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{{short description|Acts of terrorism carried out by adherents of communist ideologies}} | |||
{{copy edit|date=October 2011}} | |||
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}} | |||
{{Terrorism}} | {{Terrorism}} | ||
{{Communism sidebar}} | |||
'''Communist terrorism''' are actions carried out by groups which adhere to a ] or ] ideology which have been described as terrorism. State actions carried out by the ]<ref name="Gellately, Robert. Kiernan, Ben.">Fleming pp110</ref><ref name="Gérard Chaliand, Arnaud Blin 2">Chaliand page 197/202</ref>, the ]<ref name="Gérard Chaliand, Arnaud Blin 2">Chaliand page 197/202</ref>, ]<ref name="Gérard Chaliand, Arnaud Blin 3">Chaliand page 197/202</ref> and the actions of the ] in ]<ref name="Kenton J. Clymer">Clymer page 107</ref> have all been described as terrorism. Non state communist groups such as the ], ] and the ]<ref name="C. J. M. Drake 1">C. J. M. Drake page 19</ref> have also engaged in acts of terrorism in what is known as ]<ref name=”Sloan, Stephen”>Sloan pp61</ref>. These groups hope that through these actions they will inspire ] to rise up and overthrow the existing political and economic system.<ref name="Yonah, Alexander 3">Yonah ppIX</ref> | |||
'''Communist terrorism''' is ] perpetrated by individuals or groups which adhere to ] and ], such as ], ], and ]. Historically, communist terrorism has sometimes taken the form of ], supported by ] such as the ],<ref name="Gellately, Robert. Kiernan, Ben.">Fleming pp110</ref><ref name="Gérard Chaliand, Arnaud Blin 3">Chaliand page 197/202</ref> China,<ref name="Gérard Chaliand, Arnaud Blin 3" /> ]<ref name="Gérard Chaliand, Arnaud Blin 3" /> and ].<ref name="Kenton J. Clymer">Clymer page 107</ref> In addition, ] such as the ], the ] and the ] have also engaged in communist terrorism.<ref name="C. J. M. Drake 1">C. J. M. Drake page 19</ref><ref name="Sloan, Stephen">Sloan pp61</ref> These groups hope to inspire ] to rise up and start a ] to overthrow existing political and economic systems.<ref name="Yonah, Alexander 3">Yonah ppIX</ref> This form of terrorism can sometimes be called red terrorism or ].<ref>{{Citation|last=Grzymala-Busse|first=Anna M.|chapter=CONVINCING THE VOTERS: CAMPAIGNS AND ELECTIONS|pages=175–226|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780511613388|doi=10.1017/cbo9780511613388.005|title=Redeeming the Communist Past|year=2002}}</ref> | |||
The end of the ] and the ] have been credited with leading to a notable decline in this form of terrorism.<ref name="David C. Wills">David C. Wills page 219</ref> | |||
==History== | |||
==Historical usage of the term== | |||
In the |
In the 1930s, the term "communist terrorism" was used by the ] in Germany as part of a ] campaign to spread fear of communism. The Nazis blamed communist terrorism for the ], which they used as an excuse to push through legislation removing personal freedom from German citizens.<ref name="Conway John S.">Conway pp17</ref>{{failed verification|date=October 2011}}<ref name="Gadberry, Glen W.">Gadberry pp7</ref> In the 1940s and 1950s, various ]n countries, such as the ] and ], witnessed the rise of communist groups engaging in terrorism. John Slocum claimed that communists in present-day ] used terrorism to draw attention to their ideological beliefs,<ref name="Slocum, John David.">Slocum pp75</ref> but Phillip Deery countered that the Malaysian insurgents were called communist terrorists only as part of a propaganda campaign.<ref>Phillip Deery. The Terminology of Terrorism: Malaya, 1948–52. ''Journal of Southeast Asia Studies'', Vol. 34, No. 2 (June 2003), pp. 231–247.</ref> | ||
In the |
In the 1960s, the ] (between two communist states) led to a marked increase in terrorist activity in the region.<ref name="Weinberg, Leonard">Weinberg pp14</ref> That decade also saw various terrorist groups commencing operations in Europe, Japan, and the ]. ] deemed these groups Fighting Communist Organizations (FCOs),<ref name="Alexander Yonah 1">Alexander pp16</ref><ref name="Harmon, Christopher C.">Harmon pp13</ref> and says they rose out of the ] protesting against the ]. In ], these groups' actions were known as Euroterrorism.<ref name="Harmon, Christopher C. 2">Harmon pp58</ref> The founders of FCOs argued that violence was necessary to achieve their goals, and that peaceful protest was both ineffective and insufficient to attain them.<ref name="C. J. M. Drake 2">Drake pp102</ref><ref name= "Enders Walter. Sandler Todd.">Sandler pp10</ref> In the 1970s, there were an estimated 50 ] or Leninist groups operating in Turkey, and an estimated 225 groups operating in Italy. Groups also began operations in Ireland and the United Kingdom.<ref name="Alexander Yonah 2">Alexander pp51-52</ref> These groups were deemed a major threat by ] and the Italian, German, and British governments.<ref name="Paoletti, Ciro">Paoletti p202</ref> Communist terrorism did not enjoy full support from all ideologically sympathetic groups. The ], for example, condemned such activity.<ref>Richard Drake. Terrorism and the Decline of Italian Communism: Domestic and International Dimensions. ''Journal of Cold War Studies'', Volume 12, Number 2, Spring 2010 1531–3298</ref> | ||
==Background== | |||
==Communist view on the use of terrorism== | |||
{{see also|Dictatorship of the proletariat}} | |||
As Lenin systematically denounced the terrorism practiced by the ], it is often perceived that he opposed terrorism, however Lenin was an apostle of terror since his earliest days.<ref name='Chaliand'/> After 1905 he increasingly became an enthusiastic supporter of all types of terror. According to Trotsky, Lenin emphasized the absolute necessity of terror and as early as 1904 Lenin was heard to declare ''"The dictatorship of the proletariat is an absolutely meaningless expression without Jacobin coercion"''.<ref name="Dallin 1970 10">{{cite book |title=Political terror in communist systems |last=Dallin |first=Alexander |authorlink= |coauthors=George W. Breslauer |year=1970 |publisher=Stanford University Press |location= |isbn=9780804707275 |page=10 |pages= |url= |accessdate=}}</ref> In 1905 Lenin directed members of the St. Petersburg "Combat Committee" to commit acts of robbery, arson and other terrorist acts.<ref name='harmon'/> Joan Witte contends that Lenin opposed terrorism except that wielded by the party and the Red Army after 1917,<ref name='harmon'>{{cite book |title=Terrorism today |last=Harmon |first=Christopher C. |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=2008 |publisher= Routledge |location= |isbn=9780714649986 |page=37 |pages= |url= |accessdate=}}</ref> but he only opposed the use of terrorism when it was a mindless act but endorsed its use to advance the communist revolution.<ref name='harmon'/> It was the disorderly, unorganised and petty terrorism that he objected to and mass terror that he advocated.<ref name='Chaliand'>{{cite book |title=The history of terrorism: from antiquity to al Qaeda |last= Chaliand |first= Gérard |authorlink= |coauthors=Arnaud Blin |year=2007 |publisher=University of California Press |location= |isbn= 9780520247093 |page=198 |pages= |url= |accessdate=}}</ref> By 1917, according to Richard Drake, Lenin had abandoned any reluctance to using terrorist tactics, and he believed all resistance to the communist revolution would have to be met with maximum force. Drake states that the terrorist potential in Lenin's program was unmistakable, as acknowledged by Trotsky in his book ''Terrorism and Communism: a Reply'' published in 1918.<ref>{{cite book |title=The terrorism ahead: confronting transnational violence in the twenty-first century |last= Smith |first=Paul J. |authorlink= |coauthors= |year= 2008 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |location= |isbn= 9780765619884 |page=9 |pages= |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=TRX2kQmZLS0C&lpg=PP1&pg=PA9#v=onepage&q&f=false |accessdate=}}</ref> In his book, Trotsky provided an elaborate justification for the use of terror, stating ''"The man who repudiates terrorism in princliple, i.e., repudiates measures of suppression and intimidation towards determined and armed counterrevolution, must reject all idea of the political supremacy of the working class and its revolutionary dictatorship."''<ref name="Dallin 1970 10"/> | |||
