VietNamNet Bridge – A brief introduction of past National Party Congresses (continued from Tuesday):

Part 1: Congresses mark Party milestones

Second National Party Congress: the Party leads the whole nation in resistance and nation building.

Right after the victorious August Revolution, the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam was founded. Our country and Government had to face life-threatening challenges: the armed forces of Jiang Jie Shi overflowed northern Viet Nam together with reactionary parties; and supported by British forces, the French armies returned to occupy the South, aiming to quell the first, young state of workers and peasants in South-east Asia.

At the same time, the country had to cope with three difficulties, outside and inside enemies as well as the negative impacts from 80 years of suffering from severe oppression and exploitation by feudalism and colonialism with the hardest consequence coming from the famine in 1945 that killed more than 2 million people.

Amid the precarious situation, the Party Central Committee, the Government and President Ho Chi Minh focused on leading a resistance movement, cleverly eliminating enemies and preparing conditions and forces for a long-lasting resistance war.

President Ho Chi Minh launched a campaign against hunger, illiteracy, and invaders and he encouraged all the people to increase production; organised the General Election; elected the first National Assembly; established the Government; and promulgated the 1946 Constitution.

To defend peace and national independence, we were patient for negotiations with the French colonialists. However, the colonialists determined to reconquer our country. They provoked incidents in Lang Son, Hai Phong and then in Ha Noi. The more concessions we made, the more seriously the French colonialists encroached upon our rights, forcing the nation to fight.

On December 19, President Ho Chi Minh called for a national resistance saying with determination: "We would rather endure and sacrifice than lose independence and be slaves."

In order to further develop guidelines for resistance and nation building, the Party Central Committee decided to summon the second National Party Congress.

The congress took place in Chiem Hoa District's Vinh Quang Commune in the northern province of Tuyen Quang from February 11-19, 1951, with the participation of 158 official delegates and 53 alternate delegates, who represented more than 760,000 Party members. The congress was also attended by delegates from the Communist Parties of China and Thailand.

The congress passed a resolution deciding that the Party would go public and renamed it "the Viet Nam Workers' Party" and approved the Party's Political Platform and its new Political Platform Declaration and Statutes.

The congress elected the Party Central Committee that consisted of 19 official members and 10 alternate members. Ho Chi Minh was elected as the President of the Party Central Committee and Truong Chinh was re-elected as the General Secretary.

The second National Party Congress was an event of great significance, marking a new step-forward for the Party and prepared for a successful resistance war against the French colonialists.

The third National Party Congress: Building socialism in the north and struggling for liberation in the South.

The resistance war against French colonialists ended successfully. The Party directed the people in the northern region to restore the economy and build socialism along with strengthening the armed forces to defend the North and give assistance to the South.

Southern people continued to cope with US invaders, who established a dictatorial regime with a plot to turn southern Viet Nam into a neo-colonial state and an imperialistic military base for the US, and to partition the country.

With Law 10/59, the nepotistic regime of Ngo Dinh Diem dragged the guillotine across the South and brutally massacred patriots.

While the revolution in southern Viet Nam was facing various difficulties, Le Duan in his capacity as a member of the Party Politburo and Secretary of the Nam Bo (Southern region)'s Party Committee wrote The Path of Revolution in the South, which says:

"There is no other path for the people of the South but the path of revolution."

The resolution of the 15th Party Central Committee conference (January 1959) clearly defined guidelines of the revolution in the South, which combined political struggle with armed struggle alongside boosting the resistance movement of the people in the southern region.

The resolution created a considerable breakthrough for the revolutionary cause of the people nationwide, helping perfect the Party's guidelines for the resistance war against US aggressors and national salvation.

From that point, the resistance movement of the people in the southern region spread out, particularly the "general uprising" for destroying the enemy's grip and seizing power.

The development of the northern and southern regions' revolution resulted in positive changes for the entire nation. The Party held the third National Congress from September 5-10, 1960 which was attended by 525 official delegates and 51 alternate delegates who represented more than 500,000 Party members.

Addressing the congress's opening ceremony, President Ho Chi Minh said: "This congress is the congress for building socialism in the North and struggling for peace and national reunification."

The congress elected a Central Committee that consisted of 47 official members and 31 alternate members. President Ho Chi Minh was reelected as the Party's President (he held the position until he passed away in September 1969); and Le Duan was elected as First Secretary of the Party Central Committee.

With the Party's sound revolutionary guidelines, coupled with great sacrifice of the heroic Vietnamese people, the nation's revolution gained great victories. (To be continued)

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News