CIA, The Indonesian Situation, report 61, 14 November 1965
CIA 'Indonesian Situation' report no. 61, 14 November 1965: continuing anti-communist action and mass killings, Aidit's presumed whereabouts, and 1,000 women demonstrating in Jakarta for permanent dissolution of the PKI women's auxiliary. Records an early anti-Gerwani mobilisation.
FO 371/180325: Attempted Coup against Sukarno [16] (1965-1966)
UK Foreign Office file FO 371/180325 (1965), 'Attempted coup against Sukarno [16]': letters and telegrams from Djakarta, NATO Paris, Washington and The Hague, late November 1965 to January 1966. It follows the regional bans of the PKI, Sukarno's Nasakom speeches, Aidit's fate and translated interrogations of Untung and
Anger mounts against the PKI over the killings (Berita Harian, 1965)
Berita Harian, 7 October 1965, p. 1: Sukarno's first cabinet meeting after 30 September; Nahdlatul Ulama demands a PKI ban and claims rebels armed Pemuda Rakyat, Gerwani and SOBSI, and that Pemuda Rakyat and Gerwani members trained at 'Sarang Buaya' (Lubang Buaya). Also press and rally restrictions in Sumatra and an ar
Despite appeal for moderation, army hunts communists
De Nieuwe Limburger, 11 Oct 1965 (ANP/UPI/AFP): despite Sukarno's call for moderation, the army starts a nationwide drive against the PKI. On Saturday a Muslim crowd plundered the houses of Aidit and Njoto and the Gerwani building; about 2,000 arrests near Jakarta; 44 parties demand a PKI ban. Early report of attacks o
Self-defence from panic: commentary on the hunt for communists
De Volkskrant commentary (11 Oct 1965) warning that the hunt for communists could drive Aidit's followers to armed self-defence. It describes Muslim demonstrators wrecking Aidit's and Njoto's houses and then "the headquarters of the communist women's organisation Gerwani", and army occupation of PKI headquarters in Ace
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.
FBIS-monitored ANTARA English report (20 Oct 1965): some 100,000 Ansor youths in Jakarta (Taman Suropati) demanded dissolution of the PKI and affiliates for their part in the coup, endorsed the war administrator's suspension decision, said 'CGMI, Gerwani, SOBSI and Lekra were deeply involved in the recent terror moveme
Straits Times, 22 Oct 1965: Red homes wrecked, campaign spreads to Jogjakarta and Celebes
Straits Times, 22 Oct 1965 (lead only). The temporary ban on the PKI and affiliates spread across many regions, with homes of Communists wrecked; the PKI is linked to the failed 1 October coup. Matched on Gerwani as an affiliated organisation.
Somogyi Néplap, 7 Nov 1965: Sukarno condemns anti-communism; nine women killed by army in Central Java
Somogyi Neplap (Hungary), 7 Nov 1965, p. 2: MTI/AFP dispatch from Bogor on Sukarno's cabinet meeting, where he condemned anti-communist revenge and upheld NASAKOM. States an army press communiqué that soldiers fired on marching Gerwani women in Solo, Central Java, killing nine. Also notes de facto bans on the PKI and t
251 dead in Central Java; women demonstrate against the PKI
Leeuwarder Courant, 9 November 1965, p. 5: report that about 10,000 housewives, schoolgirls and actresses marched in Jakarta to the National Front office demanding dissolution of Gerwani and state control of communist-run schools, while over a million demanded the PKI's dissolution. Governor Mokhtar says 251 were kille
And shame (Solo, November 1965)
Limburgsch Dagblad, 20 November 1965, p. 5: correspondent's column from Solo. Paratroopers daily parade 'enemies of the people', yesterday three Gerwani members, described as involved in the massacres 'in the most dissolute manner', forced to lie face down on hot asphalt before a passive crowd. It also describes ex-may
Gudok, 23 Nov 1965: In Indonesia (TASS on arrests)
Gudok, 23 Nov 1965, p. 4, TASS dispatch from Jakarta: military and right-wing forces continue the anti-communist campaign, with arrest figures (1,600 in South Kalimantan; 1,630 in Wonogiri, 820 in Sragen, 711 in Boyolali, over 2,200 in Klaten), citing Antara that all those arrested are members of PKI, Gerwani, Pemuda R
Neues Deutschland, 24 Feb 1966: Njono firmly defended the Communist Party
Page 7 of the SED daily Neues Deutschland, 24 Feb 1966, with a commentary and an ADN dispatch on the death sentence passed on PKI Politburo member Njono on 21 Feb. The dispatch says his defence counsel, Frau Sunito (Trees Sunito), also showed the accusations to be groundless. The commentary condemns the killings of Com
Neues Deutschland, 24 Feb 1966: Njono firmly defended the Communist Party
Page 7 of the SED daily Neues Deutschland, 24 Feb 1966, with a commentary and an ADN dispatch on the death sentence passed on PKI Politburo member Njono on 21 Feb. The dispatch says his defence counsel, Frau Sunito (Trees Sunito), also showed the accusations to be groundless. The commentary condemns the killings of Com
Harian Neraca serial 'Siapa menabur angin akan menuai badai' (70): October-November 1965 violence and Suharto's 10 No...
