Left-wing terrorism
Encyclopedia
Left-wing terrorism, sometimes called Marxist-Leninist terrorism or revolutionary/left-wing terrorism is a tactic used to overthrow capitalism and replace it with Marxist-Leninist or socialist government.
, a 19th century terrorist group that killed tsar Alexander II of Russia
in 1881, and developed the concept of propaganda by the deed is a major influence.
. In Western Europe, notable groups included the West German Red Army Faction
(RAF), the Italian Red Brigades
, the French Action Directe (AD), and the Belgian Communist Combatant Cells
(CCC). Asian groups included the Japanese Red Army
and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
, although the latter organization later transformed into nationalist terrorist
. In Latin America, groups that became actively involved in terrorism in the 1970s and 1980s included the Nicaraguan Sandinistas, the Peruvian Shining Path
, and the Colombian 19th of April Movement
.
Modern left-wing terrorist groups in the United States developed from remnants of the Weather Underground, the Black Panthers and extremist elements of the Students for a Democratic Society
. During the 1980s both the May 19th Communist Organization (M19CO) and the smaller United Freedom Front
were active. After 1985, following the dismantling of both groups, there were no confirmed acts of left-wing terrorism by similar groups.
, Communist Combatant Cells
, Direct action, Red Brigades
, First of October Anti-Fascist Resistance Groups, Revolutionary Organization 17 November
, Popular Forces 25 April, and the Revolutionary Left. These organizations are typically small and urban-based, committed to overthrowing their countries' governments and replacing them with regimes guided by Marxist-Leninist ideology. Although none have achieved any degree of success in accomplishing their goals, they have caused serious security problems in Germany, Belgium, Italy, Greece, France, Turkey, Portugal and Spain.
(RAF), which developed out of the Baader-Meinhof Group in Germany, carried out a series of terrorist attacks in the 1970s and remained active for over 20 years. The RAF was organized into small isolated cells, and had connections with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
and Carlos the Jackal
. Although the group's leaders, including Gudrun Ensslin
, Andreas Baader
and Ulrike Meinhof
were arrested in 1972, it carried out major attacks, including kidnapping and highjacking. On April 7, 1977 an unknown RAF members assassinated a Prosecutor-General, Siegfried Buback, an ex-Nazi. Several leaders of the RAF were killed in the late 1970s and early 1980s during shoot-outs with police.
(CCC) was founded in 1982 in Belgium by Pierre Carette
. With about 10 members, the CCC financed its activities through a series of bank robberies. Over the course of 14 months, they carried out 20 attacks against property, mostly NATO facilities. Despite attempts to avoid loss of life, there were casualties as a result of these attacks. After Carette and other members were arrested in 1985, the group ceased to be operational. Carette served 17 years of a life sentence, although his colleagues that were convicted with him were released earlier.
were founded in August 1970 mostly by former members of the Communist Youth movement expelled from the parent party for extremist views. It was the largest terrorist group in Italy
whose aim was to overthrow the government and replace it with a communist system.
(also known as 17N or N17) was a long-lasting urban terrorist organizsation named in commemoration of a riot against the Greek government in 1973
. By 2001, the group had killed 23 people, including U.S. officials, NATO officials, and Greek politicians, magistrates and businessmen. Attempts by the Greek police, CIA, and Scotland yard to investigate the group were unsuccessful. The group was finally captured in 2002, after one of its members was wounded by a bomb he was carrying. It has been recognized as a terrorist organization by the Greek State, the US and international law enforcement",
. Named after the 1974 military coup that overthrew the right-wing regime that had ruled Portugal since 1926, FP-25 aimed to overthrow the Portugese government and establish a Marxist state. It carried out a series of assassinations and bombing attacks against the Portuguese government. They ceased activity in the mid-1980's.
).
It also appears as one of the 44 names in the current U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations
, 48 groups and entities to which European Union
's Common Position 2001/931/CFSP on the application of specific measures to combat terrorism applies and 45 international terrorist organisations in the list of Proscribed Terrorist Groups
of the UK Home Office
.