While ] systematically denounced the terrorism practiced by the ], he also supported terror as a tool, and considered mass terror to be a strategic and efficient method for advancing revolutionary goals.<ref name='Chaliand'/> According to ], Lenin emphasized the absolute necessity of terror and as early as 1904, Lenin said, "The ] is an absolutely meaningless expression without ] coercion."<ref name="Dallin 1970 10">{{cite book |title=Political terror in communist systems |url=https://archive.org/details/politicalterrori00dall |url-access=registration |last1=Dallin |first1=Alexander |first2=George W. |last2=Breslauer |year=1970 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-0727-5 |page=}}</ref> In 1905, Lenin directed members of the ] "Combat Committee" to commit acts of ], ], and other terrorist acts.<ref name='harmon'/> | |||
] | |||
According to Paul Smith, the difference between Stalin and Lenin is that while Stalin is primarily known for state terror, Lenin experienced the full spectrum, engaging in terrorism while he was not in power, then engaging in state terrorism against his own population after gaining power.<ref>Smith, p9</ref> | |||
Not all scholars agree on Lenin's position towards terrorism. Joan Witte contends that he opposed the practice except when it was wielded by ] and the ] after 1917.<ref name='harmon'>{{cite book |title=Terrorism today |last=Harmon |first=Christopher C. |year=2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-7146-4998-6 |page= |url=https://archive.org/details/terrorismtoday0000harm/page/37 }}</ref> She also suggests that he opposed the use of terrorism as a mindless act but endorsed its use in order to advance the communist revolution.<ref name='harmon'/> Chaliand and Blin contend that Lenin advocated mass terror but objected to disorderly, unorganized, or petty acts of terrorism.<ref name='Chaliand'>{{cite book |title=The history of terrorism: from antiquity to al Qaeda |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofterrori00grar |url-access=registration |last1=Chaliand |first1=Gérard |first2=Arnaud |last2=Blin |year=2007 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn= 978-0-520-24709-3 |page=}}</ref> According to Richard Drake, Lenin had abandoned any reluctance to use terrorist tactics by 1917, believing that all resistance to communist revolution should be met with maximum force. Drake contends that the terrorist intent in Lenin's program was unmistakable, as acknowledged by Trotsky in his book '']'', published in 1918.<ref>{{cite book |title=The terrorism ahead: confronting transnational violence in the twenty-first century |last= Smith |first=Paul J. |year= 2008 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |isbn= 978-0-7656-1988-4 |page= |url=https://archive.org/details/terrorismaheadco0000smit|url-access=registration }}</ref> In the book, Trotsky provided an elaborate justification for the use of terror, stating "The man who repudiates terrorism in principle, i.e., repudiates measures of suppression and intimidation towards determined and armed counterrevolution, must reject all ideas of the political supremacy of the working class and its revolutionary dictatorship."<ref name="Dallin 1970 10"/> Trotsky's justification largely rests on a criticism of the usage of the term "terrorism" to describe all ] on behalf of the ], but not equally vicious political violence carried out by ] or ] factions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1920/terrcomm/ch04.htm|title=Terrorism and Communism|last=Trotsky|first=Leon|date=24 December 2016|orig-date=1920|website=Marxist Internet Archive}}</ref> Scholars on the Left argue that while it is a matter of historical record that communist movements did at times employ violence, the label of "terrorism" is disproportionately used in ] media sources to refer to all political violence employed by the left, while similarly violent tactics employed by the United States and its allies remain unscrutinized.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Chomsky|first1=Noam|last2=Bolender|first2=John|date=January 2004|title=On Terrorism|url=https://chomsky.info/200401__/|journal=Jump Arts Journal|quote=It's close to a historical universal that the term "terror" is used for their terror against us and our clients, not our terror against them. Heads of states can qualify as "terrorists," when they are official enemies.|via=The Noam Chomsky Website}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Losurdo|first=Domenico|date=2004|title=Towards a Critique of the Category of Totalitarianism|url=http://awm.or.kr/bbs/data/document/1/Losurdo___Critique_of_Totalitarianism_(2004).pdf|journal=Historical Materialism|volume=12|issue=2|pages=25–55|doi=10.1163/1569206041551663|quote=In May 1948, Arendt denounced the ‘development of totalitarian methods’ in Israel, referring to ‘terrorism’ and the expulsion and deportation of the Arab population. Only three years later, no room was left for criticism directed against the contemporary West.}}</ref> | |||
== |
==Examples== | ||
In 1917 after the ] one of the main features of the new communist regime was the use of ] to subdue the populace, the use of terror has been described as "evident in the regimes very origins" by historian ]. Historian W. J. Stankiewicz has also stated <blockquote> | |||
"The USSR’s resort to terrorism signalized an abandonment of the long-standing fiction | |||
that Communism is part of the movement of ‘history’; that in order to win, it does not | |||
need any special measures. When terrorism is defined as ‘active measures’ that can and | |||
‘ought’ to be part of the policy of a Communist State, we see a shift to a frank acceptance | |||
by Communist ideologues that their system is based on power not reason or the forces of | |||
history".<ref name="W. J. Stankiewicz">W. J. Stankiewicz page 225</ref></blockquote> An estimated 17,000 people died as a result of this revolutionary violence.<ref name="Geifman, Anna.">Geifman pp21</ref> ] stated that his “Jacobian party would never reject terror, nor could it do so", and that they used the ] ] of 1793-1794 as a model for their own ].<ref name="Marcus C. Levitt 1">Marcus C. Levitt page 152-153</ref> ] founder of the ] used terrorist actions against all classes of people, though the peasants were heavily targeted due to their refusal to give excessive amounts of grain to the government.<ref name="Richard W. Mansbach 1">Richard W. Mansbach page 336</ref> Upon founding the ](NEP) Lenin stated, "It is a mistake to think the NEP has put an end to terrorism. We shall return to terrorism, and it will be an economic terrorism".<ref name="David Schmidtz">David Schmidtz page 191</ref> | |||
