Beware of the "72-Point Petition"!

(Baonghean)In implementing Directive No. 22-CT/T.Ư dated December 28, 2012, of the Politburo on organizing public consultations on the draft amendments to the 1992 Constitution, the entire political system and the whole population have actively participated in organizing these consultations at all levels, sectors, localities, and units nationwide.

Millions of heartfelt opinions concerning the nation's destiny have been contributed frankly, democratically, and openly, with a constructive spirit, hoping that our country will soon have a complete new Constitution that fully reflects the rights and interests of the nation and its people.

The exercise of democratic rights by all people is clearly demonstrated in the participation in providing feedback on the draft amendments to the Constitution. Everyone has the right to express their opinions on every sentence, word, article, clause, and chapter of the 1992 Constitution. This is truly valuable and worthy of respect, even if someone's opinion is not entirely reasonable or even contradicts the opinion of the majority.

However, in reality, we see on online forums that some organizations and individuals are exploiting the issue of democracy during this political campaign to express erroneous and completely unconstructive views. Prominent among them are some individuals who call themselves "...we, the undersigned Vietnamese... express our opinions so that our people may have a Constitution that guarantees territorial integrity and sustainable development of the country, bringing freedom and happiness to present and future generations..." and include the "Draft Constitution 2013" (referred to as a document for reference and discussion), hereinafter referred to as the 72 Petition (KN72). The author of this article, after reviewing the list of people published by the KN72 group, finds that the majority are intellectuals and prominent figures, many of whom have held high positions in society, and some are currently in office.

At first glance, the proposals of the KN72 group appear to be heartfelt, practical, and objective opinions of genuine intellectuals and scholars. However, many believe that some of these proposals contain flawed viewpoints that have long been used by disgruntled individuals, political opportunists, and reactionaries within the country, aided by extremist and reactionary groups abroad, as a tactic to undermine the Party and the State. While the KN72 group raises many issues, they all boil down to the following core problems:

Firstly, the demand to abolish the leading role of the Communist Party of Vietnam in Article 4 of the Constitution is based on extremely fallacious reasoning and arbitrary interpretations, slandering and attacking our Party. Everyone understands very well that the history of the Vietnamese revolution has recorded that the entire process of implementing the contents of the 1946, 1959, 1980, and 1992 Constitutions is closely linked to the great and extremely important victories of our revolution led by the Communist Party of Vietnam. This clearly shows that our Party has, is, and will certainly continue to fully demonstrate its role as the leader and organizer of all the victories of the Vietnamese revolution. This is an undeniable historical fact. Therefore, demanding the abolition of the leading role of the Communist Party of Vietnam in the Constitution is an act that, from a purely moral standpoint, is nothing short of ingratitude and betrayal, and must be strongly condemned. Surely, true intellectuals and scholars would not behave in such an inhumane manner!

Secondly, they demand a division of the Party's sole leadership by calling for political pluralism and a multi-party opposition, using arguments to lull the gullible and unsuspecting into a false sense of security, such as: "The ruling Party's acceptance of political competition is in line with historical trends, a condition for the country's development, and meets the demands of the people, including honest members of the Communist Party of Vietnam, in the current context of the country."

With a highly receptive attitude, our Party has seriously acknowledged that, in the process of leading the revolution, it has at times made mistakes and shortcomings. The Party quickly recognized these mistakes and shortcomings with its political determination, swiftly finding solutions to overcome them, and gradually consolidating the people's trust in the Party. Since the reunification of the country, 38 years have passed, and the Vietnamese revolution, led by the Communist Party of Vietnam, has brought about comprehensive development for our country. From a poor, backward, and struggling nation, lacking in many aspects, it has risen strongly, escaping the group of poor countries in the world to become a developing nation integrating into the international community; our people truly enjoy a prosperous, free, and happy life. Therefore, there is no need for multiple parties that would lead to infighting, power struggles, and civil wars, as seen in many countries around us and in the world.

Thirdly, the KN72 group demanded the apolitical nature of the armed forces, arguing in a simplistic and misguided manner: "The armed forces must be loyal to the Fatherland and the people, not to any organization as stipulated in Article 70 of the Draft," and then brazenly declared: "We demand the removal of the provision that the armed forces must be loyal to the Communist Party of Vietnam." This absurd demand from the KN72 group is truly ridiculous! Everyone knows that the armed forces were created to serve as a sharp instrument of the dictatorship, placed under the direct and absolute leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam in all aspects.

The historical reality of our country's revolution shows that without the absolutely loyal armed forces, would Vietnam be where it is today? Since the victory of Spring 1975, under the close, creative, and timely leadership of the Party, our armed forces have crushed border wars, protected the integrity of the nation's borders, and subsequently suppressed political riots orchestrated by hostile domestic forces in collusion with foreign reactionaries. This is a painful lesson, a warning to us about the army's loyalty to the Party. In other words, the Vietnamese armed forces must always be under the leadership and adhere to the military guidelines and the people's war strategy for national defense set by our Party. If they deviate from the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, it means that our armed forces will sooner or later lose their fighting direction, be unable to identify their targets, and will inevitably fail on the battlefield.

The KN72 group proclaims: "...We, the undersigned Vietnamese...", a rather meaningless designation, because they certainly don't have the qualifications to represent nearly 90 million Vietnamese people. So how many do they represent? This shows that the anonymous figure behind the KN72 group doesn't dare to say anything more, meaning they are afraid to face the people, the masters of the nation's destiny. On the other hand, they are afraid to face the glorious historical truth of the nation that they are brazenly trying to tarnish and distort. They are people who, for various reasons, are dissatisfied with the regime, incited by hostile forces, bribed, manipulated, and encouraged by reactionary elements both domestically and internationally to carry out the elaborate "war without gunfire" scheme, aiming to undermine our Party and State, and oppose the industrialization and modernization of our people.

There is still plenty of time left for organizing public consultations on amending the 1992 Constitution (until September 30, 2013). We need to be extremely vigilant to avoid falling into the traps of malicious individuals and contribute to making this significant political activity a success.

Pious