Communist Party of Thailand
Encyclopedia
The Communist Party of Thailand - CPT was a Marxist-Leninist, Communist political party
in Thailand
, active from 1942 until the 1990s. Initially known as Communist Party of Siam the party was founded officially on the 1st of 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
). 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 to the North-Eastern, Northern and Southern regions of Thailand.
However, following a series of internal party disputes, changes in international communist alliances, successful counter-insurgency policies of the Thai government and, ultimately, the end of the Cold War
, the party disappeared from the political scene in the early 1990s.
to plot the Coup d'état of 1932 formed a political party and named it Khana Ratsadon
translated in English as the People's Party. Within days of the success of the coup, Khana Ratsadon had turned Siam into a one-party state with communistic sounding institutions such as the "People's Assembly" and the position of "President of the People's Committee". In 1933, Pridi, one of the Party's founders, went briefly into voluntary exile when his radical economic plans calling for nationalisation of all land and labour
, were violently rejected by many as extreme and allegedly communist. Though Pridi was advocating socialism
, Party co-founder Pibun supported fascism
and nationalism
, with the consequence that subsequent nationalist regimes labeled many would-be reformers "Communist!" During World War II, Pridi used his figurehead role of Regent
for the young Rama X then in neutral Switzerland as cover for his leadership of the Free Thai Movement in Thailand in cooperation with the United States Office of Strategic Services (OSS). The United States had never officially been at war with Thailand, and supported her admission to the United Nations
The Soviet Union
, however, insisted on the repeal of anticommunist legislation.
and the services. By early 1948, British intelligence sources deemed reports that the party would have had 3000 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
.
A CPT delegation attended the 2nd national congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam
in Tuyen Quang
in February 1951.
CPT held its second party congress in 1952.
held in Moscow
.
CPT held its third party congress in September 1961. In the Sino-Soviet split
, CPT would side with the Communist Party of China
. In October 1964, its position as was declared in a congruatulatory message on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. Ideologically, the party aligned with Maoism
. In 1961 it formulated a policy of armed struggle along the lines of the Chinese experience, which was brought public in 1964. The party condemned the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
as revisionist and social imperialist. As of 1966, relations with the Communist Party of Vietnam
began to deteriorate, as CPT criticized CPV for failing to taking a clear pro-China stance.
The Voice of the People of Thailand, a CPT radio station, was established in Yunnan
, southern China in March 1962.
The party launched the Thai Patriotic Front on January 1, 1965. The TPF had a six-point programme for peace and neutrality. The Front called for the formation of a patriotic and democratic government, and opposed the Thai government and US troop presence in Thailand. TPF was posed to fill the role of the united front
in the triangular setting of the people's war strategy (party-army-front).
Low intensity armed struggle began in August 1965, the party declared through its VOPT transmission that 'an era of armed struggle had begun'. At the same time the party intensified began armed actions in the Na Kae District
, Nakhon Phanom Province
. At the time it was estimated that the party had around 1200 armed fighters under its command.
Opposition to US military presence in Thailand was of high importance to the political discourse of the CPT during the Vietnam War
. The CPT alleged that Thailand was a neocolonial
country under the direct control of the United States
. Emphasis was thus given to the struggle for national independence. As of 1968, the theory of neocolonialism was refuted by large sections of the party, who inspired by the Maoist positions argued that Thailand was a semi-colonial country.
In 1969, the Supreme Command of the People's Liberation Army of Thailand was formed, marking a new phase in the build-up of guerrilla forces. The armed struggle had spread to various districts in the North. The armed forces of the party had also established a presence along the border with Malaysia, in the areas were the armed forces of the Communist Party of Malaya was based.
In July 1969 nine CPT members were arrested, including a high-ranking Central Committee
member. The arrests were presented by government as a crucial victory over the party.
When Thailand and the People's Republic of China established diplomatic relations in 1975, an announcement on VOPT hailed this development.
In the aftermath of the October 6 massacre
at Thammasat University
and in the climate of increasing repression after the military take-over of the country, the CPT was able to expand its membership base. Many of the new recruits were students, workers, intellectuals, farmers or cadres of the Socialist Party of Thailand
. More than 1000 students joined the party, including most elected campus representative throughout the country. A large section of the newly recruited members received political and military training in PLAT camps in Laos
. Instructors were Thai, Laotian and Vietnamese.
