# Dutch East Indies: Colonial authorities end publication of the communist newspaper Mawa under Penal Code Article 153 bis, 1926

Published 2026-09-26. Last reviewed 2026-09-26. 2 sources.

Status: historical, as of 2026-09-26.

In 1926, colonial authorities in the Dutch East Indies ended publication of Mawa, a newspaper linked to the Communist Association of the Indies in Soerakarta, through repeated use of Article 153 bis of the colonial Penal Code, which criminalized advocating the overthrow of the government. The action came in the same year that a new Governor-General took office and colonial authorities put down a communist uprising in Batavia and the Banten region.[1][2][3]

- Country: [Indonesia](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/id)
- Where: ID
- Level of government: National
- Tactics: Licensing and closure of outlets, Secrets and espionage laws
- Stage: Silence (ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/outlet_licensing#stage-silence)
- Head of government at the time: [Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/andries-de-graeff)
- Issue of the day: Communist organizing was spreading among Indonesian workers' movements in the mid-1920s, and in November 1926 members of the Communist Party of the Indies rose up in Batavia and the Banten region, an uprising that colonial authorities put down.
- Outcome: Sustained, 1 January 1926. Mawa did not resume publishing, and the colonial government's restrictions on communist-linked newspapers continued after the 1926 uprising.
- Era: The 1920s

## What happened

Mawa, a newspaper that served as the voice of the Communist Association of the Indies (Perhimpoenan Komunis di Indie, PKI) in the city of Soerakarta on Java, ceased publication in 1926, only a year after it began, after colonial prosecutors repeatedly applied Article 153 bis of the Netherlands Indies Penal Code against it. That article, together with related article 153 ter, restricted any movement and discourse that colonial authorities judged might cause public insecurity. Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff took office as Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies on March 26, 1926. In November of that year, members of the PKI revolted in the streets of the colonial capital, Batavia, and in the Banten residency of western Java, an uprising that colonial authorities put down. Following the revolt, restrictions on the press and on political activity increased across the colony, continuing a pattern in which colonial authorities used the Penal Code's provisions against subversive speech to end the publication of newspapers linked to the communist movement.[1][4][5][2][3]

## What reason was given

Colonial authorities acted under Article 153 bis and ter of the Penal Code, provisions that restricted any movement and discourse judged likely to cause public insecurity.[4]

## What changed for reporting

Mawa stopped publishing after only a year, and government restrictions on the press and on political activity increased in the colony following the failed communist uprising later that year.[5]

## Timeline

- 1926: Dutch East Indies: Colonial authorities end publication of the communist newspaper Mawa under Penal Code Article 153 bis, 1926

## Who acted

| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff](https://thewaronnews.com/actors/andries-de-graeff) | enforced | Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies |

## Outlets and journalists

| Name | Kind | Relation |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Mawa](https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/mawa) | outlet | affected |

## Sources

1. Nobuto Yamamoto, Print Power and Censorship in Colonial Indonesia, 1914-1942 (Cornell University dissertation). https://ecommons.cornell.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/fe4bfdb2-a196-4b98-9706-23bf333c79f9/content (Nobuto Yamamoto, Print Power and Censorship in Colonial Indonesia, 1914-1942 (Cornell University dissertation), 2011).
2. Arnout van der Meer, Performing Power: Cultural Hegemony, Identity, and Resistance in Colonial Indonesia (Cornell University Press). https://ecommons.cornell.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/5ed47411-365e-42d9-bad4-7078124982e3/content (Arnout van der Meer, Performing Power: Cultural Hegemony, Identity, and Resistance in Colonial Indonesia (Cornell University Press), 2020).

## Claims cited

[1] In 1926, due to repeated application of Article 153 bis of the Penal Code, the communist-linked newspaper Mawa ceased publication only a year after its first issue. Quote: "in 1926, due to a series of application of Article 153 bis of the Penal Code, the voice of Soerakarta’s Communist Association of the Indies (Perhimpoean Komunis di India, PKI), Mawa, ceased publication, only one year after its inaugural issue." Source: Nobuto Yamamoto, Print Power and Censorship in Colonial Indonesia, 1914-1942 (Cornell University dissertation), 2011. Nobuto Yamamoto, Print Power and Censorship in Colonial Indonesia, 1914-1942 (Cornell University dissertation). https://ecommons.cornell.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/fe4bfdb2-a196-4b98-9706-23bf333c79f9/content Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/932, checked 2026-09-26.

[2] In November 1926, members of the Communist Party of the Indies revolted in the streets of Batavia and in the Banten residency. Quote: "In November 1926, members of the Communist Party (Partai Kommunis Indonesia, PKI) revolted in the streets of Batavia and in the Banten residency." Source: Arnout van der Meer, Performing Power: Cultural Hegemony, Identity, and Resistance in Colonial Indonesia (Cornell University Press), 2020. Arnout van der Meer, Performing Power: Cultural Hegemony, Identity, and Resistance in Colonial Indonesia (Cornell University Press). https://ecommons.cornell.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/5ed47411-365e-42d9-bad4-7078124982e3/content Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/935, checked 2026-09-26.

[3] Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff took office as Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies in Batavia on March 26, 1926. Quote: "the new Governor-General, Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff, assumed his office in Batavia on March 26, 1926." Source: Nobuto Yamamoto, Print Power and Censorship in Colonial Indonesia, 1914-1942 (Cornell University dissertation), 2011. Nobuto Yamamoto, Print Power and Censorship in Colonial Indonesia, 1914-1942 (Cornell University dissertation). https://ecommons.cornell.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/fe4bfdb2-a196-4b98-9706-23bf333c79f9/content Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/936, checked 2026-09-26.

[4] Article 153 bis and ter of the Penal Code restricted any movement and discourse that colonial authorities judged might cause public insecurity. Quote: "153 bis and ter restricted any movement and discourse that might cause public insecurity." Source: Nobuto Yamamoto, Print Power and Censorship in Colonial Indonesia, 1914-1942 (Cornell University dissertation), 2011. Nobuto Yamamoto, Print Power and Censorship in Colonial Indonesia, 1914-1942 (Cornell University dissertation). https://ecommons.cornell.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/fe4bfdb2-a196-4b98-9706-23bf333c79f9/content Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/933, checked 2026-09-26.

[5] Government restrictions on the press and on political activity increased in the colony following the failed 1926 uprising. Quote: "Press censorship increased, as did political oppression." Source: Arnout van der Meer, Performing Power: Cultural Hegemony, Identity, and Resistance in Colonial Indonesia (Cornell University Press), 2020. Arnout van der Meer, Performing Power: Cultural Hegemony, Identity, and Resistance in Colonial Indonesia (Cornell University Press). https://ecommons.cornell.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/5ed47411-365e-42d9-bad4-7078124982e3/content Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/934, checked 2026-09-26.

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1926-dutch-east-indies-mawa-article-153bis. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.