Foreign news agencies and media on October 13 published articles and photos on the national funeral of General Vo Nguyen Giap and Vietnamese people’s great respects towards their national hero.

According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), millions of Vietnamese were following the national funeral of Vietnam’s first General, who made his name well-known not only in the country but also all over the world with victories over the French army and then US army.

The US-based Associated Press (AP) reported that hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets of Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, on October 13 to bid a final farewell to a legendary war hero who led the poor Southeast Asian nation to victory over the French army and then the US army.

"Long live Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap," people chanted, many in tears, as his flag-draped coffin passed by on a truck-drawn artillery carriage, it said.

AP quoted a resident present in the crowd as saying "I feel like I lost one of my relatives,” adding that General Giap will live forever in the heart of Vietnamese people.

The news agency described the funeral as an event that has been unseen since President Ho Chi Minh passed away more than four decades ago. Some 150,000 people lined up over the past five days out side General Giap’s house to pay respects to him.

The country’s top leaders, along with veterans and diplomats paid their last farewell to the deceased. The national flag was blown at half-mast and entertainment events were cancelled.

Earlier, Reuters said that over the past week, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese flocked to General Giap’s house to show their respects.

According to Bloomberg, since the passing of General Giap, Vietnamese clutching yellow daisies and umbrellas to shield against the hot afternoon sun have formed lines outside his home on Hoang Dieu Street in Hanoi that stretch nearly a kilometer to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum to pay tribute to him.

General Vo Nguyen Giap passed away on October 4 at the age of 103. A two-day National Funeral for the General was held nationwide on October 12-13. He was buried in his home province of Quang Binh on October 13.

General Vo Nguyen Giap remembered worldwide

The Vietnamese embassies and representative agencies abroad have placed funeral books and organised memorial services for General Vo Nguyen Giap, who devoted all of his life to the revolutionary cause of the Vietnamese nation.

Vietnamese Embassy in RoK pay tribute to General Vo Nguyen Giap.

On October 13, in the Republic of Korea (RoK), the Vietnamese Embassy’s staff and tens of delegations of Vietnamese people who are living, working and studying in the country paid their last respect to the national hero.

At the event, Ambassador Tran Trong Toan highlighted General Giap’s great contributions to the struggle for national independence and national development.

Although the service had finished, all the participants stayed at the site to watch the memorial service for the General broadcast live from the Hanoi-based National Funeral House. Many of them could not hold back their tears when witnessing the last images of the General.

The same day, similar events were also held by the Vietnamese delegation to the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation and other international organisations in Geneva, Switzerland and the Vietnamese embassies in Thailand, Laos, Algeria and Israel.

Earlier, at 7:00 am on October 13, the solemn memorial services for General Giap were organised simultaneously in Hanoi, the central province of Quang Binh – his native land, and Ho Chi Minh City.

Besides, such events also took place in all other localities and military units nationwide.

General Vo Nguyen Giap passed away in Hanoi on October 4 at the age of 103.

General Giap, real name Vo Giap (alias Van), was born in Loc Thuy commune, Le Thuy district, the central province of Quang Binh on August 25, 1911.

He served as a Politburo member, Secretary of the Central Military Commission, Standing Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defence, Commander-in-Chief of the Vietnamese People’s Army and a National Assembly deputy from the first to seventh tenure.

He led the Vietnamese people to victory over the French army and then the American.

General Giap remembered around the world

Vietnamese communities around Europe on October 12 organised memorial services for General Vo Nguyen Giap, who passed away on October 4 at the age of 103.

The Vietnamese Embassy in France held a memorial service for General Giap and placed funeral books that will remain until October 15.

From the early morning, Vietnamese Ambassador Duong Chi Dung and staff of the embassy joined overseas Vietnamese and foreign friends in Paris and neighbouring localities to solemnly offer incense to the Vietnamese national hero.

Patrice Jorlan, President of the France-Vietnam Friendship Association, recalled his memories of meeting General Giap while he was serving as a cultural and science-technological attaché at the French Embassy in Vietnam. In Jorlan’s mind, General Giap was a brilliant and confident man and a good listener.

Meanwhile, to former French Ambassador to Vietnam Claude Blanchemaison, he was a man of culture with great knowledge of the world.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Russia also held a memorial service for General Giap, with the attendance of a delegation from the Russian Government led by Deputy Foreign Minister Morgylov Igor Vladimirovich and the Russia-Vietnam Friendship Association led by its President Viktor Buyanov.

Buyanov wrote in the funeral book that all Russian people who had a chance to meet General Giap will never forget the image of the talented strategist, who made great contributions to the struggle of Vietnamese people against foreign invaders.

At a memorial ceremony held for General Giap by the Vietnamese Embassy in Belgium, President of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives Andre Flahaut expressed his respect, underscoring the huge impact he made on both Vietnam and the world.

During a ceremony to remember the revolutionary figurehead in Rome, Italy, Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Long said the General was loved by both Vietnamese people and international friends and will live on in their hearts and minds.

The legendary General has become a symbol of victory and an inspiration to nations battling opression, he said, adding that his death left a huge void.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Germany also organised a memorial service. Ambassador Nguyen Thi Hoang Anh reviewed the services that General Giap rendered to the revolution of the Party and nation.

Together with the Vietnamese community in Germany, many foreign diplomatic delegations and friends also came to pay tribute.

Vietnamese people living and studying in the UK on October 12 gathered at the Vietnamese Embassy in London to mourn.

Ambassador Vu Quang Minh said General Giap was a national hero and a military leader respected around the world. His death is a great loss to the Vietnamese people and international friends, he stated.

Algerian, Mozambique delegates pay respects to General Giap

The Algerian and Mozambique delegates who came to Vietnam on October 12 to attend the national funeral of General Vo Nguyen Giap have expressed their admiration for his great contributions to national liberation and unification.

The Algerian delegation was led by Minister of War Veterans Cherif Abbas, while the delegation of the Mozambique Government and the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) was headed by General Alberto Chipande – a member of the Frelimo politburo and former Defence Minister.

They also expressed their profound condolences to the Vietnamese Government and people and General Giap’s family.

Earlier, Chairman of the President’s Office Dao Viet Trung received General Chipande, who delivered a letter of condolences sent by Mozambique President Armando Guebuza for Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang.

General Giap passed away on October 4 at the age of 103. He has been described as an outstanding disciple of President Ho Chi Minh, a military genius, and a General of the people.

Memorial services for General Giap were held solemnly across the nation on October 13 as thousands of Vietnamese mourners lined the streets of Hanoi to bid their final farewell.

The burial service will be held at 4 pm on October 13 at his final resting place in his home province of Quang Binh.

VNN/VNA