In many cases, however, students used to urban life had difficulties adopting to the harsh realities of guerrilla struggle, and thus the party decided to place many of them in villages rather in the deep jungles. The new student recruits were divided in groups of five to ten, which were distributed along the approximately 250 'liberated villages' of the country.
By 1977, its estimated that the party had around 6-8000 armed fighters, and about a million sympathizers. Half of the provinces of the country were declared 'communist infiltrated' by official Thai sources at the time.
The entry of leftist intellectuals to the party strengthened its capability to pursue united front policies. Following the expansion of its membership, CPT began to stretch out a hand to wider sections of Thai society for forming a broad democratic front. On May 7, 1977 the Socialist Party of Thailand declared that it would cooperate in armed struggle with the CPT. On July 2 the two parties declared the formation of a united front.
On October 4 VOPT declared the formation of the Committee for Coordination of Patriotic and Democratic Forces on September 28. The nine-member coordination committee consisted of
Aligned with the CPT at the time were also the Thai Moslem People's Liberation Armed Forces and the National Student Center of Thailand.
In late 1978 Sino-Soviet split developed into armed hostilities in South-East Asia as war broke out between Vietnam and Kampuchea, two countries that supported CPT. Laos, a country which hosted many PLAT bases, sided with Vietnam in the dispute. And in January 1979 CPT and PLAT were expelled from Laos by the Laotian government, resulting in a military backlash for the party. Bunyen Worthong and a small section of other ex-student leaders/intellectuals broke with the party leadership and on October 22, 1979 they formed the Thai Isan Liberation Party (generally called Pak Mai, the 'New Party') in Vientiane
. Pak Mai was a communist party that supported Vietnamese-Laotian positions. Pak Mai was based in Laos.
Initially, CPT adopted a neutral stance in the emerging conflict between Vietnam and Kampuchea, causing relations to deteriorate with both the Chinese and the Vietnamese parties. However, as Vietnam intervened militarily in Kampuchea, CPT condemned the Vietnamese action in a statement issued on June 7, 1979.
As diplomatic and trade relations between Thailand and China improved, and Thai and Chinese governments found a common enemy in pro-Soviet Vietnam, the moral and logistical support for the CPT on behalf of the Chinese declined sharply. The Communist Party of China began advising the CPT to tone down their revolutionary discourse against the Thai government in their radio broadcasts, with the backdrop of the necessity to support the Democratic Kampuchea
forces against the Vietnamese. On July 10, 1979 VOPT declared that it would cease to its broadcasting service. On July 11 the last VOPT broadcast was transmitted. Renmin Ribao carried a congratulatory message from CPT on the 30th anniversary of the People's Republic of China on September 30, which called for militant unity between Thai and Chinese communists, but thereafter news about the CPT in Chinese media became scarse.
In March 1981 the Socialist Party of Thailand broke its relation with the CPT, claiming that CPT was controlled by foreign influences.
In April 1981 the CPT leadership proposed the Thai government to initiate peace talks. The Thai government responded that the CPT fighters had to demobilize before any talks could be initiated. In a declaration on October 25, 1981 Major General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh
, the director of the Thai Army Operations Department, said that the war against CPT armed forces was approaching its end as all major bases of the PLAT in the North and North-East had been destroyed.
In 1982 the government, under the then-Prime Minister General Prem Tinsulanonda
, issued another executive order, 65/2525, offering amnesty to CPT/PLAT fighters.
In 1982-1983 CPT experienced mass defections of its cadres, and its military potential was severely reduced. Many of those that defected in the early 1980s were the students and intellectuals that joined CPT after the 1976 massacre. The defectors generally rejected the Maoist ideological positions of the CPT, arguing that Thailand was emerging as an industrial nation and the peasant war strategy had to be abandoned.
At the time, the arrests of two high-profile CPT leaders occurred. Damri Ruangsutham, influential politburo
member, and Surachai Sae Dan, a leading figure of the party in southern Thailand, were captured by state forces.
There have been no reports of CPT activity since the beginning of the 1990s. However, the exact fate of the party is not known, and it remains banned to this day.
, elected by a 25-member Central Committee
. Under the Central Committee there were various provincial (changwat) committees and under them district (amphoe
) committees. In the local level there were tambol and muban
party structures.