Harian Neraca, 25 Maret 1989, p. 10: instalment 70 of Soegiarso Soerojo's serial. Surveys October–November 1965 violence and Suharto's 10 Nov 1965 'Seruan', with crowd attacks in Aceh and Sumatra on the PKI and Gerwani.
The Guardian (Weekend Guardian), 8 Sept 1990, p.A4, John Gittings, 'The black hole of Bali': long feature on the 1965 massacre (250,000 or more killed), how the killings were organised by the army under Suharto, the Aidit/PKI role, the US list of communists (Martens/Kadane) and US encouragement, survivors ('Tapols') an
TAPOL Bulletin No. 132, December 1995
TAPOL Bulletin no. 132 (December 1995), London-based human rights newsletter, mostly on East Timor (Xanana Gusmao interview, embassy asylum bids), Sri-Bintang Pamungkas's trial, labour unrest and Freeport. Relevant to 1965: 'The spectre haunting Suharto' on the regime's 'formless organisations' communist myth (p.13-16)
Killing off the communists (South China Morning Post, 17 July 1999)
South China Morning Post, 17 July 1999, p.37, Marian Wilkinson (Sydney Morning Herald), 'Killing off the communists': newly released US embassy and CIA cables show US officials encouraging the army's anti-PKI campaign in Oct-Nov 1965, urging anti-PKI propaganda that links 'diabolical murder and mutilation of the genera
The Banteng and the Eagle: Indonesian Foreign Policy and the United States during the Era of Sukarno, 1945-1967 (PhD, 20
PhD dissertation by Yohanes Sulaiman (Ohio State, 2008) on Indonesian foreign policy and the United States under Sukarno. Gerwani appears only in a footnote on the 1965 aftermath quoting John Hughes (1967, p. 150): Gerwani women in a village blocking Sarwo Edhie's column 'bared their posteriors' in insult and were shot
The Banteng and the Eagle: Indonesian Foreign Policy and the United States during the Era of Sukarno, 1945-1967 (PhD, 20
PhD dissertation by Yohanes Sulaiman (Ohio State, 2008) on Indonesian foreign policy and the United States under Sukarno. Gerwani appears only in a footnote on the 1965 aftermath quoting John Hughes (1967, p. 150): Gerwani women in a village blocking Sarwo Edhie's column 'bared their posteriors' in insult and were shot
The Cold War in the City of Heroes: US-Indonesian Relations and Anti-Communist Operations in Surabaya (Setiyawan, 2014)
PhD dissertation in History (UCLA, 2014) by Dahlia Gratia Setiyawan on U.S. anti-communist operations and the 1965-66 purge in Surabaya. Gerwani appears in context: as the PKI's women's affiliate (ch. 1), through the Surabaya women's coalition GOWS in the 27 September 1965 Grahadi demonstration (ch. 4), and in the Army