Parliamentary Democracy Party

The Parliamentary Democracy Party (PDP) was a Burmese political party established in August 1969 by the exiled prime minister U Nu.[1]

Parliamentary Democracy Party
ပါလီမန်ဒီမိုကရေစီပါတီ
PresidentU Nu
Secretary-GeneralLaw Yone
FounderU Nu
Bo Let Ya
Law Yone
U Thwin
Tommy Clift
Zali Ma
Bohmu Aung
Founded29 August 1969
Dissolved1973
Preceded byUnity Party
Succeeded byPeople's Patriotic Party
Paramilitary wingPatriotic Liberation Army
IdeologyNationalism
Democratic socialism
Anti-Ne Win
Political positionLeft-wing

U Nu, exiled to Thailand, worked with the former newspaper editor Edward Law Yone and four members of the Thirty Comrades to set up the PDP.[2] Its armed wing, the Patriotic Liberation Army, unsuccessfully attempted insurgency along the border between Thailand and Burma. In 1970, with covert CIA backing,[3] the party tried to establish a united front, known as the National United Front, together with the Karen National Union, the Chin Democracy Party and the New Mon State Army. However, the NUF faced financial difficulties and political disagreement between its different ethnic constituencies.[2] After U Nu resigned the PDP's presidency and moved to India in 1973, the movement collapsed.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Donald M. Seekins, ed. (2006). "Parliamentary Democracy Party (PDP)". Historical Dictionary of Burma (Myanmar). Scarecrow Press. pp. 353–4. ISBN 978-0-8108-5476-5. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  2. ^ a b Christina Fink (4 May 2001). Living Silence: Burma under Military Rule. Zed Books. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-85649-926-2. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  3. ^ Martin Smith (2007). "Ethnic conflicts in Burma: from separatism to federalism". In Andrew Tian Huat Tan (ed.). A Handbook of Terrorism and Insurgency in Southeast Asia. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 307. ISBN 978-1-84542-543-2. Retrieved 24 November 2012.