The Communist Party of Bhutan (Marxist–Leninist–Maoist) (

abbr. An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

CPB (MLM)) is an underground

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 ...

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

. The CPB (MLM) aims to start a

New Democratic Revolution New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a concept based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path that was decisively distinct ...

and overthrow the

Bhutanese monarchy Bhutanese may refer to: * Something of, or related to Bhutan * Dzongkha, the official national language of Bhutan (sometimes called "Bhutanese") * A person from Bhutan, or of Bhutanese descent, see Demographics of Bhutan * Bhutanese culture * Bh ...

and the

House of Wangchuck The Wangchuck dynasty () have held the hereditary position of Druk Gyalpo ("Dragon King") of Bhutan since 1907. Prior to reunification, the Wangchuck family had governed the district of Trongsa as descendants of Dungkar Choji. They eventually ov ...

. Its armed wing is the

Bhutan Tiger Force The Bhutan Tiger Force (BTF) is the armed wing of the Communist Party of Bhutan (Marxist–Leninist–Maoist) (CPB (MLM)). History On 13 December 2007, the BTF injured a refugee at the Beldangi I camp near Sangam Chowk in Damak, Nepal. On ...

, which had an estimated 600 to 1,000 cadres in 2009. The party's leader uses the ''

nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

'' Comrade Umesh.

History

In the 1990s, Nepali-speaking Bhutanese peoples protested against the Bhutan government for democratization and language reforms. The government forcibly evicted the protesters, where they were put into

refugee camps A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peo ...

in eastern Nepal. Those who stayed have faced widespread discrimination. Inside the refugee camps, insurgent groups sprung up, including the Communist Party of Bhutan (Marxist–Leninist–Maoist). The CPB (MLM) was announced publicly on 22 April 2003, as stated on the website of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)—now called

Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) (), abbreviated CPN (Maoist Centre), CPN-Maoist Centre, CPN Maoist Centre, or CPN (MC), is the third largest political party in Nepal. It was founded in 1994 after breaking away from the Communist P ...

, or CPN(M). The

Royal Bhutan Army The Royal Bhutan Army (RBA; dz, བསྟན་སྲུང་དམག་སྡེ་, bStan-srung dmag-sde) is a branch of the armed forces of the Kingdom of Bhutan responsible for maintaining the country's territorial integrity and sovereign ...

defused a bomb planted by the CPB (MLM) in Phuentsholing village, near the Bhutan–India border, on 25 April 2007. During Bhutan's transition to a constitutional monarchy in 2008, the CPB (MLM) insurgents rocked Bhutan with five explosions across the country, including one in the capital

Thimphu Thimphu (; dz, ཐིམ་ཕུག ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan, and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's ''dzongkhags'', the Thimphu District. The ancient ...

. They also declared the beginning of a "

people's war People's war (Chinese: 人民战争), also called protracted people's war, is a Maoist military strategy. First developed by the Chinese communist revolutionary leader Mao Zedong (1893–1976), the basic concept behind people's war is to mainta ...

". In March 2008, Bhutanese police killed five suspected CPB (MLM) insurgents and arrested seventeen more in various operations in the south. The CPB (MLM) ambushed and killed four forest rangers in

Singye Dzong Singye Dzong is a town in Luentse District in eastern Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, be ...

on 30 December 2008. A Bhutanese reporter was arrested in January 2009 after authorities suspected him of being a CPB (MLM) member. During the 16th South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation, security was tightened after threats by the CPB (MLM).

Ideology

Shortly after its founding, the CPB (MLM) released a ten-point program which outlined its demands from the government. The party's ideology is oriented around

Marxism–Leninism–Maoism Marxism–Leninism–Maoism (MLM) is a political philosophy that synthesizes and builds upon Marxism–Leninism and Maoism. Its proponents refer to Marxism–Leninism–Maoism as Maoism and Maoism as Mao Zedong Thought (MZT) or Marxism–Lenin ...

; its cadres hope to start a "

" and a "

". The group seeks to

repatriate Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...

the Lhotshampa refugees and declare Bhutan a "sovereign democracy". The CPB (MLM) also wants to turn Bhutan into a

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

International connections

The CPB (MLM) has close ties to Maoists in neighbouring Nepal, whom the party considers to be its inspiration. The CPB (MLM) also has links to Naxalite rebels in India's northeast, with CPB (MLM) insurgents reportedly being trained by these groups.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhutan Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist-Maoist) Communist militant groups Communist parties in Asia Communism in Bhutan Banned communist parties Maoism in Asia Maoist parties Paramilitary organisations based in Bhutan Banned political parties in Bhutan Republicanism in Bhutan 2003 establishments in Bhutan

History

Ideology

International connections

See also

References