, 19th of April Movement
, and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC) as the main organizations involved in left-wing terrorism in Latin America during the 1970s-1980s. These organizations were anti-American and drew local support, although they also received support from the Soviet Union and Cuba.
(Sendero Luminoso), is a Maoist guerrilla organization in Peru that launched the internal conflict in Peru
in 1980. Widely condemned for its brutality, including violence deployed against peasant
s, trade union
organizers, popularly elected officials and the general civilian population, Shining Path is on the U.S. Department of State
's "Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations
" list. Peru, the European Union
, and Canada
likewise regard Shining Path as a terrorist
group and prohibit providing funding or other financial support. The actions of the Shining Path claimed between 25,000 and 30,000 lives, of these more than 1,000 were children.
(FARC) is a Marxist-Leninist organization in Colombia which has employed vehicle bombings, gas cylinder bombs, killings, landmines, kidnapping, extortion, hijacking, as well as guerilla and conventional military. The United States Department of State includes the FARC-EP on its list of foreign terrorist organizations, as does the European Union.
It funds itself primarily through extortion, kidnapping and their participation in the illegal drug trade
. Many of their fronts enlist new and underage recruits by force, distribute propaganda and, more importantly, pillage local banks. Businesses operating in rural areas, including agricultural, oil, and mining interests, were required to pay "vaccines" (monthly payments) which "protected" them from subsequent attacks and kidnappings. An additional, albeit less lucrative, source of revenue was highway blockades where guerrillas stopped motorists and buses in order to confiscate jewelry and money. An estimated 20-30 percent of FARC combatants are under 18 years old, with many as young as 12 years old, for a total of around 5000 children.), Children who try to escape the ranks of the guerrillas are punished with torture and death.
. The M19CO name was derived from the birthdays of Ho Chi Minh
and Malcolm X
. The May 19 Communist Organization was active from 1978 to 1985. It also included members of the Black Panthers and the Republic of New Africa (RNA).
This alliance between Black Liberation Army
and Weather Underground members had three objectives, according to a 2001 U.S. government report:
1. Free political prisoners in US prisons
2. Appropriate capitalist wealth (armed robberies) to fund the third stage, and
3. Initiate a series of bombings and terrorist attacks.
and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE) as the main left-wing terrorist organizations in Asia, although he noted that the LTTE later transformed into a nationalist terrorist
organization.
(JRA) was originally formed in 1969 as the "Red Army Faction" by students impatient with the Communist Party. In 1970 they highjacked a plane to North Korea, where nine of their members were interned. The group lost another 14 members who were killed during an internal purge. In 1971 the re-named JRA formed a connection with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
, and established a base in Lebanon. Major terrorist actions carried out by them included an armed attacked on the airport at Tel Aviv, highjacking airplanes to Libya and Bangladesh, kidnapping the French ambassador to the Hague and bombing a USO nightclub in Naples. By the mid-1990s, the level of activity had declined and the U.S. State Department no longer considered them a terrorist threat. In 2001, the leader announced the dissolution of the group, although some of its members were in prison and others were still wanted by police.
After the UPF
's Maoist wing (CPN-M) performed poorly in elections and was excluded from the election of 1994. The Maoists then turned to insurgency
in order to overthrow Nepal's monarchy, parliamentary democracy and change Nepalese society, including a purge of the nation's elite class, a state takeover of private industry, and collectivization of agriculture.
In Nepal
attacks against civilian populations occurred as part of Maoist strategy - Amnesty International states:
groups in India
operate across large parts of the central and eastern rural regions of the country. Informed by the People's War strategy of Maoism
, the most prominent of the groups is the Communist Party of India (Maoist)
, formed through the merging of two previous Naxalite organizations, the People's War Group and the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCC). Armed Naxalite movements are considered India's largest internal security threat. Naxalite Communists have engaged in numerous terrorist attacks and human rights violations in India's Red Corridor
.
A Frontline
Cover Story calls the Bhamragad Taluka where the Madia Gond
Adivasi
s live, the heart of the naxalite-affected region in Maharashtra
.
