Under that difficult situation, our Party, led by President Ho Chi Minh, flexibly applied strategies to divide and isolate the enemies. The principle of “firm objectives, flexible in strategies and tactics” expelled the Jiang’s force from Vietnam, while the British and Japanese forces had to get out of Vietnam’s border. By the end of 1946, the French was the only foreign force stayed in Vietnam according to agreements signed between the two countries (the Preliminary Agreement of March 6 and the Provisional Agreement of September 14).
From all directions, out troops entering the capital city to liberate it. Photo: VNA
However, with wicked intention of reoccupying our country, the French rudely violated the articles of the signed agreements, requesting to disarm the Vietnamese army and militia and govern towns and cities… Moreover, the French also opened fire to kill Vietnamese people in Hai Phong and Hanoi, causing extreme outrage among our people. After receiving ultimatums from the French, recognizing that no other compromises should be made, on December 19, 1946, President Ho Chi Minh issued “Calling for National Resistance’, determined to fight against the French with the spirit “We’d rather sacrifice everything than lose the country and be enslaved.” Uncle Ho’s call touched the hearts of millions of Vietnamese who then rose up to fight against the invaders, regardless of ages, genders, ethnics, religions, and political parties. With that spirit and under the leadership of the Party, after nine years of the protracted resistance war, our army and people won the glorious Dien Bien Phu campaign victory that shook the world. On that foundation, over 20 years later, our entire army and people continued to win the historic Ho Chi Minh campaign, wiping all of the invaders out of Vietnam and Indochina, ending 30 years of the great liberation struggle with hardship and sacrifices. Also based on that foundation, Vietnam has stood firmly against all adversaries, continuing to win in national protection wars at the Southwestern and Northern borders, reaffirming that nothing can hinder our will and desire for national independence. Opening each page in our national history book, each Vietnamese will be engulfed with patriotic feelings. That spirit, created and nurtured when the Party was established, has been proved through ups and downs in history and purified into the Vietnamese will, skill and spirit.
Today, the Vietnam’s revolution is facing new opportunities and also challenges that we have to surpass. Therefore, the lessons of national independence, self-reliance, and strength of the entire people in the National Resistance should be promoted in every field, including politics, economy, society, defense-security, foreign affairs. Notably, mobilizing the strength of the entire people in constructing and protecting the country is the vital lesson in every period of the Vietnam’s revolution. To realize this lesson, it is crucial to create and nurture the national unity, which must be built within the Party and among the entire people and aims to maintain the national independence and strive towards Socialism as our Party, Uncle Ho, and the entire people chose. The shortcomings and weaknesses in Party building work and the Party members training, which are pointed out in the Central Party Committee’s Resolution 4 (11th and 12th terms), should be resolutely overcome. Therefore, the implementation of the Politbureau’s Directive 05 on Pushing up Learning and Following Ho Chi Minh’s morale, ideology, and style should be continued. We are determined to make our Party always pure and firm in politics, ideology and organization; the Party member body is a real pioneer force which is a core to gather the strength of the entire people to implement revolutionary tasks. Meanwhile, effectiveness in external affairs should be promoted with the principle that “Vietnam is willing to be a friend of every country,” ensuring domestic and international stability and creating favorable conditions to develop the country.
We should also continuously boost socio-economic development to create a good foundation and potentials for the country to be ready to deal with any emerging situations. Socio-economic development criteria set by the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam’s resolution have to be implemented immediately with scientific plans and projects to make the resolution become true. Socio-economic development has to go in line with protecting the environment and social security, improving living standards for the people, enabling the people to promote the talents, considering the people’s desires to focus their strengths on focal tasks of the country, suitable with each revolutionary period. Besides, socio-economic development has to accompany with practicing thrift, from the central to local level, fight against corruption and wastefulness, and continuously strengthen infrastructure to modernize and industrialize our country.
Consolidating defense-security and building the armed forces are to create status and power to directly protect the country. We have learnt many valuable lessons from the national resistance and 30 years of liberation wars to consolidate our defense and strengthen our deterrence power against hostile forces. According to the Resolution of the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam and Resolution 28 of the Central Party Committee on Strategy to Protect the Fatherland under New Circumstances, we have to continue to stiffen the entire people’s national defense and entire people’s war posture, and combining with the people’s security posture. Therefore, it is necessary to create potentials in politics, spirit, economy, science, and technology for each defense area, ensuring that each province, city, and district is a firm defense area and the whole country is an unbreakable intertwined defense posture. The core of that posture is the armed forces, including the Vietnam People’s Army and the People’s Security Force, which should be further invested and developed into a revolutionary, regular, elite and gradually modern, of which some services are prioritized to develop directly into modern ones. Members of the armed forces must be trained to acquire firm political stance; loyal to the Party, the Fatherland, and people; have high combat capacity that is able to meet the demands of protecting the Fatherland in any situations.
The National Resistance has become history but it is the reality of the Vietnam revolutionary heroism, a symbol of the will for national independence and freedom, and the national pride when the country faces invasion threats. That determination should be further stiffened by generations of the Vietnamese as a launching pad for our off-springs to continue to develop to well match with other countries worldwide.
Translated by Ngoc Hung