SUMMARY
The Communist Party of Burma (CPB) was a political and military group [fighting the Burmese (now Myanmar) government] between 1948 and 1988. Prior to this, the CPB fought against British and Japanese rule. The CPB collaborated sporadically with several ethnic-based rebel groups, including the Karen National United Party (KNUP), the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP). An underground splinter group, the CPB-Red Flag, was formed in 1946. The CPB’s first elected Secretary-General was Aung San, who went on to become premier under British rule and a key figure in Burma’s independence.
The CPB was formed on 15 August 1939, and thus pre-dates Myanmar’s independence. The party’s manifesto called for armed struggle to bring about a socialist revolution. Adopting a more radical approach than earlier campaigns, the CPB played a significant role in Burma’s struggle for independence. During the Second World War, the CPB fought against the Japanese occupation of Burma, commanding a sizeable army of some 30 000 to 40 000 troops. In 1946, a rift in the CPB leadership over the use of violent methods led to the defection of Thakin Soe, who formed an underground splinter group, the CPB-Red Flag. The remaining CPB membership was sometime called the CPB-White Flag.
In the lead-up to independence (1948), the CPB was marginalized by Burma’s political elite and lost much of its influence within the country. The CPB was nevertheless able to militarily regroup, resuming its armed struggle both against the early democratic government led by U Nu (1948-1962), and the subsequent military governments of Ne Win and San Yu (1962-1988).
Throughout much of the 1960s and 1970s, the CPB relied heavily on Chinese support. Following anti-Chinese communal riots in Rangoon 1967, China-Burma relations soured significantly and China began to publically call for the overthrow of Ne Win. With China’s assistance, the ‘north-east command’ of the CPB grew to some 20 000 troops and gained control of much of Burma’s northeast region. During the 1976-77 Chinese leadership struggles, the CPB took an official stance against the ‘revisionist line’ of Deng Xiaopeng. In 1978, after Deng formally took over the leadership, Chinese support for the CPB was withdrawn.
In its struggle against the Burmese state, the CPB collaborated variously with different ethnic-based rebel groups. However, despite claims to represent the interests of all, the CPB’s class-based communist ideology did not always effectively accommodate ethnic group aims, leading to frequent tensions and occasional clashes. The CPB’s closest ally was the KNUP, which had adopted communist ideology despite the opposition of many ethnic Karen to it. In 1968, the CPB signed a mutual cooperation agreement with the KIO, however fighting soon erupted between the two groups following disputes over land and troop loyalty. While the CPB provided arms to the SSPP, the Shan remained divided on the issue of collaboration and at the most, reluctant partners.
Ultimately, the CPB’s inability to command broad-based loyalty among Burma’s various ethnic groups led to its undoing. As annual government offensives against CPB-held areas increased throughout the late 1980s, lower-level commanders and the rank-and-file, recruited largely from ethnic minorities, became increasingly discontented with the leadership. On 12 March 1989, Kokang Chinese units led by Peng Jiasheng openly challenged the CPB’s central leadership. Soon, several other ethnic commanders and their forces joined the mutiny, and on 16 April, Wa troops stormed the CPB headquarters at Panghsang and forced the old CPB leadership into exile in China. Former CPB forces split into several ethnic-specific groups which soon were contacted by Myanmar’s government and offered ceasefires, which were accepted by many parties.