Information on the leadership of CPT is scarse. The CPT itself was always secretive of revealing the identity of its leaders. According to a 1977 Kampuchean document, it was claimed that the General Secretary of the CPT was 'Khamtan' (nom de guerre of Phayom Chulanont
). Other sources mention 'Comrade Samanan' (Jaroen Wanngam) as the party leader during the same period.
had an active exile branch working amongst the ethnically Chinese in the country. The party obtained legal status in 1946, and had a major influence in trade union
s and amongst Chinese students. The party had around 2000 active members and another 3000 sympathizers in Siam. However, after the establishment of the People's Republic of China
in 1949 most of the Chinese communists in the country joined the CPT. Thus from this period until 1976, the party membership was largely ethnically Chinese. However, following the rapid expansion of the party following the 1976 massacre the profile of the party changed and ethnic Thais came to constitute the dominant group amongst the party ranks.
There was also a strong presence of other ethnic minorities amongst the party ranks. Notably, whilst many Hmong
s in neighbouring Laos
tended to side with anti-communist forces, the CPT was able to build a strong base amongst Hmong people in Thailand.
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, active from 1942 until the 1990s. Initially known as Communist Party of Siam the party was founded officially on the 1st of 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
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
). 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 to the North-Eastern, Northern and Southern regions of Thailand.
However, following a series of internal party disputes, changes in international communist alliances, successful counter-insurgency policies of the Thai government and, ultimately, the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, the party disappeared from the political scene in the early 1990s.
1930s – 1940s background
In 1927, Thai students abroad meeting in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to plot the Coup d'état of 1932 formed a political party and named it Khana Ratsadon
Khana Ratsadon
Khana Ratsadon , frequently mistakenly written as Khana Rat , was a Siamese group of military and civil officers, and later a political party, which staged a bloodless coup against King Prajadhipok and transited the country's absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy on 24 June 1932.-The...
translated in English as the People's Party. Within days of the success of the coup, Khana Ratsadon had turned Siam into a one-party state with communistic sounding institutions such as the "People's Assembly" and the position of "President of the People's Committee". In 1933, Pridi, one of the Party's founders, went briefly into voluntary exile when his radical economic plans calling for nationalisation of all land and labour
Labour
Labor might refer to:*Labor, an obsolete unit of area*Josef Labor, a composer, pianist, organist, and teacher*Labor, SloveniaLabour or labor might refer to:* Employment of any kind* Manual labour, physical work done by people...
, were violently rejected by many as extreme and allegedly communist. Though Pridi was advocating socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, Party co-founder Pibun supported fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
and nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
, with the consequence that subsequent nationalist regimes labeled many would-be reformers "Communist!" During World War II, Pridi used his figurehead role of Regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
for the young Rama X then in neutral Switzerland as cover for his leadership of the Free Thai Movement in Thailand in cooperation with the United States Office of Strategic Services (OSS). The United States had never officially been at war with Thailand, and supported her admission to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
The Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, however, insisted on the repeal of anticommunist legislation.
1940s - 1950s: Founding of the Party
During its initial phase of existence, the Communist Party of Siam remained a small party. It was mainly based amongst intellectuals in BangkokBangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
and the services. By early 1948, British intelligence sources deemed reports that the party would have had 3000 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
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
.
A CPT delegation attended the 2nd national congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam
Communist Party of Vietnam
The Communist Party of Vietnam , formally established in 1930, is the governing party of the nation of Vietnam. It is today the only legal political party in that country. Describing itself as Marxist-Leninist, the CPV is the directing component of a broader group of organizations known as the...
in Tuyen Quang
Tuyen Quang
-History:The French post at Tuyen Quang was defended for four months against 12,000 troops of the Yunnan Army and the Black Flag Army by two companies of the French Foreign Legion during the Sino-French War...
in February 1951.
CPT held its second party congress in 1952.
1960s: The People's War
In 1960, the party attended the International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties1960 International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties
In 1960 an International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties was held in Moscow.Participants were :*Albania: Albanian Party of Labour*Algeria: Algerian Communist Party...
held in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
CPT held its third party congress in September 1961. In the Sino-Soviet split
Sino-Soviet split
In political science, the term Sino–Soviet split denotes the worsening of political and ideologic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the Cold War...
