Patriotic spirit forever echoes in Nghe An homeland

The Spring of the Year of the Rat 2020 is the Spring that begins the third decade of the 21st century, and is also the time when the Communist Party of Vietnam completes 90 years of establishment and growth. Founded and trained by President Ho Chi Minh, with a correct, scientific and creative revolutionary line, with a team of loyal party members, wholeheartedly serving the Fatherland and the people, the Communist Party of Vietnam has led our people to create glorious miracles that bring glory to the country.

BRIGHT PATRIOTISM

After the failure of the Can Vuong movement, as well as in the whole country, in the early years of the 20th century, the patriotic movement in Nghe An turned to bourgeois democracy. Among them was the Duy Tan Association with the Dong Du movement that sent intellectuals to Japan with the aim of restoring the country, created by the patriot Phan Boi Chau. However, this movement failed.

The Nghe Tinh Soviet movement will forever go down in national history as an indomitable epic, expressing the aspiration of the Nghe people to fight for national independence. Photo: Hai Vuong

From 1910 to 1920, the movement of going abroad to Siam (Thailand) and from there to China developed strongly in Nghe An. The person who had great merit in establishing the Farming Camp in Thailand to gather those who went abroad was the patriot Dang Thuc Hua. From here, young people and intellectuals continued to go to Guangzhou (China) to find a way to save the country.

Among the young people who went abroad to Siam and China, there were two prominent people: Le Hong Son and Ho Tung Mau. In early 1923, the two men, together with other like-minded friends, established the Tam Tam Xa organization (also known as Tan Viet Thanh Nien Doan), to“Union of intellectuals among all Vietnamese people, regardless of borders or political parties, as long as they are determined to sacrifice all personal interests and interests, and to do their best to restore human rights in Vietnam.”

In early 1924, this organization admitted Le Hong Phong and Pham Hong Thai. On June 19, 1924, Tam Tam Xa made a splash abroad with the event of Pham Hong Thai bombing and attempting to kill the Governor General of Indochina, Merlin, in Sa Dien (China). Although the "Sa Dien bomb" strongly encouraged and urged the patriotic spirit of all classes of people in the country in general and Nghe An in particular, reality also showed that all revolutionary movements and methods fell into a deadlock due to the crisis of direction and leadership.

Uncle Ho's childhood home in Kim Lien, Nam Dan. Photo: Le Thang

NGUYEN TAT THANH AND THE UNIQUE PATH TO SAVING THE COUNTRY

Among the Nghe An people who went abroad to find a way to save the country, the young man Nguyen Tat Thanh had a unique path, completely different from his fathers and uncles, which was to go to France - the country that was ruling Vietnam.

On June 5, 1911, Nguyen Tat Thanh boarded the ship Admiral Latouche - Tréville to France and many countries around the world.

In 1919, Nguyen Tat Thanh, with his new name Nguyen Ai Quoc, along with the Vietnamese Patriotic Group in Paris, sent the Eight-Point Petition of the Vietnamese People to the Versailles Conference. Nguyen Ai Quoc's patriotic activities created momentum for him to join the French Socialist Party and later found the light of Marxism-Leninism.

Nguyen Ai Quoc spoke at the 18th Congress of the French Socialist Party (1920). He supported Lenin's Theses on the National and Colonial Questions. Photo courtesy

Nguyen Ai Quoc became one of the first members of the French Communist Party and the first communist in Vietnam. Studying Lenin's Theses on the National and Colonial Questions, he affirmed that: Only socialism and communism can liberate oppressed nations and working people around the world from slavery. That is the only way to ensure the survival of the Vietnamese nation.

At the end of 1924, when he had become a famous communist soldier with outstanding activities in the international communist movement, Nguyen Ai Quoc returned to Guangzhou (China) as assigned by the Communist International. Here, he met with Vietnamese revolutionaries in the patriotic organization Tam Tam Xa, highly appreciated their patriotism but also pointed out the limitations of this organization. On the basis of the Tam Tam Xa organization, he selected advanced cadres to establish the Communist League organization (February 1925) and from that nucleus, he founded the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association (June 1925).

