Communist Party of Siam
|
Communist Party of Thailand
พรรคคอมมิวนิสต์แห่งประเทศไทย |
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|---|---|
| Abbreviation | CPT |
| Founded | 1942 |
| Dissolved | Last active in the early 1990s |
| Split from | South Seas Communist Party |
| Militant wing | People's Liberation Army of Thailand |
| Radio | Voice of the People of Thailand |
| Ideology |
Communism Marxism–Leninism Maoism |
| Political position | Far-left |
| Colors | Red |
| Party flag | |
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The Communist Party of Thailand - CPT (Thai: พรรคคอมมิวนิสต์แห่งประเทศไทย, abbreviated พคท) was a communist party in Thailand active from 1942 until the 1990s.
Initially known as the Communist Party of Siam the party was founded officially on 1 December 1942, although communist activism in the country began as early as 1927. In the 1960s the CPT grew in membership and support and by the early 1970s was the second largest communist movement in mainland South-East Asia (after Vietnam). The party launched a guerrilla war against the Thai government in 1965. Even though the CPT suffered internal divisions, at its political peak the party effectively acted as a state within the state. Its rural support is estimated to have been at least four million people; its military support consisted of 10-14,000 armed fighters. Its influence was concentrated in the North-Eastern, Northern and Southern regions of Thailand. Following a series of internal party disputes, changes in international communist alliances, successful counter-insurgency policies of the Thai government including a widely accepted offer of amnesty for party cadres, and, ultimately, the end of the Cold War, the party disappeared from the political scene in the early 1990s.
The origins of the communist movement in Thailand begin with the founding of the Siam Special Committee of the South Seas Communist Party between 1926 and 1927. An infusion of leftists fleeing China for Thailand in the late 1920s following the Nationalist-Communist split of 1927 also increased support for activities. Accounts vary, but sometime between late 1929 and early 1930 the Communist Party of Siam was inaugurated.
During its initial phase of existence, the Communist Party of Siam remained a small party. It was mainly based amongst intellectuals in Bangkok and the services. By early 1948, British intelligence sources deemed reports that the party would have had 3,000 members nationwide as 'exaggerated'. The party enjoyed a brief period of legality from 1946 to 1948. The secret party headquarters were located in a wooden building at Si Phraya Road, Bangkok.
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