A memorial service for former President General Le Duc Anh was held at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi at 10:45 am on May 3, with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc delivering the eulogy.

Looking back on the former President’s life and revolutionary career, the eulogy noted that General Le Duc Anh, born on December 1, 1920 in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, joined the democratic movement in Thua Thien-Hue when only 17 years old. He became a member of the Indochinese Communist Party (now the Communist Party of Vietnam) in May 1938.

In August 1945, Anh joined the Vietnam People’s Army. During the resistance wars for national liberation and the southwest border defence war, he was always present in the most important and fiercest battlefields.

As Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of the Southern Command, Commander of Region 9, Deputy Commander of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign and Commander of the southwest wing, Anh personally participated in and directed many major military campaigns such as the 1968 General Offensive and Uprising and the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, which liberated many cities and provinces of strategic importance, creating the impetus for the success of the General Offensive and Uprising of the Spring of 1975, which liberated the entire southern region and reunified the country.

“General Le Duc Anh is an experienced general, an outstanding commander with strategic vision, skilful tactics and flexible handling of complicated situations,” PM Phuc said in the eulogy.

Phuc went on to say that after the return of peace, Anh was assigned many important tasks by the Party and the State, and in any position, he always devoted all his heart and mind to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation.

Together with other Party and State leaders, he had made many important decisions to build the country, initiate the Doi Moi, break the grip of embargo and broaden the country’s external relations. Anh also worked together with the Central Military Commission, the Defence Ministry to build the people’s armed forces and the people-based defence network while promoting the country’s defence and security strength.

When holding the Presidency, with his strategic thinking and firm view on the path to socialism, Anh joined hands with other Party and State leaders in designing and directing the implementation of comprehensive Doi Moi policy, which brought about historical achievements in maintaining political stability, promoting socio-economic development, ensuring defence-security, expanding external relations and pushing international integration.

“With more than 80 years working for the revolution, General Le Duc Anh has made great contributions to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation. His life and career have set a bright example for the people, cadres and soldiers to follow,” the eulogy read.

Following the memorial service, the flag-draped coffin of former President General Le Duc Anh was taken to the Noi Bai international airport to be transported to Ho Chi Minh City, where he will be buried at the city’s Martyrs’ Cemetery.

In the morning of May 3, more than 1,000 delegations paid last respects to the former President at respect-paying ceremonies held simultaneously in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Thua Thien-Hue province.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.

Former President Le Duc Anh’s contributions grab international headlines

President Le Duc Anh meets UN Secretary General Boutros B. Ghali in 1995.

Former President General Le Duc Anh’s death and his contributions to the Vietnamese revolutionary cause as well as helping Cambodia get rid of the Pol Pot genocidal regime received media coverage in Cambodia.

Freshnews, one of the most popular news websites in Cambodia, notified in Khmer that the former President of Vietnam died at the age of 99, and highlighted the role of General Le Duc Anh, former commander of the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers in Cambodia, in helping the country liberate from the genocidal regime.

It also recalled General Le Duc Anh’s great contributions to the liberation of South Vietnam and national reunification.

In its front page, Phnom Penh Post said that former President Le Duc Anh’s legacy in Cambodia’s recent history remains a prominent one, with the general best remembered for his role in commanding Vietnamese volunteer soldiers to free the country from the Pol Pot regime in 1979.

Besides, the newspaper stressed that he played a central role in formulating the five key points for the defence of the Kingdom against Pol Pot re-infiltration and assisted in the development of the “K5 plan” that attempted to seal guerrilla in-filtration routes along the Thailand-Cambodia border between 1985 and 1989.

Meanwhile, Rasmei Kampuchea also published the biography of the former Vietnamese President.

While in the US, Washing Post said that General Le Duc Anh, as a deputy commander of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, played an important role in the fight to liberate the South of Vietnam in 1975.

It described General Le Duc Anh as the architect of the offensive that ended four years of brutal Pol Pot’s murderous rule in Cambodia.

The US newspaper underlined that General Le Duc Anh was a crucial catalyst for the normalisation of relations between Vietnam and the US while serving as President of Vietnam during 1992-1997.

The two countries set up diplomatic ties in 1995, and that year, he became the first head of state of Vietnam to visit the US when traveling to New York to attend the United Nations’ 50th founding anniversary celebrations.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc delivers the funeral oration at the memorial service     Party and State leaders walk past the coffin at the memorial service Incumbent and former Party and State officials at the memorial service Incumbent and former Party and State officials at the memorial service Soldiers put a glass case covering former President General Le Duc Anh’s casket Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R), National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (L) and soldiers carry former President General Le Duc Anh’s coffin to the funeral car The hearse carrying his coffin goes through streets in Hanoi The hearse carries coffin of former President General Le Duc Anh  The hearse carrying coffin of former President General Le Duc Anh is at Noi Bai int'l airport A soldier holds up a portrait of former President General Le Duc Anh His coffin is taken to the Noi Bai int'l airport to be transported to HCM City where he is burried at the city’s Martyrs’ Cemetery      His coffin is taken to the Noi Bai int'l airport to be transported to HCM City where he is burried at the city’s Martyrs’ Cemetery

VNA/VNN