CIA intelligence memorandum, 6 October 1965: The upheaval in Indonesia
CIA intelligence memorandum, 6 October 1965, an early US assessment of the 30 September Movement; names Gerwani as reportedly involved and relays Suharto's 4 October claim that Pemuda Rakyat and Gerwani volunteers trained near Halim. Early US echo of the Lubang Buaya narrative.
Kartinah Kurdi, 'Intensifying training of women volunteers' (Harian Rakjat, 27 September 1965; JPRS)
JPRS translation of Kartinah Kurdi's article in Harian Rakjat, 27 Sept 1965 (days before the coup), urging more intensive training of Gerwani 'Sukwati' volunteer women for Dwikora. Describes training centres (Jakarta 'Kartini' and 'Tavip' forces; provincial centres), rallies at Gerwani's 15th anniversary, women marchin
JPRS Translations on South and East Asia No. 101: Indonesian press, October 1965 (dismiss Gerwani from the women's movem
JPRS Translations on South and East Asia No. 101: selected Oct 1965 Indonesian press items. Gerwani-related: Duta Masjarakat (16 Oct) 'Dismiss Gerwani from Women's Movement' saying members trained at Lobang Buaja and urging Kowani (chair Hurustiati Subandrio) to act; 11 Oct 'Gerwani and Pemuda Rakjat in Disguise' (clai
Suara Merdeka, 6 Oct 1965, p. 1: Lubang Buaya well and Kalibata burial
Suara Merdeka (Semarang), 6 Oktober 1965, hlm. 1. Front page after discovery of the officers' bodies: Suharto's RRI announcement of the Lubang Buaya well and Kalibata burial; his reply mentions an AURI-run training centre for 'sukarelawan/sukarelawati'. No Gerwani or mutilation mentioned.
Communists slaughter family of Yogyakarta army commander (Berita Harian, 1965)
Berita Harian, 7 October 1965, p. 1: Radio Yogyakarta claims Col. Katamso's family was slaughtered; fighting at Klaten and Cirebon, where rebels included armed communist youth and Gerwani members; army paper's account of the seven officers' deaths (Yani, Suprapto, Haryono, Parman, Panjaitan, Sutoyo, Tendean) at Lubang
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
Suara Merdeka, 12 Oct 1965, p. 1: Krukut 'cleansing operation' claims
Suara Merdeka (Semarang), 12 Oktober 1965, hlm. 1. Berita Yudha-based report on the Krukut 'cleansing operation' of 4–5 October claiming local activists joined the kidnappings and killings at Lubang Buaya. Gerwani is not named.
Fate of four Diponegoro Division officers unknown: Gerwani and the generals' widows (Berita Harian, 1965)
Berita Harian, 15 October 1965, p. 3, Reuters: troops capture local communist leaders in Serang, units search a communist's house in Jakarta, and unrest in Yogyakarta; reports claim 'more and more' Gerwani members tried to kidnap army officers' wives and, the previous night, to seize several generals' widows. An early
Suara Merdeka, 29 October 1965, p. 2: 'Confession' of a Pemuda Rakyat leader on Lubang Buaya training
Suara Merdeka (Semarang), 29 Oktober 1965, hlm. 2. Antara report of the 'confession' of Pemuda Rakyat leader 'MSN': secret 'GTM' recruitment for Lubang Buaya training from July 1965, seeing many Gerwani, PR and BTI in ranks, 'Ibu Djumono of the DPP Gerwani', and ranks that 'appeared happy and sang'.
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
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
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
Women in prison: tears at Bukit Duri (photo story, Berita Harian, 1965)
Berita Harian, 9 December 1965, p. 4: UPI photographer Kurnipi visits Bukit Duri women's prison, Jakarta (about 110 detainees), among them Gerwani leaders and MPs Salawati Daud and Umi Sardjono, plus Emi binti Madali, 20, who 'confessed' to killing General Yani, and two small children jailed with their mothers. Women p