The Indonesian parliament and Linggadjati: strengthened left wing supports Sjahrir cabinet
Long article in the Dutch communist daily De Waarheid (15 Jan 1947) by its "Indonesian collaborator" assessing support for the Linggarjati draft in the Indonesian provisional parliament: Masjumi and PNI divided or opposed, while the PKI, Partai Sosialis, Pesindo, Christian parties, Partai Buruh, Perwari and BTI back it
Balance sheet of Indonesian political parties
Nieuw Utrechtsch Dagblad, 17 January 1947, p. 2: list drawn up by the Republican paper De Patriot of Indonesian groups for and against the Linggadjati draft agreement. Perwari, PKI, Sobsi, BTI and the Partai Sosialis are listed for; Masjumi, PNI and Partai Wanita Rakjat against. Gerwani/Gerwis (founded later) does not
Criticism by Indonesian parliament of the Linggadjati accord
De Noord-Ooster report (4 Mar 1947) on the Indonesian parliament's debate on the Linggadjati accord, with a delegate of "the Indonesian women's organisation" opposing talks with the Dutch, PNI criticism of the cabinet, and comment on van Mook, Sukarno and Sjahrir. The women's delegate is not named reliably; Gerwani did
Revision of the KNIP
De Locomotief, 12 Sept 1949 (Aneta): PNI's Sartono says the KNIP and its Working Committee are being reorganised, and lists organisations seeking seats, including the Partai Wanita Rakyat, Perwari and the Partai Wanita Kristen Indonesia. Gerwis is not named; context on women's organisations' political representation in
Irony in the RIS parliament
Trouw (25 Feb 1950), ANP report on the first session of the RIS parliament: ironic laughter from republican members at Dutch congratulatory telegrams, cautious talk of inter-parliamentary cooperation. Mrs Mudigdo (listed as Partai Sosialis member, not seated as such) says she would like to meet Dutch women MPs, seconde
Last phase of parliament: the constitution
De Locomotief, 25 July 1950: report on the last phase of the RIS parliament, opened by Sartono, and the draft unitary constitution. Mrs Moedigdio (Mudigdio) of the Socialist Party is one of the members who say parliament must keep the right of amendment. Text is partly garbled; no Gerwis reference.
Reshuffle of the Women's Front in parliament (Harian Rakjat, 14 February 1952)
Harian Rakjat, 14 Feb 1952 (four-page issue; p.3): a short item that the parliamentary Women's Front (Front Wanita) was reshuffled, with Mrs Sukemi now chair and N. Suwarti secretary, replacing chair Mrs Mudigdo and a secretary whose name is garbled. Also a garbled note on a Gerwis Kebayoran branch meeting, a Soviet wo
Delegation to Moscow International Economic Conference includes Kartinah (Gerwis) (Harian Rakjat, 2 April 1952)
Harian Rakjat, 2 Apr 1952, p.1: front page covers the new Wilopo cabinet and the Indonesian delegation to the international economic conference in Moscow, which lists Kartinah as Gerwis representative alongside delegates from Pemuda Rakyat, the peasant front and trade unions. The headline about 'equal spirit of women a
Gerwis protests at the Egyptian consulate
Java-Bode, 16 Apr 1952, p. 1: Gerwis hands a letter to the Egyptian consulate protesting the Cairo governor's ban on women voting in Egyptian elections, communicated to Doria Shafik of the Daughters of the Nile, and urges its withdrawal.
Gerwis protests Egyptian ban on women voting
De Nieuwsgier, 17 Apr 1952: Gerwis hands a letter to the Egyptian consulate protesting the Cairo governor's decision that women may not take part in Egyptian elections, and urges Egypt to withdraw it. Early example of Gerwis's international women's-rights solidarity.
