The Communist Party (Burma) (), sometimes referred to as the Red Flag Communist Party (; RFCP), was a communist party in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. The party was formed after a more radical faction broke away from the

Communist Party of Burma The Communist Party of Burma (CPB), also known as the Burma Communist Party (BCP), is an underground communist party in Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is the oldest existing political party in the country. Founded in 1939, the CPB initially fo ...

in 1946. In the same year, it began a protracted armed insurgency; first against

British rule The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or dire ...

, then against the

Burmese government Myanmar (Names of Myanmar, formerly Burma) () operates ''de jure'' as a unitary state, unitary assembly-independent republic under its 2008 Constitution of Myanmar, 2008 constitution. On 1 February 2021, Tatmadaw, Myanmar's military took ove ...

. The party was led by

Thakin Soe Thakin Soe (, ; 1906 – 6 May 1989) was a founding member of the Communist Party of Burma and a leader of the Anti-Fascist Organisation. He is regarded as one of Burma's most prominent communist leaders. Early life Soe was an ethnic Mon peop ...

, a firebrand communist leader. In the 1970s, the party lost influence and was militarily defeated by 1978.

Split

The party emerged from a split in the Communist Party of Burma in February 1946. Thakin Soe, a former guerrilla leader, had staked claims for the leadership of the party. He denounced

Thakin Than Tun Thakin Than Tun (; 1911 – 24 September 1968) was a Burmese politician and leader of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) from 1945 until his assassination in 1968. He was the brother-in-law of Myanmar's independence leader Aung San and the ...

and

Thakin Thein Pe Thein Pe Myint ( ; also ''Thakin'' Thein Pe ( ); 10 July 1914 – 15 January 1978) was a Burmese politician, writer, and journalist. He wrote several politically and socially prominent books and founded the influential newspaper, ''The Botataung. ...

as ' Browderists', charging that the two had taken a compromising stand towards

imperialism Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of Power (international relations), power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultura ...

and opportunistic elements. The inner-party conflict had erupted after a speech by the

AFPFL The Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL) was a broad popular front that ruled Burma (now Myanmar) between 1947 and 1958. It included both political parties and trade unions as members. The league evolved out of the anti-Japanese res ...

leader Ba Pe in January 1946. Ba Pe had denounced the political system in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. In response, Thakin Soe labelled Ba Pe 'a tool of the imperialists'. Wary of the risk of the unity of AFPFL, the party leadership initiated a disciplinary process against Thakin Soe.Thompson, Virginia.
Burma's Communists
', published in ''Far Eastern Survey'' 5 May 1948 Thakin Soe demanded that control over the Central Committee be handed over to him and his associates. Thakin Than Tun and Thein Pe did commit self-criticism (and temporarily resigned from their posts), but did not agree to Soe's demand to make him the party leader. Soe himself was removed from the Central Committee. In response Soe broke with the Communist Party of Burma and formed the Communist Party (Burma).Seabury Thomson, John. ''Marxism in Burma'', in Trager, Frank N (ed.).
Marxism in Southeast Asia; A Study of Four Countries
'. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 1959. p. 33 Thakin Tin Mya and six members of the Communist Party of Burma sided with Thakin Soe's new party.

Red Flag vs. White Flag

The party was labelled the 'Red Flag Communist Party' (as opposed to the 'White Flag Communist Party', i.e. the main Communist Party of Burma) due to the colour of their armbands. Whilst the White Flag Communist Party employed a popular front line of working within the framework of the

Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League The Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL) was a broad popular front that ruled Burma (now Myanmar) between 1947 and 1958. It included both political parties and trade unions as members. The league evolved out of the anti-Japanese res ...

, the Red Flag Communist Party denounced co-operation with non-communist forces. Instead the party called for direct armed confrontation with the British as a means to achieve independence.Jukes, Geoffrey.
The Soviet Union in Asia
'. Berkeley, Calif: Univ. of California Press, 1973. p. 137 The Red Flag Communist Party was significantly smaller than the White Flag Communist Party. Thakin Than Tun described the positions of the Red Flag Communist Party as 'left adventurism'.