Also described as an act of communist terror by historian Robert G. Moeller was the deaths of an estimated one million Prisoners of war at the hands of the Soviet regime. They had been used as slave labour and worked to death.<ref name="Robert G. Moeller">Moeller page 33</ref> | |||
The attacks on the Catholic Church in the occupied eastern European nations have also been described as a "terrorist" act.<ref name="Christopher Lawrence Zugger">Zugger page 444</ref> | |||
== |
===Bulgaria=== | ||
The ] on 16 April 1925 was committed by a group from the ] (BCP). They blew up the roof of the ] in ], ]. 150 people were killed and around 500 were injured. | |||
{{main|Vietnam War|Viet Cong}} | |||
During World War II the communist ] led by ] fought a guerilla campaign against the Japanese occupation forces and, following Japan's surrender, continued their insurgency against the French colonial forces. This insurgency continued until 1954 as the Vietminh and subsequently evolved into the Vietcong (VC), which fought against both the South Vietnamese government and American forces.<ref name="Mockaitis, Thomas R.">Mockaitis pp23</ref> they used terrorism throughout these campaigns as a specific tactic.<ref name="Crenshaw, Martha. Pimlott, John.">Crenshaw pp503</ref> leading to the deaths of thousands.<ref name="Pedahzur, Ami 1">Pedahzur pp114</ref> After an armistice was signed between the Viet Minh and the French forces in 1954 terrorist actions continued.<ref name ="Freeman, James M.">Freeman pp192</ref> | |||
Carol Winkler has written that, in the 1950s, Vietcong terrorism was rife in ] with political leaders, provincial chiefs, teachers, nurses, doctors and members of the military being targeted. Between 1965 and 1972 terrorists had killed over thirty-three thousand people and abducted a further fifty seven thousand. | |||
<ref name="Winkler, Carol">Winkler pp17</ref><ref name="Forest, James J. F.">Forest pp82</ref> In ] terrorist actions have been described by Nghia M. Vo as "long and murderous" The firing of automatic weapons, planting bombs and throwing grenades were the tactics used. The prime minister of the time ] was shot in an attempted assassination and that in 1964 alone there were 19,000 attacks on civilian targets.<ref name="Vo, Nghia M. 1">Vo pp28/29</ref> | |||
]] has called the ] one of the worst communist terrorist actions during the Vietnam War.<ref name="Lanning, Michael Lee 1">Lanning pp185</ref> with some estimates saying up to 5000 dead.<ref name="Brown, T. Louise">Brown pp163</ref> The United States Army recorded as killed, "3800 killed in and around Huế, 2786 confirmed civilians massacred, 2226 civilians found in mass graves and 16 non Vietnamese civilians killed.<ref name="Krohn, Charles A.">Krohn pp126</ref> Some apologists have claimed the majority of deaths were caused by US bombing in the fight to retake the city, however the vast majority of dead were found in ] outside the city.<ref name="T. Louise Brown">T. Louise Brown pp163</ref> Benjamin A. Valentino has put a death toll of between 45,000 and 80,000 between 1954 - 1975 due to VC terrorism.<ref name="Valentino, Benjamin A.">Valentino p88</ref> | |||
===Cambodia=== | |||
Douglas Pike has also described the ] as a terrorist act. On December 6, 1967 the ] used ] on civilians in the village of Dak Son, killing 252 with the majority of those burnt alive being women and children.<ref name="Lanning, Michael Lee 2">Lanning pp185-186</ref> In May, 1967 Dr. Tran Van-Luy informed the ] "that over the previous 10 years Communist terrorists had destroyed 174 dispensaries, maternity homes and hospitals"<ref name="Bernadette, Rigal-Cellard">Rigal-Cellard pp229</ref> Ami Pedahzur has written that "the overall volume and lethality of Vietcong terrorism rivals or exceeds all but a handful (e.g. Algeria, Sri Lanka) of terrorist campaigns waged over the last third of the twentieth century",<ref name="Pedahzur, Ami 2">Pedahzur pp116</ref> and that the VC used ] as an example of ].<ref name="Pedahzur, Ami 3">Pedahzur pp117</ref> | |||
{{see also|Cambodian genocide}} | |||
The ] committed by the ], which led to the death of an estimated 1.7 million to 2.5 million people has been described as an act of terrorism by Joseph S. Tuman.<ref name="Tuman, Joseph S.">Tuman pp180</ref> | |||
===China=== | |||
Arthur J. Dommen has written that the majority of those killed due to VC terrorism were civilians, being caught in ambushes as they traveled on buses. Houses and villages were burnt down and there was forced impressment into the VC, and that the image of the VC insurgency being a popular uprising was a facet of communist propaganda<ref name="Dommen Arthur J.">Dommen pp503</ref> | |||
Benjamin A. Valentino has estimated that the atrocities committed by both the ] and the ] during the ] resulted in the death of between 1.8 million and 3.5 million people between 1927 and 1949.<ref name="Valentino, Benjamin A.">Valentino p88</ref> | |||
== |
===Indonesia=== | ||
The ] (PKI) had been engaged in what perceived as an act of terrorism during a ], as well as the ].{{citation needed|date=September 2021}} However, under the leadership of ], the PKI was transformed into a legal party operating openly within the country and rejected armed struggle.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bevins |first1=Vincent|authorlink=Vincent Bevins |title=]|date=2020 |publisher= ]|pages=62–64 |isbn= 978-1541742406}}</ref> The alleged coup attempt culminated in a ] and a subsequent ] into a ] following the purges.<ref>{{cite book |last= Robinson|first=Geoffrey B.|date= 2018|title=The Killing Season: A History of the Indonesian Massacres, 1965–66|url=https://press.princeton.edu/titles/11135.html|publisher=] |pages=82–83, 118 |isbn=9781400888863}}</ref> | |||
In ] during the 1970`s terrorists operating in the country had received training in Russia, China, Cuba and Algeria. Both ] (ZAPU) and the ] (ZANU) based themselves in the ] area in ] so as to be within striking distance of Rhodesia.<ref name="Elaine Windrich">Windrich page 279</ref> | |||
=== Japan === | |||
During the ] era in ], the government under the ] ] deemed the ANC's creation and use of its military wing ] as communist supported terrorism.<ref name='Schutz'/> To combat this violence a series of laws were introduced by the government, starting with the Suppression of Communism Act, which defined and banned organisations and people judged to be communists. In 1967 the government promulgated the Terrorism Act which made terrorist acts a statuary crime and implemented indefinite detention for those captured, followed by the Affected Organisations Act in 1974 and the Internal Security Act in 1982.<ref name='Schutz'>{{cite book |last1=Schutz |first1=Barry M. |editor1-first=Jean |editor1-last= Rosenfeld |title=Terrorism, Identity, and Legitimacy: The Four Waves Theory and Political Violence |url= |archiveurl= |series= |volume= |year=2011 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn= 9780415578578 |page=199 |chapter=South Africa's paradox of violence and legitimacy }}</ref> | |||
