Melanjutkan Integrasi Gerakan Wanita dengan Perempuan Tani Indonesia: Laporan Plenum III Gerwani (Harian Rakjat, 23 Januari 1964; terjemahan JPRS)

Title: JPRS (1964) - Continue the Integration of the Womens Movement with Indonesian Farm Women, Report of the Third Plenary Session of Gerwani [Translations on South and East Asia, HathiTrust coo.31924082071592] Source: HathiTrust Digital Library (full view, US government work), page OCR text via text-only view Volume: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924082071592 Date retrieved: 2026-10-17 Note: page-image PDFs could not be downloaded (HathiTrust temporarily blocked image downloads); OCR text only. Page #162 Page #163 THE FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM IS EXECUTION OF LAND REFORM AND THE FORMATION OF A CABINET OF MUTUAL ASSISTANCE BASED ON NASAKOM Indonesia [Following is a translation of an article by Asmu in Harian Rakjat (People's Daily), Jakarta, 25 January 1964, page 3.」 "Execution of the parts of the government's Triprogram cannot be done separately. They are: Food and clothing, crushing "Malaysia" and continued development. The key to all this lies in a consistent execution of land reform in a manner which will benefit the peasants." Such were the words of Asmu, General Chairman of the Central Council of the BTI (Buruh Tani Indonesia; Union of Indonesian Farmers) and member of the Central Committee of the National Front, before the general farmers meeting in the Tatjung Building of Malang, during the evening of 14 January 1964. Asmu declared that the execution of the UUPA (Undang Undang Paraturan Agraria; Land Reform Law) is stagnating. According to official figures which could be obtained, the program of land reform has only divided.9% of registered surplus land, or about 1.95% of the acreage that should have been parceled out, after three years, from 1 January 1961 to the end of 1963. More than 50% of the result is unsatisfactory because wrong methods were used. If this pace is not to be speeded up, it will take 150 years before this limited system of land reform will be completed. And how many more centuries will it take before the remnants of feudalism have been done away with in accordance with the Economic Declaration? Asmu suggests to the farmers to strengthen their unity and to step up actions for the execution of the UUPA and UUPBH (Undang Undang Peraturan Bagi Hasil; Sharecropping Law). Such actions are justified and patriotic because their purpose is to keep up and push the execution of UUPA and UUPBH which are within certain limits Page #164 beneficial to farmers, and encourage the production level of food to rise. This is one condition which will enable us to crush "Malaysia" and to continue our development. Talk about the problems with food and clothing, the crushing of "Malaysia" and continued development without execution of land reform would just be a lot of empty words. To put the bogged-down execution of land reform in motion again we must clear matters up with united actions of the peasants to break the resistance of landowners and the delays of civil servants in the execution of UUPA and UUPBH. Asmu could not approve of the present measures which allow chiefs of a district or village to collect charges of Rupiah 10,000 to 30,000 from every fully qualified villager to confirm property rights to the land he has cultivated. This measure makes it very difficult for the farmer and it has no basis in the law, it is even in conflict with the government regulations regarding registration charges for land and regarding transfer of title to cultivated land. The Economic Regulations of 26 May 1963 which harmed the great majority of the people, from workers, farmers, students and educated people to national entrepreneurs, should according to Asmu not only be altered, but revoked and buried. The sponsors who did so much damage to the people should be condemned to hang. To execute the Economic Declaration regulations governing its execution are needed. According to Asmu, it is not so difficult to make regulations which would do away with such remnants of imperialism as Shell, Stanvac and Caltex and which would confiscate without compensation the land of feudal landowners, to divide it free of charge to farmers, with full title. All we need is a highly developed patriotism and the burning spirit of the wild buffalo. Such regulations would have the unconditional support of workers and farmers together with other patriotic and democratic parts of the population. He explained regarding "Malaysia" that crushing it would be the only thing to do. Crushing "Malaysia" means crushing English capital in Indonesia and helping the people of North Borneo. It also means chasing away the US Seventh Fleet from the Indian Ocean. He loudly urged all farmers to uphold the slogan "With one hand on your rifle and the other on your hoe". This means to be ready to fight shoulder to shoulder with the armed forces of the Republic of Indonesia to crush "Malaysia", to support the police for civil security and peace in the villages, and at the same time to work vigorously for increased production of food and for expansion of the 1001 Movement. Asmu explained that a majority of the peasants are confronted with heavy burdens such as a lack of food, seed and fertilizer. This situation endangers the next harvest. To help the farmers, Asmu urges the government to put an end to the injections of rice, corn