Communist Party of Thailand

The Communist Party of Thailand was a political party in Thailand. Initially CPT was known as Communist Party of Siam. The party was founded in 1942, but communists had been working in the country since 1927. Communists had to work in clandestine ways.

Related Topics:
Political party - Thailand - 1942 - 1927

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In 1952 the party was prohibited, after a few years of legality. In the late 1950s the party started organizing armed movement in northern and north-eastern parts of the country. Another front was opened in southern Thailand, at the border with Malaysia.

Related Topics:
1952 - Malaysia

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The membership of CPT was largely ethnically Chinese, but the party also gained support from several other ethnic minorities.

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The armed wing of CPT was People's Liberation Army of Thailand.

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In 1962 a CPT radio station, Voice of the People of Thailand, started broadcasting.

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In the Sino-Soviet split CPT clearly supported the Communist Party of China.

Related Topics:
Sino-Soviet split - Communist Party of China

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In 1964 CPT launched a broad leftist front.

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The brutality of the massacre at Thammasat University in October 1976 made it possible for CPT to gather a large support amongst students. In the end of the 1970s CPT was a major force, and within the CIA there were sections who feared that CPT might seize power in the country. By 1979 PLAT had around 11-12 000 fighters.

Related Topics:
Thammasat University - 1976 - CIA - 1979

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But CPT faced crisis when post-Mao China established relations with the Thai government, and decided to withdraw its support to CPT. Another deep crisis for the party was in 1979, when Cambodia was invaded by Vietnam. Thus CPT lost another ally and safe-heaven, not to mention the grave implications for the general morale. By the mid-1980s, CPT was military defeated.

Related Topics:
China - 1979 - Cambodia - Vietnam

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Reports of CPT activity disappear in the beginning of the 1990s. However, the exact fate of the party is not known.

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