In the late 1960s, Japanese communist ] formed the militant ] terrorist group. Their goal was to start a worldwide communist revolution through the use of terrorism.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=United States department of State|date=1 January 1990|title=The Japanese red army|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/10576109008435816|journal=Terrorism|volume=13|issue=1|pages=73–78|doi=10.1080/10576109008435816|issn=0149-0389}}</ref> They committed multiple embassy attacks, airplane hijackings, bombings and taking hostages. They were responsible for the ], in which 26 people were killed and 79 injured.<ref>{{Cite news|date=29 May 1972|title=1972: Japanese kill 26 at Tel Aviv airport|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/29/newsid_2542000/2542263.stm|access-date=30 December 2021}}</ref> In 1988, members of the JRA detonated a ] outside of a USO recreational facility in Naples which killed 4 Italian civilians, 1 U.S. Servicewoman, and injured 15 other people.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Suro|first1=Roberto|date=15 April 1988|title=5 Die in Blast Outside U.S.O. in Naples|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/15/world/5-die-in-blast-outside-uso-in-naples.html|access-date=30 December 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> | |||
Members of the JRA merged with members of the Revolutionary Left Faction to form the ], which became known for the ], a weeklong standoff with the police after the group had murdered fourteen of its own members.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The IAFOR Journal of Media, Communication & Film|url=https://iafor.org/journal/iafor-journal-of-media-communication-and-film/|access-date=2022-01-06|website=The International Academic Forum (IAFOR)}}</ref> | |||
==The Philippines== | |||
The ](NPA) founded on March 29, 1969 have been described as the third major terrorist group operating in the Philippines. And as a major security threat. This group carried out attacks between 1987 and 1992, then after a ten year break began operations again. They had carried out forty two attacks between 2000 and 2006.<ref name ="Cox, Dan G. Falconer, John. Stackhouse, Brian.">Cox pp97</ref> | |||
=== Peru === | |||
==State actions described as terrorism== | |||
] | |||
The ] committed by the ], which led to the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million to 2.5 million people has been described as an act of terrorism by Joseph S. Tuman.<ref name="Tuman,Joseph S.">Tuman pp180</ref> | |||
] was founded in 1969 by Maoist philosophy professor ] as a split from the Peruvian Communist Party. In 1980 when the Peruvian government held elections for the first time in 12 years, Shining Path rejected participation instead declaring a guerrilla war against the government, perpetrating "assassinations, bombings, beheadings and massacres",<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-09-04|title=Peru in Familiar Stalemate With Shining Path Rebels|url=https://insightcrime.org/news/brief/peru-stalemate-shining-path/|access-date=2022-01-29|website=InSight Crime}}</ref> including the ] and ]. Guzmán was arrested in 1992 and sentenced to life in prison on charges of aggravated terrorism and murder. Another communist terrorist group, ], gained notoriety after ] at the Japanese Embassy of Peru which lead to a 126-day stand off with Peruvian authorities. | |||
The Shining Path is regarded as a ] organization by Peru, Japan,<ref name="Japan_ban">{{cite web |url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html |title=MOFA: Implementation of the Measures including the Freezing of Assets against Terrorists and the Like |access-date=21 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406134416/http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html |archive-date=6 April 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> the United States,<ref>United States Department of State, 30 April 2007. . Retrieved 11 June 2009.</ref> the ],<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122092156/http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2005/l_340/l_34020051223en00800084.pdf |date=22 November 2011 }}. 14 March 2005. Retrieved 13 January 2008.</ref> and Canada,<ref>Government of Canada. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061119150657/http://www.psepc.gc.ca/prg/ns/le/cle-en.asp |date=19 November 2006 }}. Retrieved 11 June 2009.</ref> all of whom consequently prohibit funding and other financial support to the group. | |||
Valentino has put an estimated death toll between the years 1927-1949 of 1,800,000 to 3,500,000 on terrorist actions carried out during the ].<ref name="Valentino, Benjamin A.">Valentino p88</ref> An ] ] report of the late 1940s claimed that after WWII communist terrorism surpassed the actions of Imperial Japan, with suppression, looting and massacres and forced ] into "peoples militia"<ref name="Van Slyke, Lyman">Van Slyke pp752</ref> | |||
===The Philippines=== | |||
{{main|New People's Army}} | |||
The ] (NPA) founded in 1969 has been described as the third largest terrorist group operating in the Philippines. The group carried out attacks between 1987 and 1992 before entering a ]. Between 2000 and 2006, they carried out an additional 42 attacks.<ref name ="Cox, Dan G. Falconer, John. Stackhouse, Brian.">Cox pp97</ref> The NPA is designated as a terrorist group by The Philippines,<ref>{{Cite web|date=6 December 2017|title=Duterte declares CPP, NPA as terrorist organizations {{!}} Inquirer News|url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/950017/duterte-declares-cpp-npa-as-terrorist-organizations|access-date=30 December 2021|website=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206074517/https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/950017/duterte-declares-cpp-npa-as-terrorist-organizations|archive-date=6 December 2017}}</ref> The United States,<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 May 2019 |title=Foreign Terrorist Organizations – United States Department of State |url=https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/ |access-date=30 December 2021 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515204913/https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/ |archive-date=15 May 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The European Union,<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 September 2020 |title=EUR-Lex – 32020R1128 – EN – EUR-Lex |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32020R1128 |access-date=30 December 2021 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917174357/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32020R1128 |archive-date=17 September 2020 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and New Zealand.<ref>{{Cite web|date=19 November 2020|title=Lists associated with Resolution 1373 {{!}} New Zealand Police|url=https://www.police.govt.nz/advice/personal-community/counterterrorism/designated-entities/lists-associated-with-resolution-1373|access-date=30 December 2021|website=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119075830/https://www.police.govt.nz/advice/personal-community/counterterrorism/designated-entities/lists-associated-with-resolution-1373|archive-date=19 November 2020}}</ref> | |||
===Rhodesia=== | |||
In ] (renamed ] in 1980), during the ] of the 1970s, guerrillas operating in the country were considered communist terrorists by the government. The organisations in question received war materiels and financial support from numerous communist countries, and they also received training in several of those same countries, including the Soviet Union, China and ]. Both guerrilla armies involved in the war—the ] (ZIPRA) of the ] (ZAPU), and the ] (ZANLA) attached to the ] (ZANU)—were initially based in the ] area of ], so as to be within striking distance of Rhodesia.<ref name="Elaine Windrich">Windrich page 279</ref> ZANU and ZANLA moved their bases to ]'s ] around 1972, and based themselves there until the war's end in 1979. ZIPRA remained based in Zambia. In line with the ] ideology professed by its parent organisation, ZANU, ZANLA used Chinese Maoist tactics to great effect, politicising the rural population and hiding amongst the locals between strikes.<ref name="wood1995phase2">{{cite web | |||
