Communist Party of Burma ဗမာပြည်ကွန်မြူနစ်ပါတီ | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | CPB |
| Spokesperson | Po Than Gyaung |
| Founders | |
| Founded | 15 August 1939 |
| Banned | October 1953 |
| Headquarters | Panghsang (until 1989) |
| Newspaper | People's Power |
| Youth wing | Red Guards |
| Armed wing | People's Liberation Army |
| Membership (2015) | 3,000 |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Far-left |
| National affiliation | AFPFL (1945–1946) |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Communist Party of Burma (CPB),[a] also known as the Burma Communist Party (BCP),[b] 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 fought against British colonial forces before joining them in a temporary alliance to expel the invading Imperial Japanese Army from Myanmar during World War II. In the final years of the war, the CPB helped establish a leftist political and military coalition called the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL).
However, the CPB fell out of favour with the more moderate socialists within the AFPFL due to differing views on how an independent Myanmar should be governed. The moderate faction of the AFPFL became the dominant political force in Myanmar's government following the country's independence in 1948. The CPB was subsequently expelled from the AFPFL and the government cracked down on the party's political activities, prompting the CPB's leadership to flee from the capital Rangoon (present-day Yangon). The CPB then began a four-decade-long insurgency in the countryside, which started with an armed insurrection in Paukkongyi, Pegu Region (present-day Bago Region), and ended with an internal mutiny and the party's leadership fleeing to China.
Following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, the CPB's cadres rearmed themselves and reentered Myanmar. The CPB subsequently announced that it had begun a "people's war" against the State Administration Council, the military junta established after the coup.
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