Ideology
Left-wing terrorists view the governments they oppose as authoritarian, exploitive and corrupt, and emphasize idealism, pacificism and anti-imperialism. Their ideology is heavily influenced by Marxist and other communist and socialist thought. Narodnaya VolyaNarodnaya Volya
Narodnaya Volya was aRussian left-wing terrorist organization, best known for the successful assassination of Tsar Alexander II of Russia. It created a centralized and well disguised organization in a time of diverse liberation movements in Russia...
, a 19th century terrorist group that killed tsar Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
in 1881, and developed the concept of propaganda by the deed is a major influence.
History
Modern left-wing terrorism developed following the political unrest of 1968Protests of 1968
The protests of 1968 consisted of a worldwide series of protests, largely participated in by students and workers.-Background:Background speculations of overall causality vary about the political protests centering on the year 1968. Some argue that protests could be attributed to the social changes...
. In Western Europe, notable groups included the West German Red Army Faction
Red Army Faction
The radicalized were, like many in the New Left, influenced by:* Sociological developments, pressure within the educational system in and outside Europe and the U.S...
(RAF), the Italian Red Brigades
Red Brigades
The Red Brigades was a Marxist-Leninist terrorist organisation, based in Italy, which was responsible for numerous violent incidents, assassinations, and robberies during the so-called "Years of Lead"...
, the French Action Directe (AD), and the Belgian Communist Combatant Cells
Communist Combatant Cells
Cellules Communistes Combattantes was a Belgian terrorist organization committed to a Communist ideology....
(CCC). Asian groups included the Japanese Red Army
Japanese Red Army
The was a Communist terrorist group founded by Fusako Shigenobu early in 1971 in Lebanon. It sometimes called itself Arab-JRA after the Lod airport massacre...
and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a separatist militant organization formerly based in northern Sri Lanka. Founded in May 1976 by Vellupillai Prabhakaran, it waged a violent secessionist and nationalist campaign to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for Tamil...
, although the latter organization later transformed into nationalist terrorist
Nationalist terrorism
Nationalist terrorism is a form of terrorism motivated by nationalism. Nationalist terrorists seek to form self-determination in some form, which may range from gaining greater autonomy to establishing a completely independent, sovereign state...
. In Latin America, groups that became actively involved in terrorism in the 1970s and 1980s included the Nicaraguan Sandinistas, the Peruvian Shining Path
Shining Path
Shining Path is a Maoist guerrilla terrorist organization in Peru. The group never refers to itself as "Shining Path", and as several other Peruvian groups, prefers to be called the "Communist Party of Peru" or "PCP-SL" in short...
, and the Colombian 19th of April Movement
19th of April Movement
The 19th of April Movement or M-19, was a Colombian guerrilla movement. After its demobilization it became a political party, the M-19 Democratic Alliance , or AD/M-19.The M-19 traced its origins to the allegedly fraudulent presidential elections of 19 April 1970...
.
Modern left-wing terrorist groups in the United States developed from remnants of the Weather Underground, the Black Panthers and extremist elements of the Students for a Democratic Society
Students for a Democratic Society
Students for a Democratic Society was a student activist movement in the United States that was one of the main iconic representations of the country's New Left. The organization developed and expanded rapidly in the mid-1960s before dissolving at its last convention in 1969...
. During the 1980s both the May 19th Communist Organization (M19CO) and the smaller United Freedom Front
United Freedom Front
The United Freedom Front was a small American Marxist organization active in the 1970s and 1980s. It was originally called the Sam Melville/Jonathan Jackson Unit, and its members became known as the Ohio 7 when they were brought to trial...
were active. After 1985, following the dismantling of both groups, there were no confirmed acts of left-wing terrorism by similar groups.
Western Europe
In "Western Europe's red terrorists", Dennis A. Pluchinsky identified the following eight organizations as the most significant and notorious "fighting communist organizations" that have operated in Western Europe since the 1970s: Red Army FactionRed Army Faction
The radicalized were, like many in the New Left, influenced by:* Sociological developments, pressure within the educational system in and outside Europe and the U.S...