|title=Rhodesian Insurgency | |||
|last=Wood | |||
|first=J. R. T. | |||
|url=http://www.rhodesia.nl/wood2.htm | |||
|location=Oudeschip | |||
|publisher=Allport Books | |||
|date=24 May 1995 | |||
|access-date=30 May 2012}}</ref> While ZIPRA conducted similar operations to a lesser extent, most of its men made up a conventional-style army in Zambia, which was trained by Cuban and Soviet officers to eventually overtly invade Rhodesia and openly engage in combat against the ]. This ultimately never happened.<ref>{{cite book | |||
|title=Dirty Wars: Elite Forces vs the Guerrillas | |||
|last=Thompson | |||
|first=Leroy | |||
|location=Newton Abbot | |||
|publisher=] | |||
|date=October 1991 | |||
|edition=First | |||
|isbn=978-0-7153-9441-0 | |||
|page=158}}</ref> | |||
===Soviet Union=== | |||
{{main|Terrorism and the Soviet Union}} | |||
After the ] in 1917, the use of terrorism to subdue people characterized the new communist regime.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sciencespo.fr/mass-violence-war-massacre-resistance/en/document/crimes-and-mass-violence-russian-civil-wars-1918-1921|title=Crimes and Mass Violence of the Russian Civil Wars (1918–1921)|last=Nicolas|first=Werth|date=21 March 2008|website=SciencePro|access-date=28 February 2019}}</ref> Historian ] stated that this was "evident in the regime's very origins." An estimated 17,000 people died as a result of the initial campaign of violence known as the ].<ref name="Geifman, Anna.">Geifman pp21</ref> Lenin stated that his "Jacobian party would never reject terror, nor could it do so", referring to the ] ] of 1793–1794 as a model for the ] ].<ref name="Marcus C. Levitt 1">Marcus C. Levitt page 152-153</ref> ], founder of the ] (the Soviet ]), widely employed terrorist tactics, especially against peasants who refused to surrender their grain to the government.<ref name="Richard W. Mansbach 1">] page 336</ref> Upon initiating the ] (NEP) Lenin stated, "It is a mistake to think the NEP has put an end to terrorism. We shall return to terrorism, and it will be an economic terrorism".<ref name="David Schmidtz">David Schmidtz page 191</ref> | |||
===South Africa=== | |||
During the ] era in ], the government under the ] ] deemed the ] and its military wing, ], communist terrorists.<ref name='Schutz'/> As a result, a series of laws were introduced by the government, such as the Suppression of Communism Act, which defined and banned organizations and people that the government considered communist. In 1967 the government promulgated the Terrorism Act, which made terrorist acts a statutory crime and implemented ] against those who were captured.<ref name='Schutz'>{{cite book |last1=Schutz |first1=Barry M. |editor1-first=Jean |editor1-last= Rosenfeld |title=Terrorism, Identity, and Legitimacy: The Four Waves Theory and Political Violence |year=2011 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn= 978-0-415-57857-8 |page=199 |chapter=South Africa's paradox of violence and legitimacy}}</ref> | |||
===Vietnam=== | |||
{{main|Vietnam War|Viet Cong}} | |||
During World War II the communist ] fought a ] led by ] against the Japanese occupation forces and, following Japan's surrender, against the ] forces. This insurgency continued until 1954 as the Viet Minh evolved into the Viet Cong (VC), which fought against both the ]ese government and American forces.<ref name="Mockaitis, Thomas R.">Mockaitis pp23</ref> These campaigns involved terrorism resulting in the deaths of thousands.<ref name="Crenshaw, Martha. Pimlott, John.">Crenshaw pp503</ref><ref name="Pedahzur, Ami 1">Pedahzur pp114</ref> Although an ] was signed between the Viet Minh and the French forces in 1954, terrorist actions continued.<ref name="Freeman, James M.">Freeman pp192</ref> Carol Winkler has written that in the 1950s, Viet Cong terrorism was rife in South Vietnam, with political leaders, provincial chiefs, teachers, nurses, doctors, and members of the military being targeted. Between 1965 and 1972, Viet Cong terrorists had killed over 33,000 people and abducted a further 57,000.<ref name="Winkler, Carol">Winkler pp17</ref><ref name="Forest, James J. F.">Forest pp82</ref> Terrorist actions in ] were described by Nghia M. Vo as "long and murderous." In these campaigns, South Vietnamese prime minister ] was the target of an ] attempt; in 1964 alone, the Viet Cong carried out 19,000 attacks on civilian targets.<ref name="Vo, Nghia M. 1">Vo pp28/29</ref> | |||
]]] | |||
Historian and former U.S. State Department analyst ] has called the ] one of the worst communist terrorist actions of the Vietnam War.<ref name="Lanning, Michael Lee 1">Lanning pp185</ref> Estimates of the losses in the massacre have been cited as high as 6,000 dead.<ref>{Anderson, David L. The Columbia Guide to the Vietnam War. 2004, page 98-9}</ref><ref name="Brown, T. Louise">Brown pp163</ref> The ] recorded as killed "3800 killed in and around Huế, 2786 confirmed civilians massacred, 2226 civilians found in mass graves and 16 non Vietnamese civilians killed."<ref name="Krohn, Charles A.">Krohn pp126</ref> While some historians have claimed that the majority of these deaths occurred as the result of US bombing in the fight to retake the city, the vast majority of the dead were found in ]s outside the city.<ref name="T. Louise Brown">T. Louise Brown pp163</ref> Benjamin A. Valentino has estimated a total death toll of between 45,000 and 80,000 people between 1954 and 1975 from VC terrorism.<ref name="Valentino, Benjamin A." /> | |||
Douglas Pike also described the ], in which the Viet Cong used ]s against civilians in Đắk Sơn, killing 252, as a terrorist act.<ref name="Lanning, Michael Lee 2">Lanning pp185-186</ref> In May 1967, Tran Van-Luy reported to the ] "that over the previous 10 years Communist terrorists had destroyed 174 dispensaries, maternity homes and hospitals."<ref name="Bernadette, Rigal-Cellard">Rigal-Cellard pp229</ref> Ami Pedahzur has written that "the overall volume and lethality of Viet Cong terrorism rivals or exceeds all but a handful (e.g. ], ]) of terrorist campaigns waged over the last third of the twentieth century,"<ref name="Pedahzur, Ami 2">Pedahzur pp116</ref> and that the VC used ] as a form of ].<ref name="Pedahzur, Ami 3">Pedahzur pp117</ref> Arthur J. Dommen has written that the majority of those killed due to VC terrorism were civilians, caught in ambushes as they traveled on buses, and that the group burnt down villages and forcibly conscripted members.<ref name="Dommen Arthur J.">Dommen pp503</ref> | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | * ] | ||
* ] | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist|2|colwidth=35em}} | |||
== |
===Citations=== | ||
{{ |
{{Reflist|30em}} | ||
* Gellately, Robert. Kiernan, Ben. (Editors) (2003) ''The Specter of Genocide: Mass Murder in Historical Perspective'' Cambridge University Press ISBN 978-0521527507 | |||
===Sources=== | |||
* C. J. M. Drake. Terrorists' target selection. Palgrave Macmillan. 5 February 2003. ISBN 978-0312211974 | |||
{{refbegin|30em}} | |||
* David C. Wills. The First War on Terrorism: Counter-terrorism Policy During the Reagan Administration. Rowman & Littlefield 28 August 2003. ISBN 978-0742531291 | |||
* Gellately, Robert. Kiernan, Ben. (Editors) (2003) ''The Specter of Genocide: Mass Murder in Historical Perspective'' Cambridge University Press {{ISBN|978-0-521-52750-7}} | |||
* Brian Crozier. Political victory: the elusive prize of military wars. Transaction Publishers 31 May 2005. ISBN 978-0765802903 | |||
