False accusations: Gerwis answered by Mrs Roosevelt
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad (1952-05-19, p. 2): Eleanor Roosevelt replied to a letter Gerwis gave her in Jakarta in April, rejecting its claim that UN forces used bacteriological weapons in Korea, denying that the UN suppresses peoples' freedom, and disputing its account of Palestinian Arab displacement. Shows Gerwis's Co
Mrs Roosevelt denies Gerwis's allegations of bacteriological warfare
De Nieuwsgier, 19 May 1952: Eleanor Roosevelt, replying to a Gerwis letter handed to her in Jakarta in late April, rejects its allegations of UN bacteriological warfare in Korea and suppression of a people's freedom, and the claim that the West drove a million Arabs from their homes. Third press version of this exchang
Mrs Roosevelt answers Gerwis's allegations
De Locomotief, 20 May 1952: severely garbled OCR of the report on Eleanor Roosevelt's reply to the Gerwis letter delivered during her Jakarta visit, rejecting claims that the US used bacteriological weapons in Korea and addressing Arab refugee allegations. Companion to the Arnhemsche Courant item of 27 May 1952; fragme
Mrs. Roosevelt did not agree
Arnhemsche Courant, 27 May 1952: a short item reports Eleanor Roosevelt's reply, during her Jakarta visit, to a letter from Gerwis. She rejected its claims that the UN used bacteriological weapons in Korea and suppressed peoples, and denied the US drove a million Arabs from their homes. Shows Gerwis's Cold War peace st
Interview with Indonesian delegates Suwarti (Gerwis) and Sujonegoro (Renmin Ribao, 6 June 1952)
Interview in Renmin Ribao, 6 June 1952 (p. 4, by Kong Dongping), with Indonesian delegates Suwati (Suwarti), Gerwis leader and MP, and the national capitalist Sujonegoro, in Beijing. Both denounce US economic domination, the Round Table agreements and the rubber embargo's price collapse. Suwati says over 500,000 Indone
Interview with Indonesian delegates Suwarti (Gerwis) and Sujonegoro (Renmin Ribao, 6 June 1952)
Interview in Renmin Ribao, 6 June 1952 (p. 4, by Kong Dongping), with Indonesian delegates Suwati (Suwarti), Gerwis leader and MP, and the national capitalist Sujonegoro, in Beijing. Both denounce US economic domination, the Round Table agreements and the rubber embargo's price collapse. Suwati says over 500,000 Indone
US State Dept. report IR-6165, January 1953: Communism in the Free World - Indonesia section on Gerwis
US State Department Office of Intelligence Research report IR-6165, 'Communism in the Free World' (January 1953), a compilation of about 30 country studies of communist capabilities, held in the CIA reading room. The Indonesia study (IR-6165.3) covers PKI aims and tactics, labour, and front organisations. Section VI.A
Support for clemency appeal (Gerwis and the Rosenbergs)
Short Het Nieuwsblad voor Sumatra item (10 Jun 1953, p.2): the Indonesian women's movement Gerwis, with 40,000 members, sent a telegram to President Eisenhower urging him to spare the Rosenbergs; the dockworkers' union SBPP (47,000 members) decided on 8 June to send a similar telegram. Shows Gerwis's anti-imperialist s
CIA information report, 6 November 1953: Financial problems of communist front organizations
CIA information report, 6 Nov 1953: 'Financial Problems of Communist Front Organizations' (Indonesia). Reports that the World Peace Committee sought Rp 50,000 from a Chinese organisation and that GERWIS has not paid its monthly Rp 2,500 to SOBSI since January 1953 and has also asked for aid. One page; a single paragrap
CIA study, May 1955: The Communist Party of Indonesia - a survey of PKI organization and history
CIA study, May 1955, surveying PKI organisation and history before the 1955 elections, with a short section on Gerwani among eight front organisations (pp. 49-50) and PKI foreign channels. Earliest extended US assessment of Gerwani as a PKI front.