, CPT would side with the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
. In October 1964, its position as was declared in a congruatulatory message on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. Ideologically, the party aligned with Maoism
Maoism
Maoism, also known as the Mao Zedong Thought , is claimed by Maoists as an anti-Revisionist form of Marxist communist theory, derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong . Developed during the 1950s and 1960s, it was widely applied as the political and military guiding...
. In 1961 it formulated a policy of armed struggle along the lines of the Chinese experience, which was brought public in 1964. The party condemned the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
as revisionist and social imperialist. As of 1966, relations with the Communist Party of Vietnam
Communist Party of Vietnam
The Communist Party of Vietnam , formally established in 1930, is the governing party of the nation of Vietnam. It is today the only legal political party in that country. Describing itself as Marxist-Leninist, the CPV is the directing component of a broader group of organizations known as the...
began to deteriorate, as CPT criticized CPV for failing to taking a clear pro-China stance.
The Voice of the People of Thailand, a CPT radio station, was established in Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
, southern China in March 1962.
The party launched the Thai Patriotic Front on January 1, 1965. The TPF had a six-point programme for peace and neutrality. The Front called for the formation of a patriotic and democratic government, and opposed the Thai government and US troop presence in Thailand. TPF was posed to fill the role of the united front
United front
The united front is a form of struggle that may be pursued by revolutionaries. The basic theory of the united front tactic was first developed by the Comintern, an international communist organisation created by revolutionaries in the wake of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.According to the theses of...
in the triangular setting of the people's war strategy (party-army-front).
Low intensity armed struggle began in August 1965, the party declared through its VOPT transmission that 'an era of armed struggle had begun'. At the same time the party intensified began armed actions in the Na Kae District
Amphoe Na Kae
Na Kae is a district in the province Nakhon Phanom in the northeast of Thailand.-Geography:Neighboring districts are Wang Yang, Pla Pak, Renu Nakhon and That Phanom of Nakhon Phanom Province, Dong Luang of Mukdahan Province, and Tao Ngoi and Khok Si Suphan of Sakon Nakhon Province.-History:The...
, Nakhon Phanom Province
Nakhon Phanom Province
Nakhon Phanom is one of the north-eastern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Mukdahan, Sakon Nakhon and Bueng Kan. To the north-east it borders Khammouan of Laos.-Geography:...
. At the time it was estimated that the party had around 1200 armed fighters under its command.
Opposition to US military presence in Thailand was of high importance to the political discourse of the CPT during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. The CPT alleged that Thailand was a neocolonial
Neocolonialism
Neocolonialism is the practice of using capitalism, globalization, and cultural forces to control a country in lieu of direct military or political control...
country under the direct control of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Emphasis was thus given to the struggle for national independence. As of 1968, the theory of neocolonialism was refuted by large sections of the party, who inspired by the Maoist positions argued that Thailand was a semi-colonial country.
In 1969, the Supreme Command of the People's Liberation Army of Thailand was formed, marking a new phase in the build-up of guerrilla forces. The armed struggle had spread to various districts in the North. The armed forces of the party had also established a presence along the border with Malaysia, in the areas were the armed forces of the Communist Party of Malaya was based.
In July 1969 nine CPT members were arrested, including a high-ranking Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
member. The arrests were presented by government as a crucial victory over the party.
1970s: Apex
From 1970 onwards PLAT received significant logistical support from China and Vietnam. PLAT forces intensified their operations, including attacks on US Air Force bomber bases in the country.When Thailand and the People's Republic of China established diplomatic relations in 1975, an announcement on VOPT hailed this development.
In the aftermath of the October 6 massacre
6 October 1976 Massacre
The Thammasat University Massacre, or Massacre of 6 October 1976 , was an attack on students and protesters that occurred on the campus of Thammasat University and at Sanam Luang in Bangkok. Students from various universities were demonstrating against the return to Thailand of Field Marshal...
at Thammasat University
Thammasat University
Thammasat University , or in brief TU , is Thailand's second oldest university. Officially established on 27 June 1934, the university was originally named by founder Pridi Banomyong, University of Moral Science and Politics , reflecting the political fervor of the time...
and in the climate of increasing repression after the military take-over of the country, the CPT was able to expand its membership base. Many of the new recruits were students, workers, intellectuals, farmers or cadres of the Socialist Party of Thailand
Socialist Party of Thailand
The Socialist Party of Thailand was political party in Thailand, active in the 1970s. SPT was led by its general secretary Boonsanong Punyodyana.SPT won 15 out of 269 seats in the 1975 parliamentary elections....