* C. J. M. Drake. Terrorists' target selection. Palgrave Macmillan. 5 February 2003. {{ISBN|978-0-312-21197-4}} | |||
* Conway John S.''The Nazi Persecution of the Churches, 1933-1945'' Regent College Publishing. 1 April 2001. ISBN 978-1573830805 | |||
* David C. Wills. The First War on Terrorism: Counter-terrorism Policy During the Reagan Administration. Rowman & Littlefield 28 August 2003. {{ISBN|978-0-7425-3129-1}} | |||
* Gadberry, Glen W. ''Theatre in the Third Reich, the prewar years: essays on theatre in Nazi Germany'' Greenwood. 30 March 1995. ISBN 978-0313295164 | |||
* |
* Brian Crozier. Political victory: the elusive prize of military wars. Transaction Publishers 31 May 2005. {{ISBN|978-0-7658-0290-3}} | ||
* |
* Conway John S.''The Nazi Persecution of the Churches, 1933–1945'' Regent College Publishing. 1 April 2001. {{ISBN|978-1-57383-080-5}} | ||
* Gadberry, Glen W. ''Theatre in the Third Reich, the prewar years: essays on theatre in Nazi Germany'' Greenwood. 30 March 1995. {{ISBN|978-0-313-29516-4}} | |||
* Alexander Yonah. Europe's red terrorists: the fighting communist organizations. October 1, 1992. Routledge. ISBN 978-0714634883 | |||
* Weinberg, Leonard. Political parties and terrorist groups. 2nd Revised Edition. 6 November 2008. Routledge. {{ISBN|978-0-415-77536-6}} | |||
* Paoletti, Ciro (30 December 2007). A military history of Italy. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 978-0275985059. | |||
* Enders Walter. Sandler Todd. ''The political economy of terrorism'' 14 November 2005. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-521-85100-8}} | |||
* Harmon, Christopher C. ''Terrorism Today'' Routledge 2nd edition. 18 Octtober 2007. ISBN 978-0415773003 | |||
* Alexander Yonah. Europe's red terrorists: the fighting communist organizations. 1 October 1992. Routledge. {{ISBN|978-0-7146-3488-3}} | |||
* Carol Winkler. ''In the name of terrorism: presidents on political violence in the post-World.'' ] Illustrated edition. 3 November 2005. ISBN 978-0791466179 | |||
* Paoletti, Ciro (30 December 2007). A military history of Italy. Praeger Publishers. {{ISBN|978-0-275-98505-9}}. | |||
* Nghia M. Vo. ''The bamboo gulag: political imprisonment in communist Vietnam.'' ] 31 December 2003. ISBN 978-0786417148 | |||
* Harmon, Christopher C. ''Terrorism Today'' Routledge 2nd edition. 18 October 2007. {{ISBN|978-0-415-77300-3}} | |||
* ], ]. ''Inside the VC and the NVA: the real story of North Vietnam's armed forces.'' 1st edition. ] 15 August 2008. ISBN 978-1603440592 | |||
* Carol Winkler. ''In the name of terrorism: presidents on political violence in the post-World.'' ] Illustrated edition. 3 November 2005. {{ISBN|978-0-7914-6617-9}} | |||
* T. Louise Brown, ''War and aftermath in Vietnam.'' Routledge. 2 May 1991. ISBN 978-0415014038 | |||
* Nghia M. Vo. ''The bamboo gulag: political imprisonment in communist Vietnam.'' ] 31 December 2003. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-1714-8}} | |||
* Bernadette Rigal-Cellard. ''La guerre du Vietnam et la société américaine.'' Presses universitaires de Bordeaux. 1991. ISBN 978-2867811227 | |||
* ], ]. ''Inside the VC and the NVA: the real story of North Vietnam's armed forces.'' 1st edition. ] 15 August 2008. {{ISBN|978-1-60344-059-2}} | |||
* Leonard Weinberg & William L. Eubank, ''Twenty-First Century Insurgents: Understanding the Use of Terrorism as a Strategy'', in: ''Countering Terrorism and Insurgency in the 21st Century'', Forest, James J. F., Ed. Praeger 6/30/2007 ISBN 978-0-275-99034-3 | |||
* T. Louise Brown, ''War and aftermath in Vietnam.'' Routledge. 2 May 1991. {{ISBN|978-0-415-01403-8}} | |||
* Christopher Lawrence Zugger. The forgotten: Catholics of the Soviet empire from Lenin through Stalin. Syracuse University Press. 31 May 2001. ISBN 978-0815606796 | |||
* Bernadette Rigal-Cellard. ''La guerre du Vietnam et la société américaine.'' Presses universitaires de Bordeaux. 1991. {{ISBN|978-2-86781-122-7}} | |||
* Kenton J. Clymer. The United States and Cambodia, 1969-2000: a troubled relationship. Routledge. 1st edition. 11 March 2004. ISBN 978-0415326025 | |||
* Leonard Weinberg & William L. Eubank, ''Twenty-First Century Insurgents: Understanding the Use of Terrorism as a Strategy'', in: ''Countering Terrorism and Insurgency in the 21st Century'', Forest, James J. F., Ed. Praeger 30 June 2007 {{ISBN|978-0-275-99034-3}} | |||
* Gérard Chaliand, Arnaud Blin. The history of terrorism: from antiquity to al Qaeda. University of California Press. 1st edition. 13 July 2007. ISBN 978-0520247093 | |||
* Christopher Lawrence Zugger. The forgotten: Catholics of the Soviet empire from Lenin through Stalin. Syracuse University Press. 31 May 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-8156-0679-6}} | |||
* Pedahzur, Ami. ''Root causes of suicide terrorism: the globalization of martyrdom'' Taylor & Francis. 22 June 2006. ISBN 978-0415770293 | |||
* Kenton J. Clymer. The United States and Cambodia, 1969–2000: a troubled relationship. Routledge. 1st edition. 11 March 2004. {{ISBN|978-0-415-32602-5}} | |||
* Valentino, Benjamin A. ''Final solutions: mass killing and genocide in the twentieth century'' Cornell University Press. December 8, 2005. ISBN 978-0801472732 | |||
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* Gérard Chaliand, Arnaud Blin. The history of terrorism: from antiquity to al Qaeda. University of California Press. 1st edition. 13 July 2007. {{ISBN|978-0-520-24709-3}} | ||
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* Pedahzur, Ami. ''Root causes of suicide terrorism: the globalization of martyrdom'' Taylor & Francis. 22 June 2006. {{ISBN|978-0-415-77029-3}} | ||
* Valentino, Benjamin A. ''Final solutions: mass killing and genocide in the twentieth century'' Cornell University Press. 8 December 2005. {{ISBN|978-0-8014-7273-2}} | |||
* Fueredi, Frank. ''Colonial wars and the politics of Third World nationalism'' I.B.Tauris, 1994. ISBN 185043784X | |||
* Charles A. Krohn. ''The lost battalion of Tet: breakout of the 2/12th Cavalry at Hue''. Naval Institute Press Rev. Pbk. edition. 15 February 2008. {{ISBN|978-1-59114-434-2}} | |||
* Freeman, James M. ''Hearts of Sorrow: Vietnamese-American Lives'' Stanford University Press. 30 April 1991. ISBN 978-0804718905 | |||
* Winkler, Carol. ''In the name of terrorism: presidents on political violence in the post-World War II''. SUNY Press, 2006. {{ISBN|0-7914-6617-5}} | |||
* Cox, Dan G. Falconer, John. Stackhouse, Brian. ''Terrorism, instability, and democracy in Asia and Africa'' Northeastern University Press. 15 April 2009. ISBN 978-1555537050 | |||
* Fueredi, Frank. ''Colonial wars and the politics of Third World nationalism'' I.B.Tauris, 1994. {{ISBN|1-85043-784-X}} | |||
* Geifman, Anna. ''Thou shalt kill: revolutionary terrorism in Russia, 1894-1917'' Princeton University Press. 11 December 1995. ISBN 978-0691025490 | |||
* |
* Freeman, James M. ''Hearts of Sorrow: Vietnamese-American Lives'' Stanford University Press. 30 April 1991. {{ISBN|978-0-8047-1890-5}} | ||
* Cox, Dan G. Falconer, John. Stackhouse, Brian. ''Terrorism, instability, and democracy in Asia and Africa'' Northeastern University Press. 15 April 2009. {{ISBN|978-1-55553-705-0}} | |||
* Crenshaw, Martha. Pimlott, John. ''Encyclopedia of world terrorism'' V3 Sharpe. 1996. ISBN 978-1563248061 | |||
* Geifman, Anna. ''Thou shalt kill: revolutionary terrorism in Russia, 1894–1917'' Princeton University Press. 11 December 1995. {{ISBN|978-0-691-02549-0}} | |||