Dulles on Trip to Indonesia (Toowoomba Chronicle, 13 March 1956)
Toowoomba Chronicle, 13 Mar 1956, p. 3 (AAP-Reuters): US Secretary of State Dulles visits Jakarta after the SEATO conference; demonstrators shout 'Abolish SEATO' and 'We want peace, not war'. A young girl arrested for throwing a pamphlet says she is a Gerwani member; Gerwani had earlier protested the visit.
Dulles on Trip to Indonesia (Toowoomba Chronicle, 13 March 1956), duplicate
Toowoomba Chronicle, 13 Mar 1956, p. 3 (AAP-Reuters): US Secretary of State Dulles visits Jakarta after the SEATO conference; demonstrators shout 'Abolish SEATO' and 'We want peace, not war'. A young girl arrested for throwing a pamphlet says she is a Gerwani member; Gerwani had earlier protested the visit.
Dulles in Djakarta: 'Our joint effort will one day lead to a better world'
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad (1956-03-13, p. 1): US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles arrives in Jakarta; a score of demonstrators shout 'Hapuskan SEATO'. A 25-year-old woman, Samsia, a member of Gerwani ('a communist-minded women's organisation'), threw a red anti-SEATO pamphlet into his car and was arrested for quest
Gerwani's objections
Short Algemeen Indisch Dagblad item (1956-03-13, p. 1): the Gerwani central board issues a statement objecting to John Foster Dulles's visit, his interference and his push for Indonesia to join SEATO, which it says contradicts the Bandung (Afro-Asian) Conference decisions on peace and friendship.
Jakarta protests against Dulles visit; Gerwani statement (Renmin Ribao, 13 March 1956)
Two Xinhua dispatches from Jakarta in Renmin Ribao, 13 Mar 1956 (p. 4). First: US Secretary of State Dulles was met at the airport on 12 March by demonstrators shouting against SEATO, and a girl was arrested for sticking a slogan on his car. Second: Gerwani issued a statement on 11 March condemning the visit as an atte
Jakarta protests against Dulles visit; Gerwani statement (Renmin Ribao, 13 March 1956)
Two Xinhua dispatches from Jakarta in Renmin Ribao, 13 Mar 1956 (p. 4). First: US Secretary of State Dulles was met at the airport on 12 March by demonstrators shouting against SEATO, and a girl was arrested for sticking a slogan on his car. Second: Gerwani issued a statement on 11 March condemning the visit as an atte
CIA compilation, October 1956: WIDF - a compilation of available basic information
CIA compilation 'WIDF: A Compilation of Available Basic Information' (Oct 1956). In its affiliate list it gives Gerwani (Gerakan Wanita Indonesia) claimed strength of 281,000 (Feb 1955) and 565,147 (Apr 1956), with president Umi Sardjono and vice-president Suharti Suwarto (p.20); the WIDF Council list shows Indonesian
CIA directories, February 1957: International communist-front organizations (WIDF section)
CIA compilation of reference data (February 1957, data to 1 October 1956) on international communist-front organisations and friendship societies, including the Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF). The WIDF directory lists headquarters, publications, executive officers and national affiliates. Under Indo
Calls for unity to stop American interference; Gerwani protest to the UN (Renmin Ribao, 6 May 1958)
Renmin Ribao, 6 May 1958, p. 6 (Xinhua, Jakarta; Jiang Yousheng commentary): Indonesian organisations back Djuanda's statement against US and Chiang Kai-shek aid to the rebels. Gerwani telegraphed the UN Secretary-General on 4 May protesting American interference; BTI, the Peace Committee and seventeen Jakarta mass org
Calls for unity to stop American interference; Gerwani protest to the UN (Renmin Ribao, 6 May 1958)
Renmin Ribao, 6 May 1958, p. 6 (Xinhua, Jakarta; Jiang Yousheng commentary): Indonesian organisations back Djuanda's statement against US and Chiang Kai-shek aid to the rebels. Gerwani telegraphed the UN Secretary-General on 4 May protesting American interference; BTI, the Peace Committee and seventeen Jakarta mass org