. More than 1000 students joined the party, including most elected campus representative throughout the country. A large section of the newly recruited members received political and military training in PLAT camps in Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
. Instructors were Thai, Laotian and Vietnamese.
In many cases, however, students used to urban life had difficulties adopting to the harsh realities of guerrilla struggle, and thus the party decided to place many of them in villages rather in the deep jungles. The new student recruits were divided in groups of five to ten, which were distributed along the approximately 250 'liberated villages' of the country.
By 1977, its estimated that the party had around 6-8000 armed fighters, and about a million sympathizers. Half of the provinces of the country were declared 'communist infiltrated' by official Thai sources at the time.
The entry of leftist intellectuals to the party strengthened its capability to pursue united front policies. Following the expansion of its membership, CPT began to stretch out a hand to wider sections of Thai society for forming a broad democratic front. On May 7, 1977 the Socialist Party of Thailand declared that it would cooperate in armed struggle with the CPT. On July 2 the two parties declared the formation of a united front.
On October 4 VOPT declared the formation of the Committee for Coordination of Patriotic and Democratic Forces on September 28. The nine-member coordination committee consisted of
- Chairman: Udom Srisuwan (CPT Central Committee Member)
- Vice Chairman: Boonyen Wothong (SPT)
- Committee Member: Monkon Na Nakhon (CPT)
- Committee Member: Therdphum Chaidee
- Committee Member: Sithon Yotkantha (farmers movement)
- Committee Member: Samak Chalikun (Socialist United Front Party)
- Committee Member: Chamni Sakdiset
- Spokesman and Committee Member: Sri Inthapathi (formerly working for the Public Relations Department of the government)
- Secretary: Thirayut BoonmiTeerayut BunmeeTeerayut Bunmee is a Thai public intellectual and a former student activist.-Student leader:While a student at Chulalongkorn University during 1973, Teerayut led the National Student Center of Thailand in coordinating political activism against the military dictatorships of Thanom Kittikachorn and...
(students movement and editor of Samakhi Surop (United to Fight), a magazine being circulated among students and intellectuals both in Thailand and abroad.)
Aligned with the CPT at the time were also the Thai Moslem People's Liberation Armed Forces and the National Student Center of Thailand.
Shifting alliances
The military and political growth would however be hampered by developments in the diplomatic area. The party depended on support from states and communist parties in the neighbouring countries, and as international alliances shifted the CPT found itself in a cornered position.In late 1978 Sino-Soviet split developed into armed hostilities in South-East Asia as war broke out between Vietnam and Kampuchea, two countries that supported CPT. Laos, a country which hosted many PLAT bases, sided with Vietnam in the dispute. And in January 1979 CPT and PLAT were expelled from Laos by the Laotian government, resulting in a military backlash for the party. Bunyen Worthong and a small section of other ex-student leaders/intellectuals broke with the party leadership and on October 22, 1979 they formed the Thai Isan Liberation Party (generally called Pak Mai, the 'New Party') in Vientiane
Vientiane
-Geography:Vientiane is situated on a bend of the Mekong river, which forms the border with Thailand at this point.-Climate:Vientiane features a tropical wet and dry climate with a distinct monsoon season and a dry season. Vientiane’s dry season spans from November through March. April marks the...
. Pak Mai was a communist party that supported Vietnamese-Laotian positions. Pak Mai was based in Laos.
Initially, CPT adopted a neutral stance in the emerging conflict between Vietnam and Kampuchea, causing relations to deteriorate with both the Chinese and the Vietnamese parties. However, as Vietnam intervened militarily in Kampuchea, CPT condemned the Vietnamese action in a statement issued on June 7, 1979.
As diplomatic and trade relations between Thailand and China improved, and Thai and Chinese governments found a common enemy in pro-Soviet Vietnam, the moral and logistical support for the CPT on behalf of the Chinese declined sharply. The Communist Party of China began advising the CPT to tone down their revolutionary discourse against the Thai government in their radio broadcasts, with the backdrop of the necessity to support the Democratic Kampuchea
Democratic Kampuchea
The Khmer Rouge period refers to the rule of Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen, Khieu Samphan and the Khmer Rouge Communist party over Cambodia, which the Khmer Rouge renamed as Democratic Kampuchea....
forces against the Vietnamese. On July 10, 1979 VOPT declared that it would cease to its broadcasting service. On July 11 the last VOPT broadcast was transmitted. Renmin Ribao carried a congratulatory message from CPT on the 30th anniversary of the People's Republic of China on September 30, which called for militant unity between Thai and Chinese communists, but thereafter news about the CPT in Chinese media became scarse.