, Communist Combatant Cells
Communist Combatant Cells
Cellules Communistes Combattantes was a Belgian terrorist organization committed to a Communist ideology....
, Direct action, Red Brigades
Red Brigades
The Red Brigades was a Marxist-Leninist terrorist organisation, based in Italy, which was responsible for numerous violent incidents, assassinations, and robberies during the so-called "Years of Lead"...
, First of October Anti-Fascist Resistance Groups, Revolutionary Organization 17 November
Revolutionary Organization 17 November
Revolutionary Organization 17 November , was a Marxist urban guerrilla organization formed in 1975 and believed to have been disbanded in 2002 after the arrest and trial of a...
, Popular Forces 25 April, and the Revolutionary Left. These organizations are typically small and urban-based, committed to overthrowing their countries' governments and replacing them with regimes guided by Marxist-Leninist ideology. Although none have achieved any degree of success in accomplishing their goals, they have caused serious security problems in Germany, Belgium, Italy, Greece, France, Turkey, Portugal and Spain.
Red Army Faction (RAF)
The Red Army FactionRed Army Faction
The radicalized were, like many in the New Left, influenced by:* Sociological developments, pressure within the educational system in and outside Europe and the U.S...
(RAF), which developed out of the Baader-Meinhof Group in Germany, carried out a series of terrorist attacks in the 1970s and remained active for over 20 years. The RAF was organized into small isolated cells, and had connections with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist organisation founded in 1967. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization , the largest being Fatah...
and Carlos the Jackal
Carlos the Jackal
Ilich Ramírez Sánchez , better known as Carlos the Jackal, is a Venezuelan pro-Palestinian currently serving a life sentence in France for shooting to death two French secret agents and a Lebanese informer in 1975....
. Although the group's leaders, including Gudrun Ensslin
Gudrun Ensslin
Gudrun Ensslin was a founder of the German militant group Red Army Faction . After becoming involved with co-founder Andreas Baader, Ensslin was influential in the politicization of Baader's voluntaristic anarchistic beliefs. Ensslin was perhaps the intellectual head of the RAF...
, Andreas Baader
Andreas Baader
Andreas Bernd Baader was one of the first leaders of the German left-wing militant organization Red Army Faction, also commonly known as the Baader-Meinhof Gang.- Life :...
and Ulrike Meinhof
Ulrike Meinhof
Ulrike Marie Meinhof was a German left-wing militant. She co-founded the Red Army Faction in 1970 after having previously worked as a journalist for the monthly left-wing magazine Konkret. She was arrested in 1972, and eventually charged with numerous murders and the formation of a criminal...
were arrested in 1972, it carried out major attacks, including kidnapping and highjacking. On April 7, 1977 an unknown RAF members assassinated a Prosecutor-General, Siegfried Buback, an ex-Nazi. Several leaders of the RAF were killed in the late 1970s and early 1980s during shoot-outs with police.
Communist Combatant Cells
The Communist Combatant CellsCommunist Combatant Cells
Cellules Communistes Combattantes was a Belgian terrorist organization committed to a Communist ideology....
(CCC) was founded in 1982 in Belgium by Pierre Carette
Pierre Carette
Pierre Carette was the leader of the Belgian extreme-left terrorist group Communist Combatant Cells or CCC. Although Carette was sentenced to lifelong imprisonment for terrorist attacks, he was released in 2003...
. With about 10 members, the CCC financed its activities through a series of bank robberies. Over the course of 14 months, they carried out 20 attacks against property, mostly NATO facilities. Despite attempts to avoid loss of life, there were casualties as a result of these attacks. After Carette and other members were arrested in 1985, the group ceased to be operational. Carette served 17 years of a life sentence, although his colleagues that were convicted with him were released earlier.
Direct Action
Direct action (AD) was active in France between 1979 and 1987. Between 1979 and 1985 they concentrated on non-lethal bombings and strafings of government buildings, then assassinated a French Ministry of Defense official. The organization declined following police arrests and became inactive. The French government has banned the group.Red Brigades
The Red BrigadesRed Brigades
The Red Brigades was a Marxist-Leninist terrorist organisation, based in Italy, which was responsible for numerous violent incidents, assassinations, and robberies during the so-called "Years of Lead"...
were founded in August 1970 mostly by former members of the Communist Youth movement expelled from the parent party for extremist views. It was the largest terrorist group in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
whose aim was to overthrow the government and replace it with a communist system.