* Windrich, Elaine.(Editor) ''The Rhodesian problem: a documentary record, 1923-1973'' Routledge. 1st Edition. 13 Mar 1975. ISBN 978-0710080806 | |||
* |
* Mockaitis, Thomas R. ''The "new" terrorism: myths and reality'' Stanford University Press. 15 June 2008. {{ISBN|978-0-8047-5970-0}} | ||
* Crenshaw, Martha. Pimlott, John. ''Encyclopedia of world terrorism'' V3 Sharpe. 1996. {{ISBN|978-1-56324-806-1}} | |||
* Tuman,Joseph S. ''Communicating Terror: The Rhetorical Dimensions of Terrorism'' Sage. 12 January 2010. ISBN 978-1412973243 | |||
* Windrich, Elaine. (Editor) ''The Rhodesian problem: a documentary record, 1923–1973'' Routledge. 1st Edition. 13 March 1975. {{ISBN|978-0-7100-8080-6}} | |||
* Dommen Arthur J. ''The Indochinese Experience of the French and the Americans: Nationalism and Communism in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam'' Indiana University Press. 1 January 2002. ISBN 978-0253338549 | |||
* |
* Slocum, John David. ''Terrorism, media, liberation'' Rutgers University Press. 31 July 2005. {{ISBN|978-0-8135-3608-8}} | ||
* Tuman, Joseph S. ''Communicating Terror: The Rhetorical Dimensions of Terrorism'' Sage. 12 January 2010. {{ISBN|978-1-4129-7324-3}} | |||
* Sloan, Stephen (2006) Terrorism: the present threat in context Berg ISBN 978-1845203443 | |||
* Dommen Arthur J. ''The Indochinese Experience of the French and the Americans: Nationalism and Communism in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam'' Indiana University Press. 1 January 2002. {{ISBN|978-0-253-33854-9}} | |||
* Van Slyke, Lyman (1968) ''The China White Paper: August 1949'' Stanford University Press {{ISBN|978-0-8047-0608-7}} | |||
* Sloan, Stephen (2006) Terrorism: the present threat in context Berg {{ISBN|978-1-84520-344-3}} | |||
{{refend}} | {{refend}} | ||
==External links== | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Communist Terrorism}} | |||
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Latest revision as of 12:37, 21 December 2024
Acts of terrorism carried out by adherents of communist ideologies
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Communist terrorism is terrorism perpetrated by individuals or groups which adhere to communism and ideologies related to it, such as Marxism–Leninism, Maoism, and Trotskyism. Historically, communist terrorism has sometimes taken the form of state-sponsored terrorism, supported by communist nations such as the Soviet Union, China, North Korea and Democratic Kampuchea. In addition, non-state actors such as the Red Brigades, the Front Line and the Red Army Faction have also engaged in communist terrorism. These groups hope to inspire the masses to rise up and start a revolution to overthrow existing political and economic systems. This form of terrorism can sometimes be called red terrorism or left-wing terrorism.
The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union have been credited with leading to a notable decline in this form of terrorism.
History
In the 1930s, the term "communist terrorism" was used by the Nazi Party in Germany as part of a propaganda campaign to spread fear of communism. The Nazis blamed communist terrorism for the Reichstag fire, which they used as an excuse to push through legislation removing personal freedom from German citizens. In the 1940s and 1950s, various Southeast Asian countries, such as the Philippines and Vietnam, witnessed the rise of communist groups engaging in terrorism. John Slocum claimed that communists in present-day Malaysia used terrorism to draw attention to their ideological beliefs, but Phillip Deery countered that the Malaysian insurgents were called communist terrorists only as part of a propaganda campaign.
In the 1960s, the Sino–Soviet split (between two communist states) led to a marked increase in terrorist activity in the region. That decade also saw various terrorist groups commencing operations in Europe, Japan, and the Americas. Yonah Alexander deemed these groups Fighting Communist Organizations (FCOs), and says they rose out of the student union movement protesting against the Vietnam War. In Western Europe, these groups' actions were known as Euroterrorism. The founders of FCOs argued that violence was necessary to achieve their goals, and that peaceful protest was both ineffective and insufficient to attain them. In the 1970s, there were an estimated 50 Marxist or Leninist groups operating in Turkey, and an estimated 225 groups operating in Italy. Groups also began operations in Ireland and the United Kingdom. These groups were deemed a major threat by NATO and the Italian, German, and British governments. Communist terrorism did not enjoy full support from all ideologically sympathetic groups. The Italian Communist Party, for example, condemned such activity.
Background
See also: Dictatorship of the proletariatWhile Vladimir Lenin systematically denounced the terrorism practiced by the Socialist Revolutionaries, he also supported terror as a tool, and considered mass terror to be a strategic and efficient method for advancing revolutionary goals. According to Leon Trotsky, Lenin emphasized the absolute necessity of terror and as early as 1904, Lenin said, "The dictatorship of the proletariat is an absolutely meaningless expression without Jacobin coercion." In 1905, Lenin directed members of the St. Petersburg "Combat Committee" to commit acts of robbery, arson, and other terrorist acts.
Not all scholars agree on Lenin's position towards terrorism. Joan Witte contends that he opposed the practice except when it was wielded by the party and the Red Army after 1917. She also suggests that he opposed the use of terrorism as a mindless act but endorsed its use in order to advance the communist revolution. Chaliand and Blin contend that Lenin advocated mass terror but objected to disorderly, unorganized, or petty acts of terrorism. According to Richard Drake, Lenin had abandoned any reluctance to use terrorist tactics by 1917, believing that all resistance to communist revolution should be met with maximum force. Drake contends that the terrorist intent in Lenin's program was unmistakable, as acknowledged by Trotsky in his book Terrorism and Communism: a Reply, published in 1918. In the book, Trotsky provided an elaborate justification for the use of terror, stating "The man who repudiates terrorism in principle, i.e., repudiates measures of suppression and intimidation towards determined and armed counterrevolution, must reject all ideas of the political supremacy of the working class and its revolutionary dictatorship." Trotsky's justification largely rests on a criticism of the usage of the term "terrorism" to describe all political violence on behalf of the Left, but not equally vicious political violence carried out by liberal or reactionary factions. Scholars on the Left argue that while it is a matter of historical record that communist movements did at times employ violence, the label of "terrorism" is disproportionately used in Western media sources to refer to all political violence employed by the left, while similarly violent tactics employed by the United States and its allies remain unscrutinized.
Examples
Bulgaria
The St Nedelya Church assault on 16 April 1925 was committed by a group from the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP). They blew up the roof of the St Nedelya Church in Sofia, Bulgaria. 150 people were killed and around 500 were injured.
Cambodia
See also: Cambodian genocideThe Cambodian genocide committed by the Khmer Rouge, which led to the death of an estimated 1.7 million to 2.5 million people has been described as an act of terrorism by Joseph S. Tuman.