1980s: Decline
In 1980 the Thai government adopted a government order, "66/2523", encouraging CPT cadres to defect. Former cadres were eventually granted amnesty.In March 1981 the Socialist Party of Thailand broke its relation with the CPT, claiming that CPT was controlled by foreign influences.
In April 1981 the CPT leadership proposed the Thai government to initiate peace talks. The Thai government responded that the CPT fighters had to demobilize before any talks could be initiated. In a declaration on October 25, 1981 Major General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh
Chavalit Yongchaiyudh
General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh is a Thai politician and retired general. He was Thailand's 22nd Prime Minister from 1996 to 1997. He is of Sino-Thai and ethnic Lao descent....
, the director of the Thai Army Operations Department, said that the war against CPT armed forces was approaching its end as all major bases of the PLAT in the North and North-East had been destroyed.
In 1982 the government, under the then-Prime Minister General Prem Tinsulanonda
Prem Tinsulanonda
General Prem Tinsulanonda is a retired Thai military officer who served as Prime Minister of Thailand from March 3, 1980 to August 4, 1988. He now serves as the Head of the Privy Council of the King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej....
, issued another executive order, 65/2525, offering amnesty to CPT/PLAT fighters.
In 1982-1983 CPT experienced mass defections of its cadres, and its military potential was severely reduced. Many of those that defected in the early 1980s were the students and intellectuals that joined CPT after the 1976 massacre. The defectors generally rejected the Maoist ideological positions of the CPT, arguing that Thailand was emerging as an industrial nation and the peasant war strategy had to be abandoned.
At the time, the arrests of two high-profile CPT leaders occurred. Damri Ruangsutham, influential politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
member, and Surachai Sae Dan, a leading figure of the party in southern Thailand, were captured by state forces.
There have been no reports of CPT activity since the beginning of the 1990s. However, the exact fate of the party is not known, and it remains banned to this day.
Party organization
As of the 1970s, the party was led by a 7-member politburoPolitburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
, elected by a 25-member Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
. Under the Central Committee there were various provincial (changwat) committees and under them district (amphoe
Amphoe
An amphoe is the second level administrative subdivision of Thailand. Usually translated as district, amphoe make up the provinces, and are analogous to a county seat...
) committees. In the local level there were tambol and muban
Muban
Muban is the lowest administrative subdivision of Thailand. Usually translated as village, they are the subdivision of tambon. As of 2008, there are 74944 administrative villages in Thailand. As of the 1990 census, the average village consisted of 144 households or 746 persons.A muban does not...
party structures.
Information on the leadership of CPT is scarse. The CPT itself was always secretive of revealing the identity of its leaders. According to a 1977 Kampuchean document, it was claimed that the General Secretary of the CPT was 'Khamtan' (nom de guerre of Phayom Chulanont
Phayom Chulanont
Lieutenant Colonel Phayom Chulanont was a Thai military officer, politician, leader of the Communist Party of Thailand, and father of former Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont....
). Other sources mention 'Comrade Samanan' (Jaroen Wanngam) as the party leader during the same period.
Ethnic composition
Prior to the formation of the Communist Party of Siam, the Communist Party of ChinaCommunist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
had an active exile branch working amongst the ethnically Chinese in the country. The party obtained legal status in 1946, and had a major influence in trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s and amongst Chinese students. The party had around 2000 active members and another 3000 sympathizers in Siam. However, after the establishment of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
in 1949 most of the Chinese communists in the country joined the CPT. Thus from this period until 1976, the party membership was largely ethnically Chinese. However, following the rapid expansion of the party following the 1976 massacre the profile of the party changed and ethnic Thais came to constitute the dominant group amongst the party ranks.
There was also a strong presence of other ethnic minorities amongst the party ranks. Notably, whilst many Hmong
Hmong people
The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...
s in neighbouring Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
tended to side with anti-communist forces, the CPT was able to build a strong base amongst Hmong people in Thailand.