unity between Thai and Chinese communists, but thereafter news about the CPT in Chinese media became scarce. 1980s: Decline In 1980, the Thai government adopted a government order, "66/2523", encouraging CPT cadres to defect. Communist cadres were eventually granted amnesty. In March 1981, the Socialist Party of Thailand broke off relations with the CPT, claiming that CPT was controlled by foreign influences. In April 1981, the CPT leadership sought talks with the Thai government. The government responded that CPT fighters had to demobilize before any talks could be initiated. In a declaration on 25 October 1981, Major General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, the director of the Thai Army Operations Department, said that the war against CPT armed forces was approaching its end as all major bases of the PLAT in the north and northeast had been destroyed. In 1982, the government, under Prime Minister General Prem Tinsulanonda, issued another executive order, 65/2525, offering amnesty to CPT-PLAT fighters. In 1982–1983, CPT experienced mass defections of its cadres, and its military potential was severely reduced. Many of those who defected in the early 1980s were the students and intellectuals who had joined CPT after the 1976 massacre. The defectors generally rejected the Maoist ideological positions of the CPT, arguing that Thailand was emerging as an industrial nation and the peasant war strategy had to be abandoned. Damri Ruangsutham, an influential politburo member, and Surachai Sae Dan, a leading figure of the party in southern Thailand, were captured by state forces at that time. There have been no reports of CPT activity since the beginning of the 1990s. The exact fate of the party is not known, and it remains banned to this day. Party organization As of the 1970s, the party was led by a seven-member politburo, elected by a 25 member Central Committee. Under the Central Committee were various provincial (changwat) committees and under them district (amphoe) committees. At the local level there were tambon (subdistrict) and muban (village) party structures. Information on the leadership of the CPT is scarce. The CPT itself was always secretive about the identity of its leaders. According to a 1977 Kampuchean document, it was claimed that the General Secretary of the CPT was Khamtan (nom de guerre of Phayom Chulanont). Other sources mention "Comrade Samanan" (Jaroen Wanngam) as the party leader during the same period. Ethnic composition Prior to the formation of the Communist Party of Siam,