Do not allow the US to interfere in China's internal affairs (Renmin Ribao, 20 September 1958)
Renmin Ribao, 20 Sep 1958, p. 4 (Xinhua, Jakarta): amid the Taiwan Strait crisis, Gerwani, speaking for its 650,000 members, protests American interference over Taiwan and the offshore islands; Indonesian railway and rice-workers' unions make similar demands. Other items give Syrian, Pakistani, Omani and Mauritanian su
Do not allow the US to interfere in China's internal affairs (Renmin Ribao, 20 September 1958)
Renmin Ribao, 20 Sep 1958, p. 4 (Xinhua, Jakarta): amid the Taiwan Strait crisis, Gerwani, speaking for its 650,000 members, protests American interference over Taiwan and the offshore islands; Indonesian railway and rice-workers' unions make similar demands. Other items give Syrian, Pakistani, Omani and Mauritanian su
Page (seq. 329) of the US State Department 'Monthly Indonesian Press Survey' (nos. 45-58, 1959-60) listing the PKI fraction in the Constituent Assembly, including Mrs Setiati Surasto, Mrs Suwarti Bintang Suradi, Mrs S.D. Susanto, Miss Suwardiningsih and Mrs Djaenah Amir Sjarifuddin, plus the fraction's executive. It al
Moroccan PM on foreign bases; Indonesian opinion attacks US over sailors' dance party (Renmin Ribao, 9 November 1959)
Renmin Ribao, 9 Nov 1959, p. 6: multi-item foreign-news column. The Indonesia item says the Gerwani Central Committee condemned an invitation from Jakarta's American Women's Association to Indonesian women students for a dance with US Seventh Fleet sailors as leading to moral corruption and sullying national dignity; t
Moroccan PM on foreign bases; Indonesian opinion attacks US over sailors' dance party (Renmin Ribao, 9 November 1959)
Renmin Ribao, 9 Nov 1959, p. 6: multi-item foreign-news column. The Indonesia item says the Gerwani Central Committee condemned an invitation from Jakarta's American Women's Association to Indonesian women students for a dance with US Seventh Fleet sailors as leading to moral corruption and sullying national dignity; t
ACWF mourns Kanba Michiko; Indonesian organisations support the Japanese people (Renmin Ribao, 25 June 1960)
Renmin Ribao, 25 Jun 1960, p. 5 (Xinhua): the All-China Women's Federation telegraphs mourning for Kanba Michiko, killed in the anti-Security Treaty protests. A Jakarta item says Gerwani, 'Indonesia's largest women's organisation', telegraphed condolences on 22 June and support for Japanese women and people; Indonesian
ACWF mourns Kanba Michiko; Indonesian organisations support the Japanese people (Renmin Ribao, 25 June 1960)
Renmin Ribao, 25 Jun 1960, p. 5 (Xinhua): the All-China Women's Federation telegraphs mourning for Kanba Michiko, killed in the anti-Security Treaty protests. A Jakarta item says Gerwani, 'Indonesia's largest women's organisation', telegraphed condolences on 22 June and support for Japanese women and people; Indonesian
US Embassy Reports on Women's Organizations and Friendship-Society Regulation, Oct 1961
US Embassy Djakarta despatches, Oct 1961: transmittal of the July 1961 war-administrator regulation on international friendship societies, and the report 'Role of Women in Indonesia: Women's Organizations' with a memorandum of conversation with Maria Ulfah Santoso (8 March 1961) and biographic notes. It describes Gerwa
CIA memorandum, 15 August 1962: The communist movement in Indonesia
CIA memorandum, 15 August 1962, surveying organised communism in Indonesia; Gerwani has one entry (claimed 800,000 members, WIDF affiliate, valued as propaganda instrument). Gives US estimates of PKI front strength.
Protest at US support for Dutch seizure of West Irian; Gerwani letter to Robert Kennedy (Renmin Ribao, 17 February 1962)
Renmin Ribao, 17 Feb 1962, p. 3 (Xinhua, Jakarta): during US Attorney General Robert Kennedy's visit, Indonesian student bodies, trade unions and Gerwani protest US support for Dutch 'self-determination' on West Irian; Gerwani delivered a protest letter to the US embassy. Students shout 'Recover West Irian' at Gadjah M