The Communist Party of Arakan (CPA), also known as the Arakanese Communist Party (ACP), was a

communist party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

and armed insurgent group active in

Arakan Arakan ( or ) is a historic coastal region in Southeast Asia. Its borders faced the Bay of Bengal to its west, the Indian subcontinent to its north and Burma proper to its east. The Arakan Mountains isolated the region and made it accessi ...

, Burma (present-day

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

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

). It was founded in 1962 after a faction under the leadership of Arakanese political leaders Kyaw Zan Rhee and Bo Maung Han broke away from the Red Flag Communist Party (RFCP).

History

In 1962, regional leaders of the RFCP in Arakan, discontent with the leadership of the central committee, decided to split from the party. A faction under the leadership of Kyaw Zan Rhee and Bo Maung Han broke away and established the Communist Party of Arakan (CPA), calling for an independent

Marxist–Leninist Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialect ...

Arakan.Win, Khaing Aung
''Arakanese Nationalism and the Struggle for National self-determination (An overview of Arakanese political history up to 1988)''
After General

Ne Win Ne Win ( my, နေဝင်း ; 10 July 1910, or 14 or 24 May 1911 – 5 December 2002) was a Burmese politician and military commander who served as Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974, and also President of Burma ...

seized power in a 1962 military coup, the CPA was invited to peace talks in Rangoon (present-day

Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

) along with other communist groups, most notably the

Communist Party of Burma The Communist Party of Burma (CPB), also known as the Burma Communist Party (BCP), is a clandestine communist party in Myanmar (Burma). It is the oldest existing political party in the country. Founded in 1939, the CPB initially fought aga ...

(CPB) and the RFCP. The negotiations ultimately failed due to the reluctance of the new socialist government to give concessions, and in November 1963 the CPA resumed its insurgent activities against the military. In 1986, the CPA was involved in heavy clashes with

local police Municipal police, city police, or local police are law enforcement agencies that are under the control of local government. This includes the municipal government, where it is the smallest administrative subdivision. They receive funding ...

in the town of

Minbya Minbya (Mongbra) ( my, မင်းပြားမြို့, ) is a town in Rakhine State, in the westernmost part of Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating ...

, briefly occupying the town centre and seizing weapons and two million kyats in cash. Many of the CPA's fighters were killed or captured after the

Tatmadaw Tatmadaw (, , ) is the official name of the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include th ...

(armed forces) launched a military offensive against them in response to the fighting in Minbya. Relatives of CPA members and suspected communist sympathisers in the area were arrested; some of the women amongst those arrested were allegedly

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

d by authorities. A faction of the CPA splintered off in 1994 and merged with three other insurgent groups to form the National United Party of Arakan (NUPA). In 2004, the remnants of the CPA dissolved themselves and merged with the NUPA.
Two Arakanese communists released after 20-years in prison
'

References

1962 establishments in Burma 2004 disestablishments in Myanmar Banned communist parties Communist parties in Myanmar Defunct communist militant groups Defunct communist parties Defunct socialist parties in Asia Political parties disestablished in 2004 Political parties established in 1962 Rebel groups in Myanmar {{Myanmar-party-stub