First of October Anti-Fascist resistance Groups (GRAPO)
The First of October Anti-Fascist resistance Groups were a Maoist terrorist group in SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
November 17
Revolutionary Organization 17 NovemberRevolutionary Organization 17 November
Revolutionary Organization 17 November , was a Marxist urban guerrilla organization formed in 1975 and believed to have been disbanded in 2002 after the arrest and trial of a...
(also known as 17N or N17) was a long-lasting urban terrorist organizsation named in commemoration of a riot against the Greek government in 1973
Athens Polytechnic uprising
The Athens Polytechnic uprising in 1973 was a massive demonstration of popular rejection of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974. The uprising began on November 14, 1973, escalated to an open anti-junta, anti-US and anti-imperialist revolt and ended in bloodshed in the early morning of November...
. By 2001, the group had killed 23 people, including U.S. officials, NATO officials, and Greek politicians, magistrates and businessmen. Attempts by the Greek police, CIA, and Scotland yard to investigate the group were unsuccessful. The group was finally captured in 2002, after one of its members was wounded by a bomb he was carrying. It has been recognized as a terrorist organization by the Greek State, the US and international law enforcement",
Popular Forces 25 April
The Popular Forces 25 April (FP-25) was formed in Portugal under the leadership of Lt. Col. Otelo Saraiva de CarvalhoOtelo Saraiva de Carvalho
Otelo Nuno Romão Saraiva de Carvalho, GCL , formerly a Portuguese military officer, was the chief strategist of the 1974 Carnation Revolution in Lisbon.-Biography:...
. Named after the 1974 military coup that overthrew the right-wing regime that had ruled Portugal since 1926, FP-25 aimed to overthrow the Portugese government and establish a Marxist state. It carried out a series of assassinations and bombing attacks against the Portuguese government. They ceased activity in the mid-1980's.
Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front
The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front, is a militant Marxist-Leninist party in Turkey. It is in the terrorist organization lists in the U.S., the UK and the EU. The organisation is listed among the 12 active terrorist organisation in Turkey as of 2007 according to Counter-Terrorism and Operations Department of Directorate General for Security (Turkish policeLaw enforcement in Turkey
Law enforcement in Turkey is carried out by several departments and agencies, all acting under the command of the Prime Minister of Turkey or mostly the Minister of Internal Affairs....
).
It also appears as one of the 44 names in the current U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations
U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations
"Foreign Terrorist Organization" is a designation of non-United States-based organizations declared terrorist by the United States Secretary of State in accordance with section 219 of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act...
, 48 groups and entities to which European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
's Common Position 2001/931/CFSP on the application of specific measures to combat terrorism applies and 45 international terrorist organisations in the list of Proscribed Terrorist Groups
Terrorism Act 2000
The Terrorism Act 2000 is the first of a number of general Terrorism Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It superseded and repealed the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1989 and the Northern Ireland Act 1996...
of the UK Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
.
Latin America
In The new dimension of international terrorism, Stefan M. Audrey identified the Sandinistas, Shining PathShining Path
Shining Path is a Maoist guerrilla terrorist organization in Peru. The group never refers to itself as "Shining Path", and as several other Peruvian groups, prefers to be called the "Communist Party of Peru" or "PCP-SL" in short...
, 19th of April Movement
19th of April Movement
The 19th of April Movement or M-19, was a Colombian guerrilla movement. After its demobilization it became a political party, the M-19 Democratic Alliance , or AD/M-19.The M-19 traced its origins to the allegedly fraudulent presidential elections of 19 April 1970...
, and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army is a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization based in Colombia which is involved in the ongoing Colombian armed conflict, currently involved in drug dealing and crimes against the civilians..FARC-EP is a peasant army which...