China
Benjamin A. Valentino has estimated that the atrocities committed by both the Nationalist government and the Chinese Communist Party during the Chinese Civil War resulted in the death of between 1.8 million and 3.5 million people between 1927 and 1949.
Indonesia
The Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) had been engaged in what perceived as an act of terrorism during a communist rebellion in 1948, as well as the failed coup attempt in 1965. However, under the leadership of D. N. Aidit, the PKI was transformed into a legal party operating openly within the country and rejected armed struggle. The alleged coup attempt culminated in a violent anti-communist purge and a subsequent regime change into a right-wing military dictatorship following the purges.
Japan
In the late 1960s, Japanese communist Fusako Shingenobu formed the militant Japanese Red Army terrorist group. Their goal was to start a worldwide communist revolution through the use of terrorism. They committed multiple embassy attacks, airplane hijackings, bombings and taking hostages. They were responsible for the 1972 Lod Airport Massacre, in which 26 people were killed and 79 injured. In 1988, members of the JRA detonated a car bomb outside of a USO recreational facility in Naples which killed 4 Italian civilians, 1 U.S. Servicewoman, and injured 15 other people.
Members of the JRA merged with members of the Revolutionary Left Faction to form the United Red Army, which became known for the Asama-Sansō incident, a weeklong standoff with the police after the group had murdered fourteen of its own members.
Peru
Shining Path was founded in 1969 by Maoist philosophy professor Abimael Guzmán as a split from the Peruvian Communist Party. In 1980 when the Peruvian government held elections for the first time in 12 years, Shining Path rejected participation instead declaring a guerrilla war against the government, perpetrating "assassinations, bombings, beheadings and massacres", including the Tarata bombing and 1983 Lucanamarca massacre. Guzmán was arrested in 1992 and sentenced to life in prison on charges of aggravated terrorism and murder. Another communist terrorist group, Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, gained notoriety after taking hostages at the Japanese Embassy of Peru which lead to a 126-day stand off with Peruvian authorities.
The Shining Path is regarded as a terrorist organization by Peru, Japan, the United States, the European Union, and Canada, all of whom consequently prohibit funding and other financial support to the group.
The Philippines
Main article: New People's ArmyThe New People's Army (NPA) founded in 1969 has been described as the third largest terrorist group operating in the Philippines. The group carried out attacks between 1987 and 1992 before entering a hiatus. Between 2000 and 2006, they carried out an additional 42 attacks. The NPA is designated as a terrorist group by The Philippines, The United States, The European Union, and New Zealand.
Rhodesia
In Rhodesia (renamed Zimbabwe in 1980), during the Bush War of the 1970s, guerrillas operating in the country were considered communist terrorists by the government. The organisations in question received war materiels and financial support from numerous communist countries, and they also received training in several of those same countries, including the Soviet Union, China and Cuba. Both guerrilla armies involved in the war—the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), and the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) attached to the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU)—were initially based in the Lusaka area of Zambia, so as to be within striking distance of Rhodesia. ZANU and ZANLA moved their bases to Mozambique's Tete province around 1972, and based themselves there until the war's end in 1979. ZIPRA remained based in Zambia. In line with the Maoist ideology professed by its parent organisation, ZANU, ZANLA used Chinese Maoist tactics to great effect, politicising the rural population and hiding amongst the locals between strikes. While ZIPRA conducted similar operations to a lesser extent, most of its men made up a conventional-style army in Zambia, which was trained by Cuban and Soviet officers to eventually overtly invade Rhodesia and openly engage in combat against the Rhodesian Security Forces. This ultimately never happened.
Soviet Union
Main article: Terrorism and the Soviet UnionAfter the Russian Revolution in 1917, the use of terrorism to subdue people characterized the new communist regime. Historian Anna Geifman stated that this was "evident in the regime's very origins." An estimated 17,000 people died as a result of the initial campaign of violence known as the Red Terror. Lenin stated that his "Jacobian party would never reject terror, nor could it do so", referring to the Jacobian Reign of Terror of 1793–1794 as a model for the Bolshevik Red Terror. Felix Dzerzhinsky, founder of the Cheka (the Soviet secret police), widely employed terrorist tactics, especially against peasants who refused to surrender their grain to the government. Upon initiating the New Economic Policy (NEP) Lenin stated, "It is a mistake to think the NEP has put an end to terrorism. We shall return to terrorism, and it will be an economic terrorism".
South Africa
During the apartheid era in South Africa, the government under the Afrikaner National Party deemed the ANC and its military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe, communist terrorists. As a result, a series of laws were introduced by the government, such as the Suppression of Communism Act, which defined and banned organizations and people that the government considered communist. In 1967 the government promulgated the Terrorism Act, which made terrorist acts a statutory crime and implemented indefinite detention against those who were captured.
Vietnam
Main articles: Vietnam War and Viet CongDuring World War II the communist Viet Minh fought a guerrilla campaign led by Ho Chi Minh against the Japanese occupation forces and, following Japan's surrender, against the French colonial forces. This insurgency continued until 1954 as the Viet Minh evolved into the Viet Cong (VC), which fought against both the South Vietnamese government and American forces. These campaigns involved terrorism resulting in the deaths of thousands. Although an armistice was signed between the Viet Minh and the French forces in 1954, terrorist actions continued. Carol Winkler has written that in the 1950s, Viet Cong terrorism was rife in South Vietnam, with political leaders, provincial chiefs, teachers, nurses, doctors, and members of the military being targeted. Between 1965 and 1972, Viet Cong terrorists had killed over 33,000 people and abducted a further 57,000. Terrorist actions in Saigon were described by Nghia M. Vo as "long and murderous." In these campaigns, South Vietnamese prime minister Trần Văn Hương was the target of an assassination attempt; in 1964 alone, the Viet Cong carried out 19,000 attacks on civilian targets.
Historian and former U.S. State Department analyst Douglas Pike has called the Massacre at Huế one of the worst communist terrorist actions of the Vietnam War. Estimates of the losses in the massacre have been cited as high as 6,000 dead. The United States Army recorded as killed "3800 killed in and around Huế, 2786 confirmed civilians massacred, 2226 civilians found in mass graves and 16 non Vietnamese civilians killed." While some historians have claimed that the majority of these deaths occurred as the result of US bombing in the fight to retake the city, the vast majority of the dead were found in mass graves outside the city. Benjamin A. Valentino has estimated a total death toll of between 45,000 and 80,000 people between 1954 and 1975 from VC terrorism.
Douglas Pike also described the Đắk Sơn massacre, in which the Viet Cong used flamethrowers against civilians in Đắk Sơn, killing 252, as a terrorist act. In May 1967, Tran Van-Luy reported to the World Health Organization "that over the previous 10 years Communist terrorists had destroyed 174 dispensaries, maternity homes and hospitals." Ami Pedahzur has written that "the overall volume and lethality of Viet Cong terrorism rivals or exceeds all but a handful (e.g. Algeria, Sri Lanka) of terrorist campaigns waged over the last third of the twentieth century," and that the VC used suicide terrorism as a form of propaganda of the deed. Arthur J. Dommen has written that the majority of those killed due to VC terrorism were civilians, caught in ambushes as they traveled on buses, and that the group burnt down villages and forcibly conscripted members.
See also
References
Citations
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It's close to a historical universal that the term "terror" is used for their terror against us and our clients, not our terror against them. Heads of states can qualify as "terrorists," when they are official enemies.
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External links
- Media related to Communist terrorism at Wikimedia Commons
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