Suwarti, MP and chair of Gerwis, on the peace committee (Harian Rakjat, 3 May 1952)
Harian Rakjat, 3 May 1952. On p. 3 Suwarti, MP and general chair (ketua umum) of Gerwis, is listed among the Indonesians invited to join the preparatory committee for the Asia-Pacific Peace Conference, alongside Siauw Giok Chan, Ir. Setiadi and others. Pp. 2-3 also report May Day 1952 rallies where Gerwis marched with
Harian Rakjat, 30 June 1952: Suwarti returns from the Vienna conference
Harian Rakjat, Jakarta, 30 June 1952 (full issue; p. 1 relevant). Reports that Suwarti, MP, sent by Gerwis in April to the Vienna conference on children's rights, returned to Jakarta; she describes contacts with WIDF, contrasts socialist and capitalist countries, announces the Peking peace conference, and complains tha
CIA report, 23 February 1953: Meeting of the sub-section committees, PKI Surabaya
CIA report, 23 February 1953, on a PKI Surabaya sub-section committees' meeting (Dec 1952) with directives on discipline, cadres and election preparation, including 'more support' for Gerwis. Shows Gerwis treated as a PKI-supported front.
Joys and sorrows of Indonesia in the past year
Indische Courant voor Nederland, 7 Jan 1953, p. 3: year-in-review chronology for 1952 (selected entries translated). Mentions the August 1951 raids, the 17 October 1952 affair, release of East Java arrestees on 30 Oct, a goodwill mission to Kahar Muzakkar under Mrs Salawati (8 Apr), and Aidit and Njoto refused entry to
Latest news from Indonesia (4-7 May 1953)
Antara news roundup, Indische Courant voor Nederland, 13 May 1953, p. 4 (4-7 May). Relevant item: Setiati Surasto, Maasje Siwi and Kartinah left for the WIDF congress in Copenhagen. Rest covers the bank strike, the 17 October affair and the Wilopo cabinet's refusal to seek a confidence vote.
Indonesia wants to sell more products in the Soviet Union
De Waarheid, 24 Feb 1954, p. 4: Jakarta report that the Indonesian government wants more sales of Indonesian products in the USSR and trade with people's democracies (Czechoslovakia, Hungary, GDR, Bulgaria); rubber prices rose on a Soviet purchase. A photo note on the Indonesian National Peace Congress (late January) n
PKI candidate list: Sulami, general secretary of DPD Gerwani East Java (Harian Rakjat, 23 February 1955)
Harian Rakjat, 23 Feb 1955, p. 3: PKI's list of candidates for the 1955 election (nos. 94-117 visible, with party and non-party 'takberpartai' candidates). No. 100 is Sulami, independent, general secretary of DPD Gerwani East Java; no. 101 Suwarinah, member of DPD Gerwani East Java. Same page: Ny. Mudigdio, vice-chair
CIA intelligence survey of the PKI's history, structure and front organisations, May 1955, before the September 1955 elections. Section III.E (report pp. 49-50) profiles Gerwani: founded 1950 as Gerwis, renamed Gerwani at the March 1954 congress, 25,000+ members, S.K. Trimurti general chairman and Umi Sardjono chairman
Pravda, 4 Jul 1955: World Congress of Mothers; the situation in Indonesia
Pravda, 4 July 1955 (selected pages 1, 3, 4). Page 3: WIDF deputy secretary Z. Ivanova on preparations for the World Congress of Mothers (Lausanne, 7-10 July); says WIDF established cooperation in Indonesia with 'the numerous women's organization Gerwani' and the plantation workers' union, and that Indonesia's committe
Pravda, 5 Aug 1955: government crisis in Indonesia; telegrams from Gerwani
Pravda, 5 August 1955, No. 217, page 6, supplied as a Claude machine translation of the Indonesia item. A TASS dispatch from Jakarta on the cabinet crisis (Harahap of Masjumi asked to form a government) says Harian Rakjat printed dozens of telegrams from SOBSI, BTI, the women's organisation Gerwani and Pemuda Rakjat in
Ten years of the Republic (Cor Geugjes)
De Waarheid, 17 Aug 1955, p. 3: Cor Geugjes's article for the Republic's tenth anniversary, covering Dutch colonial violence, the Bandung Conference, the Ali Sastroamidjojo government's fall and replacement by a Masjumi-PSI cabinet under Harahap, and the PKI's election platform. It lists Gerwani only as 'the strong wom
Elections in Indonesia on Thursday
Arnhemsche Courant, 27 Sept 1955: preview of Indonesia's first general elections (29 Sept), expecting a communist-Masjumi contest and noting that women have emerged as a political force within existing parties. Gerwani is not named; useful context for the 1955 elections.