(FARC) as the main organizations involved in left-wing terrorism in Latin America during the 1970s-1980s. These organizations were anti-American and drew local support, although they also received support from the Soviet Union and Cuba.
Shining Path
The Communist Party of Peru, more commonly known as the Shining PathShining Path
Shining Path is a Maoist guerrilla terrorist organization in Peru. The group never refers to itself as "Shining Path", and as several other Peruvian groups, prefers to be called the "Communist Party of Peru" or "PCP-SL" in short...
(Sendero Luminoso), is a Maoist guerrilla organization in Peru that launched the internal conflict in Peru
Internal conflict in Peru
It has been estimated that nearly 70,000 people died in the internal conflict in Peru that started in 1980 and, although still ongoing, had greatly wound down by 2000. The principal actors in the war were the Shining Path , the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement and the government of Peru.A great...
in 1980. Widely condemned for its brutality, including violence deployed against peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
s, 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...
organizers, popularly elected officials and the general civilian population, Shining Path is on the U.S. Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
's "Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations
U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations
"Foreign Terrorist Organization" is a designation of non-United States-based organizations declared terrorist by the United States Secretary of State in accordance with section 219 of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act...
" list. Peru, the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
likewise regard Shining Path as a terrorist
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
group and prohibit providing funding or other financial support. The actions of the Shining Path claimed between 25,000 and 30,000 lives, of these more than 1,000 were children.
FARC
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of ColombiaRevolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army is a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization based in Colombia which is involved in the ongoing Colombian armed conflict, currently involved in drug dealing and crimes against the civilians..FARC-EP is a peasant army which...
(FARC) is a Marxist-Leninist organization in Colombia which has employed vehicle bombings, gas cylinder bombs, killings, landmines, kidnapping, extortion, hijacking, as well as guerilla and conventional military. The United States Department of State includes the FARC-EP on its list of foreign terrorist organizations, as does the European Union.
It funds itself primarily through extortion, kidnapping and their participation in the illegal drug trade
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
. Many of their fronts enlist new and underage recruits by force, distribute propaganda and, more importantly, pillage local banks. Businesses operating in rural areas, including agricultural, oil, and mining interests, were required to pay "vaccines" (monthly payments) which "protected" them from subsequent attacks and kidnappings. An additional, albeit less lucrative, source of revenue was highway blockades where guerrillas stopped motorists and buses in order to confiscate jewelry and money. An estimated 20-30 percent of FARC combatants are under 18 years old, with many as young as 12 years old, for a total of around 5000 children.), Children who try to escape the ranks of the guerrillas are punished with torture and death.
May 19th Communist Organization
The May 19 Communist Organization, also referred to as the May 19 Communist Coalition, was a US-based, self-described revolutionary organization formed by splintered-off members of the Weather Underground and the Black Liberation ArmyBlack Liberation Army
The Black Liberation Army was an underground, black nationalist-Marxist militant organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981...
. The M19CO name was derived from the birthdays of Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
and Malcolm X
Malcolm X
Malcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
. The May 19 Communist Organization was active from 1978 to 1985. It also included members of the Black Panthers and the Republic of New Africa (RNA).
This alliance between Black Liberation Army
Black Liberation Army
The Black Liberation Army was an underground, black nationalist-Marxist militant organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981...
and Weather Underground members had three objectives, according to a 2001 U.S. government report:
Asia
In The new dimension of international terrorism, Stefan M. Audrey identified the Japanese Red ArmyJapanese Red Army
The was a Communist terrorist group founded by Fusako Shigenobu early in 1971 in Lebanon. It sometimes called itself Arab-JRA after the Lod airport massacre...
and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a separatist militant organization formerly based in northern Sri Lanka. Founded in May 1976 by Vellupillai Prabhakaran, it waged a violent secessionist and nationalist campaign to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for Tamil...
(LTTE) as the main left-wing terrorist organizations in Asia, although he noted that the LTTE later transformed into a nationalist terrorist
Nationalist terrorism
Nationalist terrorism is a form of terrorism motivated by nationalism. Nationalist terrorists seek to form self-determination in some form, which may range from gaining greater autonomy to establishing a completely independent, sovereign state...
organization.