Mass work, ban and insurgency

The party began building up Red Flag Cultivators Unions across Burma, a movement which called on peasants to stop paying rents and taxes. In July 1946, the governor of Burma Sir Henry Knight issued a ban on the Red Flag Cultivators Unions and the labour wing of the party, the Red Flag Labour Unions.Hensengerth, Oliver.
Burmese CP in relations between China and Burma
' The government also declared the Communist Party (Burma) itself an unlawful association on 10 July 1946. The White Flag Communist Party protested that the ban was an infringement on civil liberties. The party initiated an armed campaign against the British colonial rule and the 'rightwing' elements of the AFPFL in July 1946. Soe was also to recruit some elements from the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

to take part in the rebellion.Callahan, Mary Patricia.
Making Enemies: War and State Building in Burma
'. Ithaca .a. Cornell University Press, 2003. pp. 103, 116 U Aung San had objected to the ban on the Communist Party (Burma), and ensured that the ban on the party was lifted temporarily in October 1946. He had, however, not associated himself with any public protest against the ban.Kratoska, Paul H.
South East Asia, Colonial History
'. London: Routledge, 2001. p. 21 In January 1947, the party was again banned. In response, the party went underground. The White Flag Communist Party had again protested against the ban on the Communist Party (Burma). In April 1947, the Communist Party (Burma) called for a boycott of the elections to the Constituent Assembly. By 1948, the armed operations of the party were concentrated to the

Irrawaddy delta The Irrawaddy Delta or Ayeyarwady Delta lies in the Irrawaddy Division, the lowest expanse of land in Myanmar (Burma) that fans out from the limit of tidal influence at Myan Aung to the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, to the south at the mout ...

. In 1949 the party expelled Thakin Tin Mya. Thakin Tin Mya later re-joined the Communist Party of Burma.

Arakan insurgency

In the

Arakan State Rakhine State ( ; , ; ), formerly known as Arakan State, is a state in Myanmar (Burma). Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State to the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Region to the east, the Bay of Beng ...

, the Communist Party (Burma) made an alliance with Rakhine separatist rebels under the leadership of nationalist monk U Seinda. In 1958, U Seinda forces surrendered to the government. In 1962 the party suffered a setback, as a group of members in

broke away and formed the Communist Party of Arakan. They were led by Kyaw Zan Rhee, a prominent Arakanese political leader, and Bo Maung Han. The Arakan Communist Party called for independence for Arakan.Win, Khaing Aung.
Arakanese Nationalism and the Struggle for National self-determination (An overview of Arakanese political history up to 1988)
''

Decline

Following the 1956 parliamentary elections the party, as well as other rebel groups, began to suffer from defections from its armed wing. The strong performance of the

National United Front The National United Front () was a political alliance in Myanmar. History The alliance was formed in 1955 as a successor to the People's Democratic Front, ahead of the April 1956 general elections. The NUF consisted of leftist parties such as ...

had convinced many leftwing sympathizers that armed rebellion was not the sole path of political struggles. When

U Nu Nu (; ; 25 May 1907 – 14 February 1995), commonly known as Burmese names#Honorifics, U Nu and also by the honorific name Thakin Nu, was a prominent Burmese people, Burmese statesman and the first Prime Minister of Union of Burma. He was ...

launched the 'Arms for Democracy' programme in 1958, several fighters of the party deserted to the government. Many might also have simply returned to their villages quietly. In 1961, the party was estimated to have around 500 fighters. Thakin Soe participated in the 1963 peace talks with the government.

Capture of Thakin Soe

The armed campaign of the party, against both the AFPFL and

Burma Socialist Programme Party The Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) was the ruling party of Burma (now Myanmar) from 1962 to 1988 and the country's sole legal party from 1964 to 1988. Party chairman Ne Win overthrew the country's democratically elected government i ...

governments, would continue until the capture of Thakin Soe by government forces in 1970.Alagappa, Muthiah.
Political Legitimacy in Southeast Asia: The Quest for Moral Authority
'. Contemporary issues in Asia and the Pacific. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 1995. p. 369 In November 1970, army forces stormed Thakin Soe's hideout and the last stronghold of the party in the northern fringes of the Arakan Yoma mountain range. He was taken to

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

and imprisoned. The party almost disappeared after Soe's arrest.Lintner, Bertil.
The Rise and Fall of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB)
'. Southeast Asia Program series, no. 6. Ithaca, N.Y.: Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University, 1990. p. 28

1978 annihilation campaign in Arakan

In 1978 the forces of the Red Flag Communist Party in Arakan and the Communist Party of Arakan were targets of an annihilation campaign by the Burma Army in the rural areas of the region. The party was forced to retreat to the Bangladesh–Burma border.

References

Citations

Sources

* {{Authority control 1946 establishments in Burma Banned communist parties Communist parties in Myanmar Defunct political parties in Myanmar Ethnic armed organisations in Myanmar Political parties established in 1946