and other food and to loan seed and fertilizer. He hopes that land owners, rich farmers and other rich people will also extend loans without interest, mainly consisting of food and seed, to farmers. Page #165 Asmu explained at the end that to make a success of the government Triprogram we need in addition to the execution of land reform in a consistent manner benefiting farmers, above all the formation of a Cabinet of Mutual Assistance based on Nasakom. This general meeting was attended by 5000 people consisting of farm women and men, civil servants and military personnel, workers, young women, students, artists and important figures of mass organizations and Nasakom parties belonging to the National Front. After the meeting there was an evening of art. That evening Asmu was flooded until the next morning by representatives of organizations and private persons who entrusted with him petitions and resolutions demanding repeal of the Economic Regulations of 26 May 1963 and formation of a Cabinet of Mutual Assistance based on Nasakom to be presented to President Sukarno. 10,319 CSO: 3570-S Page #166 CONTINUE THE INTEGRATION OF THE WOMENS MOVEMENT WITH INDONESIAN FARM WOMEN [Following is a translation of the report of the Third Plenary Session of the Gerwani (Gerakan Wanita Women's Movement) in Harian Rakjat (People's Daily) Jakarta, 23 January 1964, page 3.1 The Third Plenary Session of the DPP (Dewan Pimpinan Pusat; Central Council) of the Gerwani held in Bandung from 18 through 22 January was a very important event for everybody, especially in filling the pages of the history of our struggle at the start of 1964. It was an important occasion because the session was in progress while the revolutionary situation of the People of Indonesia is rising higher in their resistance to the madness of English and US imperialists. The session further took place at a critical moment of the fight of the Indonesian People to conquer economic difficulties, especially to fulfill the demand for food and rice. It was therefore unavoidable that the session should take concrete decisions regarding critical and important problems. Its main theme became, of course, the continued crushing of "Malaysia" and the conquering of the economic difficulties, in particular covering the demand for rice. This did not diminish, however, the attention to problems concerning organization, education and culture, which have now become an urgent necessity for all active Gerwani workers and the masses of women in general. Mrs. Umi Sardjono, chairman of the Central Council of Gerwani, discussed in her report with clarity the domestic and foreign situation and explained the duties of women in general and members of Gerwani in particular in the struggle against imperialist challenges and in winning our national revolution. In her introduction she explained that "During the past year we worked for the execution of our several tasks, executing the decisions of the Second Plenary Session regarding democracy, food and clothing and emancipation. The intention of the Third Plenary Session which is now in progress is to formulate a work pro- Page #167 gram from the beginning of the third year up to the Fourth Congress and also to strengthen the united front against "Malaysia", execute in a consistent manner the law for land reform as a way out of the dif ficulties with food and clothing. Up till the present our work has made energetic progress and achieved new successes thanks to the capability and readiness to make sacrifices of our hard working leaders. We understand, however, that there is also an unfinished part of the program. We are convinced that working for the Gerwani is performing a revolutionary duty and we have great esteem for the pains and sacrifices of all our officers. We are proud that we have become a revolutionary mass organization of great proportions with an important part to be played in the struggle. While we are entering the new year the plenary session wants to use the opportunity to dig into the experiences and to examine the development of the Gerwani during the past year, to decide on a national plan for 1964 regarding action and organization. It is our task to make the Gerwani a wide-spread mass organization, dynamic and favoring equality, rooted in the masses, blessed with leading committees from the center to the provinces and armed with the proper methods of leadership. It means that the Gerwani must show more persistence in creating leaders who are skilled, cultured and blessed with three good qualities; works well, learns well and has good morals. Especially at this point the Gerwani must do better work for farm women, learn well from the lives of farm women and show good morals like farm women who love to work. Chase away the US Seventh Fleet. In discussing our present struggle it was explained that the crushing of "Malaysia" has reached a level of confrontation in the economic sector which has paralysed the markets of Singapore and Malaya. Neo-colonialists, imperialists and their puppets are trying hard to plunge their subversive needles into the heart of the People of Indonesia. This began with the racist movement, the sabotage of rice, and ended with an attempt to kill President Sukarno. The main purpose of these people's scheme with the US imperialists is to intimidate us with the intention to enlarge the operational area of the US Seventh Fleet to the Indian Ocean. In facing