Former Party leaders in Nghe An and Ha Tinh. (Documents are kept at the Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum). Photo: Hai Vuong

Based on the initial core, in June 1925, the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association (abbreviated as the Youth Association) was established. The association had a clear purpose and objectives, strict regulations and a method of operation similar to that of a party... This was considered the predecessor of later communist organizations.

THE STRONG DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNIST ORGANIZATIONS IN NGHE AN IS ONE OF THE PREMISES FOR THE BIRTH OF THE PARTY.

From mid-1928 onwards, the Youth Association and the Hung Nam Association had bases spread throughout, interspersed with factories, enterprises, schools and some offices in Vinh - Ben Thuy, in towns and many villages in Nghe An province. Vinh - Ben Thuy became the command center of the Central Youth Association and the Hung Nam Association.

Ben Thuy Port looking towards the power plant of Indochina Forest and Match Company (SIFA). Photo courtesy

In the spring of 1928, the workers' movement broke out strongly. On April 14, 1928, 500 workers of the SIFA Match Factory and Sawmill protested to demand higher wages, shorter working hours, and the abolition of the rules of cutting off workers' wages and horses.

In 1928 and 1929, the wave of struggle spread continuously in many factories, workshops, and among students. Meanwhile, in the rural areas of the province (Thanh Chuong, Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen,...), the struggles of farmers against the tyrants, bullies, and Westerners became increasingly fierce.

In May 1929, the National Congress of the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association opened in Hong Kong. The delegation from North Vietnam proposed to dissolve the Youth Association and establish the Communist Party. Vetoed by the Congress, the delegation from North Vietnam left the Congress and established the Indochinese Communist Party on June 17, 1929. The birth of the Indochinese Communist Party had a very positive impact on the revolutionary movement in the whole country in general and Nghe An in particular.

In June 1929, the Central Indochina Communist Party Branch was established, headquartered in Vang village (now Dong Vinh ward, Vinh city). In just a short time, many Youth Association bases in Nghe An were transformed into communist party cells.

In September 1929, the left wing of the Tan Viet Party issued a statement calling for the dissolution of the Tan Viet Party and the establishment of the Indochina Communist Federation to unite with other communist organizations to form a communist organization in Indochina.

Thus, from the beginning of 1930, in Nghe An there were two communist organizations operating together. They were the Indochinese Communist Party (which had a large base and great influence before) and the newly established Indochinese Communist Federation.

The revolutionary movement in the country grew stronger, the need for a single communist party to lead became more urgent. Therefore, receiving instructions from the Communist International, comrade Nguyen Ai Quoc returned to Hong Kong to organize the Unification Conference, establishing the Communist Party of Vietnam in Kowloon (Hong Kong) on ​​February 3, 1930.

The conference adopted the Party's Brief Platform, Brief Strategy, and Brief Charter (along with the Brief Charters of the Trade Unions, Peasants' Associations, Youth Union, Women's Union, Anti-Imperialist Alliance, and Relief Association). The birth of the Communist Party of Vietnam was an extremely important turning point in the history of the Vietnamese revolution.

Above photo: The founding conference of the Communist Party of Vietnam on February 3, 1930. Photo taken from a painting by artist Phi Hoanh (Photo: National Museum of History). Below two photos: The Party's brief platform and brief charter in 1930. Photo: Hai Vuong

After the Communist Party of Vietnam was established, comrade Nguyen Phong Sac - member of the Party Central Committee (former Secretary of the Indochinese Communist Party in Central Vietnam) was assigned the task of coordinating with the Indochinese Communist Federation to organize a conference to elect the Provisional Executive Committee of the Central Branch of the Communist Party of Vietnam in Central Vietnam (ie the Central Regional Party Committee). In March 1930, in Vinh, the Provisional Central Branch in Central Vietnam was established, with its headquarters in Vinh and a headquarters in Da Nang to direct the construction of the Party base in Central Vietnam.

The Central Branch has appointed two provisional executive committees of the Communist Party of Vietnam in Nghe An: Vinh Provincial Party Committee (including Vinh - Ben Thuy, Nghi Loc district, Hung Nguyen district and Thanh Hoa town) headed by comrade Le Mao, member of the Party Central Committee, Standing Member of the Branch; Nghe An Provincial Party Committee (including all districts in the province, except for places under Vinh Provincial Party Committee) headed by Nguyen Lien.

