965: says Sukarno could not back the coup because of its brutality, and that six generals were 'horribly mutilated by doe-eyed girls' of the PKI's 'Gerwani' women's movement and thrown into a well, while Communist youth danced at Halim. This is the Lubang Buaya sexual-atrocity
Sukarno the Key to Any Revolution in Indonesia (Evening Post, 10 December 1965), closing clipping
Closing clipping of the Evening Post article of 10 Dec 1965: Nasution's escape over his garden wall and the murder of his five-year-old daughter; alleged PKI plans for arson and famine; the party's 'patriotic' image destroyed; Sukarno forced to appoint Suharto army chief while the Army mops up Communists in Central and
Bloody Orgy at Halim Air Base (Canberra Times, 15 April 1966)
Canberra Times, 15 Apr 1966, p. 10: concluding part of a 'Special Correspondent' account repeating the Lubang Buaya slander. Claims 100 Gerwani women at Halim took razor blades, tortured and mutilated the generals, citing 'Mrs Djamilah' via the Djakarta Mail (15 Nov), singing 'People's Blood'. Adds Nasution escape narr
Bloody Orgy at Halim Air Base (Canberra Times, 15 April 1966), duplicate
Canberra Times, 15 Apr 1966, p. 10: concluding part of a 'Special Correspondent' account repeating the Lubang Buaya slander. Claims 100 Gerwani women at Halim took razor blades, tortured and mutilated the generals, citing 'Mrs Djamilah' via the Djakarta Mail (15 Nov), singing 'People's Blood'. Adds Nasution escape narr
Atrocities: account of the generals' killing and alleged Gerwani role
De Tijd article "Gruwelen" (23 Apr 1966) recounting the 1 Oct 1965 killings of the generals, claiming a hundred Gerwani women at Halim took part in torturing them with knives and razor blades after "training" including sexual orgies and blood oaths, citing a 15-year-old "Miss Djamilah" and the Djakarta Mail of 5 Nov. A
Atrocities: account of the generals' killing and alleged Gerwani role (duplicate record)
De Tijd article "Gruwelen" (23 Apr 1966) recounting the 1 Oct 1965 killings of the generals, claiming a hundred Gerwani women at Halim took part in torturing them with knives and razor blades after "training" including sexual orgies and blood oaths, citing a 15-year-old "Miss Djamilah" and the Djakarta Mail of 5 Nov. D
Day woman gouged general's eyes with a knife: Emmy Marjam testimony (Straits Times, 1971)
The Straits Times, 13 January 1971, p. 2: at the special-court trial of Pemuda Rakjat chairman Sukatno, witness Emmy Marjam, 24, a Gerwani member now under arrest, testifies that she gouged a general's eyes with a knife and saw friends mutilate another's genitals at Lubang Buaya after training from 26 Sept. Reported as
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 trauma of 1965 itches and nags
Jan Bezemer's long Trouw weekend feature (30 Sep 1995) on the unresolved 1965 trauma. Covers the 30 September events, Suharto's role, US encouragement, massacres (Gatot's trial testimony) and the smear campaign against Gerwani. Draws on Saskia Wieringa's doctoral research: Gerwani was blamed for mutilating the generals
Suharto's fear of the voice of Gerwani (on Saskia Wieringa's research)
De Vrijdag (Het Parool, 6 Oct 1995) article by Hanneke de Wit on Saskia Wieringa's Amsterdam PhD on the Indonesian women's movement. It recounts the 1965 press claims that Gerwani girls castrated and blinded generals and danced naked, which Wieringa calls lies; autopsies showed the generals intact. It details forced 'c
South China Sunday Morning Post, 26 Apr 1998, p.8, Jenny Grant: report on the trial in Medan of the sorcerer Datuk (Achmad Suradji), accused of killing 42 young women. After first confessing he retracted and blamed 'an outlawed communist women's group known as Gerwani', claiming police forced his confession; the articl