Faithfulness
Receiving the two distinguished guests from Switzerland on November 17 afternoon, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh municipal Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen emotionally emphasized that the flag-raising more than 50 years ago was a brave act with an extremely noble motive. The flag-raisers risked their lives to act for peace, justice, and the just struggle for independence and unity of another country.
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Olivier Parriaux (right) and Bernard Bachelard at a meeting held by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Information and Communications on November 18 |
He expressed deep gratitude to international friends who fought for peace and justice for Vietnam and its people, including the three Swiss citizens. The leader stressed that Vietnam always respects and is grateful for their sacrifices and contributions and that their silent actions, ideals and dedication to peace and justice are a source of inspiration for today's young generation of Vietnam to appreciate historical values and to deeply and thoroughly understand the heroic national revolutionary struggle.
In an interview, diplomat Ton Nu Thi Ninh, former Deputy Head of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said that Vietnam has established partnerships with many world powers, but that does not mean Vietnam has not forgotten its gratitude to old friends.
The diplomat said that it would have been understandable if the flag-raisers would have been French or Italian nationals because the anti-war movements in these countries at that time were very active. But these were citizens of Switzerland, a wealthy, stable, prosperous country famous for its centuries-long neutrality policy. There was no reason to force them to fight for a distant country with few connections then. But they voluntarily fought for noble ideals, for peace and justice, and for the righteousness of the resistance war against the U.S. imperialists of the Vietnamese people.
For Prof. Trinh Quang Phu, Director of the Oriental Research Development Institute, a former expert of the Foreign Ministry of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, the welcome of the people and authorities of Ho Chi Minh City for the two Swiss friends was a manifestation of the warm feelings that have been nurtured and preserved over the past 55 years.
Prof. Phu came to Paris in November 1968 and witnessed a historic period of the Paris peace talks on ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam. For him, the flag-raising was not only a special historical milestone but also a symbol of international solidarity, a thread that connects the past and present, and a confirmation that international friends always stood side-by-side with Vietnam and its people during their fight for peace, justice and national sovereignty.
Important data
After the exchange, we were lucky to find a video clip featuring the flag flying atop the tower of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in the archives of British Pathe, a prestigious British documentary and newsreel producer in the 1970s.
Some days later, a colleague reported good news about the book “Sharing the same flag” published in 1993 by the National Political Publishing House with a passage on this special event.
On page 207, in his article “Overseas Vietnamese turning to the Fatherland,” Tran Cong Tan recalled one morning, all of Paris was in an uproar. People in houses called each other to come out. In pajamas, they rushed out to the balcony, the street to look up at the fluttering red-blue-yellow-star flag of the National Front for the Liberation of the South atop the spire of the Notre Dame Cathedral. They just stood there like statues looking up at the flag. The flag silently waved to Paris, to the Vietnamese living abroad. With pride and emotion, Tan and other Vietnamese people burst into tears. The French friends shared joy with them. Tan silently thanked unknown hero for his bravery to plant the flag like lighting up the torch of faith.
In Military History Magazine No.253, issued in January 2013, page 79 reads, “To welcome the delegation of the National Front for the Liberation of the South of Vietnam to Paris, on the night of January 19, 1969, someone climbed up the spire of the Notre Dame Cathedral to raise the flag of the Front. Early the next morning, many people gathered around the cathedral to see this unique event. The French police had to mobilize a helicopter to remove it. The French press kept discussing this rare image for several days afterward.”
The above data, together with authentic footage of the flag, show that this event has been authenticated.
Returning to Hanoi, we have contacted a number of overseas Vietnamese living in France and they confirmed that the flag is being kept at the Paris Police Department.
By Phuong Thao - Linh Oanh
Translated by Mai Huong