Umi Sardjono and Allegations Against Gerwani (Editors' Note)

Moyang Kasih Dewi Merdeka Umi Sardjono and Allegations Against Gerwani Monday, October 4, 2021 Tempo again presents a special report as an effort to verify the historical claims manufactured by Suharto’s regime surrounding the September 30, 1965 tragedy. This time, we wish to present the life, activism, and ideas of Gerwani Chair, Umi Sardjono. arsip tempo: 179233732965.7978828 UMI Sardjono’s fellow political prisoners remember her as a quiet person. Several witnesses say they rarely saw the woman born under the name Suharti Sumodiwirjo break into unrestrained laughter. In prison, she was isolated. Fellow inmates often saw Umi deep in quiet contemplation while embroidering. Not much changed after she was released from prison. The former Indonesian Women’s Movement (Gerwani) general chairperson lived in solitude. She attended very few gatherings for former political prisoners. Umi rarely complained about her troubles to visitors. In the last years of her life, many people often visited her to learn more about what truly happened on September 30, 1965. They were researchers, journalists, to women activists. But Umi was always reluctant to speak about her experiences. Saskia E. Wieringa, who wrote the book Penghancuran Gerakan Perempuan di Indonesia (The Destruction of Gerwani), once visited Umi at around 1981, several years after the latter’s release from prison. Wieringa told Tempo that Umi, who was lying in bed, warmly welcomed her. But still, Wieringa could sense the woman’s hidden trauma. Wieringa avoided questions about torture and Umi’s incarceration. Wieringa remembers the meeting as an emotional moment. Umi Sardjono (right) at an event organized by Gerwani. Repro: Tempo/Gunawan Wicaksono, from Uchikowati Doc. “She had a lot of guilt, asked repeatedly, ‘what did I do wrong? Was I responsible for all of that?’” Wieringa quoted Umi in an email sent to us on Saturday, September 18. She could feel that Umi was still shaken whenever she asked about the women arrested in military operations, forced to admit to being Gerwani members, and were then tortured and imprisoned. They were tortured after being accused of involvement in the Lubang Buaya incident—gouging out the eyes of military generals, lacerating their genitals with razor blades, dancing naked—all of which were untrue. When she died on March 11, 2011, at the age of 87 years old, Umi did not leave behind a memoir of any sort, although we know from Gerwani’s historical archive that Umi was capable of writing clear, well-organized, as well as visionary speeches and reports on women’s rights and peace. Readers, as the anniversary of the September 30, 1965 tragedy approaches, Tempo again presents a special report as an effort to test the historical claims manufactured by Suharto’s regime surrounding this tragedy. This time, we wish to present Umi Sardjono’s life, activism, and ideas. Umi was the chairperson of Gerwani, who was immediately arrested only several days after the attempted coup. Umi, who was also a parliament member at the time, was apprehended in Senayan and imprisoned in the Bukit Duri Prison, Jakarta. It was at this time that the fire of Umi’s conviction and fight died out. Umi Sardjono (with her back to the camera) with Gerwani members hosting guests from abroad. Repro: Tempo/Gunawan Wicaksono, from Uchikowati Doc. Tempo has already published an in-depth investigative report on the 1965 mass killings straight from the perpetrators, as well as an extensive report on Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) officials, who were accused as masterminding the September 30, 1965 movement, such as Njoto, Sjam Kamaruzaman, and D.N. Aidit. Making each of these reports had its own challenges. The same applied when we were in the process of writing about Umi Sardjono’s life. The greatest challenge in writing about Umi was that many key witnesses who saw Umi’s work first-hand are no longer with us. Furthermore, Umi left few footprints to trace. As we already mentioned, she did not leave behind a journal or any other kind of writing. Her house in Jalan Tegalan III, Central Jakarta, had already been demolished. Her closest family members could not be tracked and her grave could not be found. Luckily, several writers and historian managed to document Umi’s