Interpellation by communist MPs on foreign capital
De Locomotief, 28 Dec 1955: PKI parliamentarians Sakirman, Tjugito, Suwarti, Sumadi and Utarjo submit a written interpellation on foreign capital, claiming colonial-era extraction and restored monopoly under the 1949 RTC accords, with eight questions to the Burhanuddin government. Suwarti is a woman PKI MP; Gerwani is
Umi Sardjono at the WIDF 10th anniversary: women's rights in the Konstituante (Bintang Timur, 9 March 1956)
Front page (with pp. 2-4) of Bintang Timur, Jakarta, 9 Mar 1956. One column reports the 10th-anniversary celebration of the Women's International Democratic Federation (GWDS/WIDF) at the SBKA hall, Manggarai: Gerwani chair Umi Sardjono urges women's organisations to get women's rights written into the Konstituante, cit
CIA, East-West and Intra-Orbit Travel and Contacts, 18 Sep 1956 (Mrs Ch. Salawati of the PKI)
CIA bulletin of travel by bloc and non-bloc delegations. Citing Harian Rakjat (30 June 1956), it lists the Indonesian parliamentary delegation to the USSR, Poland and Czechoslovakia (September 1956), including 'Mrs Ch. Salawati of the PKI' (identified by the sweep as Charlotte Salawati Daud) with Sakirman. A separate l
Discussions and vote on Hungary resolutions in parliament
De Nieuwsgier parliamentary report (16 Nov 1956) on the debate over resolutions on Soviet "interference" in Hungary (Anwar Harjono) and an appeal to the UN (Adam Malik). Umi Sardjono (listed Pembangunan faction) spoke against the Anwar resolution; it passed 102 to 29, the Malik motion 71 to 0.
Parliament regrets Soviet interference in Hungary
De Nieuwsgier report (16 Nov 1956) on parliament adopting the Anwar Harjono resolution regretting Soviet interference in Hungary (102 for, 29 against, PKI etc.) and an amended Adam Malik motion (71 for) on UN troop withdrawals. Umi Sardjono is listed among the Malik motion's co-submitters (Pembangunan).
Pravda, 8 Mar 1957: life and struggle of Indonesian women (International Women's Day)
Pravda, 8 March 1957 (No. 67), p. 4 only (machine-translated): International Women's Day page with statements by Cai Chang (China), the WIDF president, Syrian and Soviet women, and 'Ban atomic and hydrogen weapons!' by T. Sulami, member of Indonesia's national 8 March Committee. She stresses women's role in the 1954 el
Pravda, 8 Mar 1957: life and struggle of Indonesian women (excerpt)
Keyword-hit excerpt of Pravda, No. 67, c. 8 March 1957, International Women's Day statements. Includes Cai Chang on Chinese women and a signed text by T. Sulami, member of Indonesia's national March 8 Committee: women's role in the 1954 [sic, 1955] elections (16 women MPs, 33 Konstituante members), 20-fold growth in sc
Visit to the National Council
Java-Bode, 16 August 1957, p. 2: a Yugoslav vice-president's party visited the National Council and was received by vice-chair Roeslan Abdulgani and members including the attorney-general, Ahem Erningpradja, S.K. Trimurti and Siwabessy. Other members were meeting on normalising the internal situation.