Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League

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The Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (German Antifascist Freedom League of the People , AFPFL ; Burmese abbreviation hpa hsa pa la ) was an important political organization in Burma between 1945 and 1962 .

founding

The AFPFL was founded in August 1944 during a secret meeting in Bago by the Burma Communist Party (led by Thakin Soe), the Burma National Army (BNA) (led by Aung San ) and the People's Revolutionary Party (later merged into the Socialist Party and led by U Nu ). The aim was to oppose an occupation by Japan . This movement was initially called the Antifascist Organization (AFO). After the defeat of the Japanese, the new name was chosen to oppose the British colonial administration and achieve independence.

Freedom struggle

On behalf of the AFO Provisional Government, led by Thakin Soe, Aung San led the Burma National Army in a national uprising against the Japanese-Burmese puppet government led by Dr. Ba Maw. After negotiations with the British, the AFO was converted into a political party called AFPFL. After Aung San left the army, he took over the leadership of the organization in January 1946, which was actually a very heterogeneous collection of political groups and parties. The first general secretary of the AFPFL was the head of the communists, Thakin Than Tun.

The different currents emerged immediately when it came to defining the strategy for the negotiations on independence and clarifying which form of independence should be sought. Than Tun was forced to resign and replaced by the socialist Kyaw Nyein. Aung San became the de facto Burmese head of government when the British invited him in September 1946 to head the negotiating delegation. The negotiations were then successfully concluded in January 1947.

As a result, negotiations within the country's ethnic groups were necessary. The largest population, the Burmese , agreed at the Panglong Conference in February 1947 on the status of the " hill tribes" in the north. In July of the same year, Aung San and six members of his cabinet were assassinated. He was succeeded by U Nu, who was not only chairman of the AFPFL, but also Prime Minister of Burma.

Independence and civil war

Burma declared itself independent from Great Britain in January 1948. After U Nu announced the arrest of the communist leaders for armed insurrection, they went underground. Other groups followed, such as much of the Burma Rifles and the Burma Revolutionary Army. There was also increasing resistance from ethnic minorities such as the Karen , Mon and the Muslims in Rakhine .

With two brief interruptions, the AFPFL held under U Nu until March 2, 1962 in power. After the overwhelming election victory in 1960, the party called itself the Union Party.

Political program

During her reign, the AFPFL pursued a nationalist policy centered on national unity and consensus. It maintained parliamentary democracy and oversaw a mixed economy that included both public and private companies. Most of the time, the AFPFL was busy fighting communist and ethnically motivated rebel groups in order to gain control of the country. Successful action was also taken against Chinese national forces, the Kuomintang , who were able to establish themselves in the far north of Burma for several years after being driven out of China by the communists under Mao Tse Tung .

In foreign policy, the AFPFL maintained strict neutrality in accordance with the Bandung Agreement of 1955.

The End

In March 1962, General Ne Win launched a successful coup and immediately began to eliminate all opposition forces. AFPFL and ethnic group leaders were caught and imprisoned. By decree of 1964, Ne Win banned all political parties with the exception of the ruling Burma Socialist Program Party.

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