this intimidation we stand squarely behind President Sukarno's speech urging us not to tremble as a result of the threats of the US Seventh Fleet, but to resist it always and to chase it away. If the US is stubborn we strengthen our demands for a boycott of US movies and abolishment of the contracts of the US oil companies. In our struggle against imperialism we must reinforce international loyalties, just as the majority of the votes during the session of the Bureau of the GWDS (Gerakan Wanita Dunia Seluruh; Women's World Movement) could agree with the resolution proposed by the Indonesian Page #168 delegation to support the struggle of the People of Indonesia in crushing "Malaysia". Then followed a presentation of the contributions of the Gerwani in the struggle for the liberation of West Irian. It sent volunteers after they were trained in a training center established by the Gerwani together with officials of the National Front and instruction officers of the Army. As a follow-up of the struggle for West Irian it is our task to fight for a quick abolition of the Quarantine Regulations to guarantee the democratic rights of the people and to see to it that West Irian can return formally and dejure without a plebiscite. The Sufferings of the People are becoming worse. In discussing domestic problems, Mrs. Umi Sardjono stressed the worsening economic situation, especially after the regulations of 26 May. She declared among other things that "In the report of the Second Plenary Session mention had already been made of the declining living conditions when the price of 19 articles of food and clothing of the people increased four to nine times as compared to the year 1962. The standard of living of the people declined even further in 1963. Prices went up like sputniks. As compared to the index figures of 1962 there were articles which increased 400 to 600% in price. These price increases are the reason that the population is suffering hunger. Disease caused by lack of food is widespread, urbanization is rising as a result of famine and the difficult living conditions in the villages. Everywhere the people have to go without rice. From the moment the Regulations of 26 May were issued, the Gerwani has declared its opposition and rejected these arbitrary measures, although their supporters and sponsors explained that they were to stabilize prices. Not yet one year after the regulations, prices of food and clothing appear to have risen and production has fallen off; the people are suffering worse. The plan for "stabilization" was a total failure and the government itself became its victim because the budget deficit, originally estimated at 30 billion, appears to become three times that amount and even more. The government itself has admitted the scandal of the terror of the Regulations of 26 May and their purpose to channel the sprinkle of US aid, amounting to 400 million dollar, which finally did not seep through. This proves that the sponsors of the economic scandal of 26 May gambled with the fate of the people and the nation and that they put our necks in the noose of the US imperialists. As long as we fight vigorously against "Malaysia", the imperialists intimidate, sabotage and spread billions of rupiahs around to upset our economy. We must therefore increase our alertness and strengthen our national unity to keep up the fight against the imperialists who are increasing their brutalities." Page #169 Formation of a Cabinet based on Nasakom In analyzing living conditions and the methods to conquer the difficulties the report stresses important problems, some of which are: In addition to the people who are suffering strongly from the economic terror of 26 May, the farmers, who are the main producers of rice, are suffering from a disaster inflicted by nature, failure of the harvest through an attack by plant disease. This plant disease ruined about 20% of our national production. The results of price increases, stagnation of rice distribution and failure of the harvest are increasingly difficult living conditions. According to reports, about 150,000 people on Java are being threatened by hunger and edema, caused by starvation. We urge that immediate steps be taken with all means at our disposal to conquer the difficulties with rice, lower its price and speed up distribution. In accordance with the Economic Delcaration the price should be lowered to 6.00 rupiahs per kg as the official price. The government should quickly lower prices of food, clothing and services. To increase production, the prices of basic and related articles should be forced down so that the people can buy them. Distribution rations should not be diminished in view of the bad state of affairs concerning food supplies. To make sure that the minimum needs are covered it is absolutely necessary to replace the personnel of government offices for the economy and distribution and to form a Production Council in which representatives of the people are seated. To bring about integration of government and people in conquering the present economic difficulties it is necessary to establish a Cabinet of Mutual Assistance based on Nasakom. Consistent Execution of the UUPA and the UUPBH As key to the efforts to overcome the worsening economic situation the report states that "Key to the solution of the food problem is an increased production of rice and a higher standard of living for the farmers through a consistent execution