Japanese Red Army
The Japanese Red ArmyJapanese Red Army
The was a Communist terrorist group founded by Fusako Shigenobu early in 1971 in Lebanon. It sometimes called itself Arab-JRA after the Lod airport massacre...
(JRA) was originally formed in 1969 as the "Red Army Faction" by students impatient with the Communist Party. In 1970 they highjacked a plane to North Korea, where nine of their members were interned. The group lost another 14 members who were killed during an internal purge. In 1971 the re-named JRA formed a connection with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist organisation founded in 1967. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization , the largest being Fatah...
, and established a base in Lebanon. Major terrorist actions carried out by them included an armed attacked on the airport at Tel Aviv, highjacking airplanes to Libya and Bangladesh, kidnapping the French ambassador to the Hague and bombing a USO nightclub in Naples. By the mid-1990s, the level of activity had declined and the U.S. State Department no longer considered them a terrorist threat. In 2001, the leader announced the dissolution of the group, although some of its members were in prison and others were still wanted by police.
Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist
The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has been responsible for hundreds of attacks on government and civilian targets.After the UPF
UPF
UPF may refer to:*Universitat Pompeu Fabra, a university in Spain*Université de la Polynésie Française, a university in Tahiti*United People's Front of Nepal, a political organization...
's Maoist wing (CPN-M) performed poorly in elections and was excluded from the election of 1994. The Maoists then turned to insurgency
Insurgency
An insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents...
in order to overthrow Nepal's monarchy, parliamentary democracy and change Nepalese society, including a purge of the nation's elite class, a state takeover of private industry, and collectivization of agriculture.
In Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
attacks against civilian populations occurred as part of Maoist strategy - Amnesty International states:
The CPN (Maoist) has consistently targeted private schools, which it ideologically opposes. On the 14 April 2005 the CPN (Maoist) demanded that all private schools shut down, although this demand was withdrawn on 28 April. Following this demand, it bombed two schools in western Nepal on 15 April, a school in Nepalganj, Banke district on 17 April and a school in Kalyanpur, Chitwan on 21 April. CPN (Maoist) cadres also reportedly threw a bomb at students taking classes in a school in Khara, Rukum district.
Communist Party of India (Maoist) and Naxalites
Armed NaxaliteNaxalite
The word Naxal, Naxalite or Naksalvadi is a generic term used to refer to various militant Communist groups operating in different parts of India under different organizational envelopes...
groups in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
operate across large parts of the central and eastern rural regions of the country. Informed by the People's War strategy of 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...
, the most prominent of the groups is the Communist Party of India (Maoist)
Communist Party of India (Maoist)
The Communist Party of India is a Maoist political party in India which aims to overthrow the government of India through violent means. It was founded on 21 September 2004, through the merger of the People's War, and the Maoist Communist Centre . The merger was announced to the public on October...
, formed through the merging of two previous Naxalite organizations, the People's War Group and the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCC). Armed Naxalite movements are considered India's largest internal security threat. Naxalite Communists have engaged in numerous terrorist attacks and human rights violations in India's Red Corridor
Red corridor
The Red Corridor is a term used to describe an impoverished region in the east of India that experiences considerable Naxalite communist insurgency...
.
A Frontline
Frontline (magazine)
Frontline is a fortnightly English language magazine published by The Hindu Group of publications from Chennai, India. Narasimhan Ram is the editor-in-chief of the magazine. As a current affairs magazine, it covers domestic and International news. Frontline gives a prominent place to various...
Cover Story calls the Bhamragad Taluka where the Madia Gond
Madia Gond
Madia Gonds or Madia or Maria are one of the endogamous Gond tribes living in Chandrapur District and Gadchiroli District of Maharashtra State, and Bastar division of Chhattisgad State India. They have been granted the status of a Primitive Tribe by the Government of Maharashtra under its...
Adivasi
Adivasi
Adivasi is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic and tribal groups claimed to be the aboriginal population of India. They comprise a substantial indigenous minority of the population of India...
s live, the heart of the naxalite-affected region in Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
.