story prior to her demise, although they were short pieces. Almost all sources whom Tempo spoke to agreed that Umi was hesitant to tell stories. Saskia E. Wieringa was not the only person who had trouble getting information from Umi. Annie Pohlman, a historian from Queensland University, who specializes in Indonesian history and managed to meet Umi three times, felt that Umi was always vigilant and tense. Every time the two women met at Umi’s home in Tegalan, Umi asked Pohlman to speak in English. “She did not want to use Indonesian,” said Pohlman in a Zoom interview, September 3. “Actually, she asked to converse in Dutch because she was very fluent in it, but I only knew English.” Umi did not give permission to have the interview recorded. Pohlman was only allowed to write notes. If Umi heard a neighbor’s voice or footsteps in front of her home, she would fall silent and only continue the conversation if it had become absolutely silent. Umi was always suspicious of being watched, although the meetings between Annie and her took place in 2005, seven years after Suharto’s fall. Umi Sardjono during a discussion with human rights activists and former political prisoners in Jakarta, late 1999. Uchikowati Doc. We managed to reconstruct Umi’s youth based on stories from Ruth Indiah Rahayu, who met with Umi frequently between 2004 and 2009. According to the IndoProgress Institute for Social Research and Education researcher, little Umi was able to attend school because of her father’s position as a civil servant. Umi diligently read Kartini’s Habis Gelap Terbitlah Terang (Letters of a Javanese Princess), as well as Karl Marx and Clara Zetkin’s writings. Umi told Ruth how she was tortured by the Japanese for working as an underground political courier. Umi was hung upside down like a bat and was forced to drink her own urine. But the torture did not stop Umi from fighting. However, the 1965 arrest dampened Umi’s passion, leaving behind a deep trauma. Historian Ita Fatia Nadia, the daughter of Dayino, an activist with the independence group Pathuk, was close to Umi. She spoke about the period when Umi’s ideology was formed during her involvement in the Pathuk group in Yogyakarta. Tempo also sent a journalist to report on the independence group’s headquarters in Yogyakarta. To learn more about Gerwani and Umi’s programs for women, we spoke to Ita as well as Agung Ayu Ratih, founder of the Indonesian Institute of Social History (ISSI). To avoid glorification, we attempted to discuss Gerwani’s track record objectively and to focus on the movement’s controversial aspects, such as Gerwani’s close relationship with Sukarno and the organization’s ambiguous attitude toward polygamy and war. Of course, we tried our best to reach sources who lived during Umi’s time. Despite their old age, two former political prisoners, Mujiati and Utita, were still able to tell us about their time at the Bukit Duri Prison with Umi. They also continued to meet Umi after their release from prison, although Umi had chosen to withdraw and were not too involved in activities by 1965 survivors. Survivors of the 1965 events, Utati and Mujiati, former political prisoners of Bukit Duri, when met in Depok, West Java, September 25. Tempo/Nurdiansah Meanwhile, writers Lilik H.S. and Fransisca Ria Susanti, who had the opportunity to visit Umi prior to her death, spoke about the fire that they still saw in Umi’s eyes despite the decades of trauma. When she visited Umi at the hospital, Fransisca heard the woman speak with firm resolve, despite her weak voice: “I don’t want to die before I see that there is a women’s organization like the one we had long ago.” Readers, we present Umi Sardjono’s story. Umi Sardjono Special Report Team Team Leaders: Nurdin Kalim, Seno Joko Suyono, Stefanus Pramono Project Head: Moyang Kasih Dewimerdeka Writers: Dini Pramita, Hussein Abri Dongoran, Isma Savitri, Moyang Kasih Dewimerdeka, Retno Sulistyowati, Riky Ferdianto Editors: Agoeng Wijaya, Bagja Hidayat, Mustafa Silalahi, Nurdin Kalim, Seno Joko Suyono, Stefanus Pramono Contributors: Devy Ernis, Shinta Maharani (Yogyakarta) Photo Researchers: Gunawan Wicaksono (Coordinator), Jati Mahatmaji, Ratih Purnama English Editor: Luke Edward Graphic Design:Imam Riyadi, Rio Ari Seno, Riyan R Akbar Moyang Kasih Dewi Merdeka [end of article; site navigation trimmed]