of the UUPA (Undang Undang Peraturan Agraria; Land Reform Law) and the UUPBH (Undang Undang Peraturan Bagi Hasil; Sharecropping Law). We should activate the Councils for Land Reform and establish such councils in areas where they have not yet been formed. Peasants should participate in such councils. We should replace and discipline functionaries in agrarian services who are promoting the interests of landowners and obstruct the execution of the UUPA and the UUPBH. Specific measures by the government are urgently needed if we keep in mind that the publication of government statistics indicates that only 9% of excess land has so far been divided. We demand that a court for matters concerning land reform be established in view of the slow development of the problem of registered surplus land. We urge the Gerwani to be active and to join the foremost ranks in the execution Page #170 of the UUPA and the UUPBH. Every leader and member of the Gerwani should do better work among women farmers by paying attention to the following points: 1. Understanding of the position and demands of farm women, especially female farm labor and wives of small farmers. 2. They should realize and be convinced of the importance of working in the villages, which are the source of food, energy and strength to crush counter-revolutionary elements. 3. They should study and fully understand the UUPA and UUPBH and assume an active part in the execution of these laws to fulfill especially the needs of female farm labor and wives of small farmers. 4. They should strengthen the cooperation with the BTI (Barisan Tani Indonesia; Indonesian Peasant Front) for the execution of the "Actions 6 Baik" (Actions of six good works) and the decisions of the Seminar of Farm Women. They should actively participate in preparing and conducting the Conference of Farm Women. 5. They should execute the policy of meeting the people of the villages and studying their circumstances in accordance with the instructions of the Central Council of the Gerwani. In this manner we can make reality of complete integration of the Gerwani with the farm women, especially female farm labor and wives of poor farmers. It would mean that the greatest force of women who are playing an important part in winning the national revolution would have been organized. It can finally be stated that this session is giving all its attention to improving its methods of operation, especially as regards bringing together and mobilizing farm women who form the majority of our women. Onward for complete integration of Gerwani and farm women, especially female farm labor and wives and daughters of poor farmers. To stress integration with farm women as the fundamental activity of the Gerwani does not mean that other important activities are to be neglected, as, for instance, raising the cultural and educational level of leaders of the Gerwani in the central as well as the local organization. The problems of organization also form an important task. The Plan has decided that the Gerwani must have a membership of four million in three years, with an organization spreading over all the districts of our archipelago. With the slogan "Let us continue with total integration of the Gerwani with female farm labor and wives of poor farmers", the Three- Year Plan of the Gerwani must be executed successfully. Long live the Second Plenary Session of the Gerwani! 10,319 CSO: 3570-S Page #171 EXPROPRIATION OF BRITISH-OWNED ENTERPRISES IN INDONESIA [Following is a translation of a declaration of the National Council of the SOBSI in Harian Rakjat (People's Daily) of Jakarta, 23 January 1964, page 1. We present the complete text of yesterday's declaration of the National Council of SOBSI (All Indonesia Central Labor Organization). As answer to the English insults which have recently been increasing as part of their neo-colonialist project to maintain "Malaysia", the workers of Indonesia have taken over or are taking over enterprises with English capital in Indonesia. Among these enterprises are Unilever, P. & T. (Pamenukan and Tjiasem Estates), B.A.T (British American Tobacco Co.) and Shell-Indonesia. This takeover is the proper way to channel the anger of the People, prevent anarchy and to benefit production and the means of production. We are very glad that the takeover was orderly, smooth and well disciplined. The workers turned the enterprises they had confiscated over to the government to have them made into state enterprises owned by the Republic of Indonesia. To safeguard the tools of production and to facilitate production Directors Councils were formed, consist ing generally speaking of the former Indonesian members of the board of directors, completed through the addition of experts and workers. The facts prove that the takeover by the workers was true, just and patriotic, in accordance with the Political Manifesto and following the instructions of its execution. This step not only strengthens the position of the Republic of Indonesia in its confrontation with "Malaysia" economically as well as politically, but strengthens at the same time the conditions for a victory over the economic difficulties, based on the principle "stand on your own feet". The takeover for those reasons received widespread support and sympathy from different parts of the population, including civil servants in favor of the Political Manifesto of the central as well as the local governments.