GREAT VICTORY FOR INDUSTRY AND AGRICULTURE OF NGHE AN AND THE WHOLE COUNTRY

From late 1929 to early 1930, the workers' and peasants' struggle movement across the country developed vigorously according to the direction and goals set forth by the Indochinese Communist Party.

From the end of 1929 to April 1930, 15 struggles broke out in the whole province, including 5 by workers in Vinh - Ben Thuy city, 9 by farmers in Thanh Chuong and Anh Son districts.

In the Vinh - Ben Thuy suburbs, the most prominent was the struggle to demand compensation for more than 300 hectares of rice fields of Yen Dung farmers that were confiscated by French colonialists to build an airport in mid-1929.

In order to prevent the increasingly rising struggle movement throughout the province, the French colonialists and feudal Southern Dynasty officials tried to arrest, imprison, and try many patriotic and revolutionary fighters. At the trial on July 29, 1929, the Southern Dynasty Court in Nghe An brought 45 important figures to trial, sentencing 7 people to death in absentia, including Nguyen Ai Quoc, Tran Phu, Phan Tai (aka Ho Tung Mau), Tran Van Cung, Nguyen Tiem, etc.

Ben Thuy worker-farmer monument. Photo: Hai Vuong

On May 1, 1930, the Communist Party of Vietnam initiated the first movement to celebrate International Labor Day in Vietnam. In Vinh - Ben Thuy, a large demonstration of workers and farmers in the inner and outer city broke out. This demonstration was directly led by comrade Le Mao (Member of the Party Central Committee, Standing Member of the Central Region Party Committee in charge of Vinh - Ben Thuy Provincial Party Committee).

Having been carefully prepared in advance, on the morning of May 1, 1930, 1,200 farmers from Yen Dung, Loc Da and Duc Thinh villages (formerly Hung Nguyen), An Hau, Duc Hau (Nghi Loc) protested and marched into Vinh city to coordinate with factory workers to fight to demand that the French colonialists fulfill their demands such as: demanding salary increase, tax reduction, 8-hour work day,...

“... The warden, the chief of police, the secret police (Robe) all pointed their guns and fired continuously. Calabi also stood in the factory and fired. So the imperialists and the bourgeoisie mercilessly killed the peasants and workers... The demonstration had to be dispersed, leaving 6 dead and 18 wounded... The struggle in Annam had reached its peak. But for every one of you who had to die, thousands and thousands of others would follow. No matter how cruel the French imperialists were, they could not stop the revolutionary movement...”.

Newspaper Nguoi Lao Kho, published on May 2, 1930

Also on May 1, 1930, outside Vinh - Ben Thuy, at Thanh Chuong French - Vietnamese Primary School, over 100 students gathered at Ngu Phuc restaurant (Vo Liet village) to hold a rally to celebrate International Labor Day and then marched around the district town.

In Hanh Lam commune, a protest broke out by nearly 3,000 farmers from La Mac, Hanh Lam, and Nhuan Trach villages demanding the return of land and roads seized by Nguyen Truong Vien (aka Ky Vien). Vien was terrified and fled; the farmers burned down his entire residence.

Two days later, the French Consul and the Governor of Nghe An, along with the judge, the colonel, and the district chief of Thanh Chuong, brought soldiers in blue uniforms to Hanh Lam to quell the "communist chaos". Under the leadership of the party cells and the Executive Committee of the Red Peasant Association, for two days and nights, the peasants came out to fight, demanding that they fulfill the people's demands. They tried to entice and threaten, but could not break the increasingly tight siege of the masses in the villages of Hanh Lam, La Mac, Nhuan Trach, Lac Son, and Yen Lac. Finally, they opened fire on the dense siege of peasants to open a bloody path and flee, killing 18 people and injuring 17.

The events that took place in Nghe An on May 1, 1930, the first International Labor Day celebration in the country, had a great resonance, strongly encouraging the fighting spirit of the working masses.

Assessing these events, the Party Central Committee affirmed: "This is a great victory for workers and farmers in Nghe An as well as for workers and farmers throughout the country."

Ho Chi Minh Square and Uncle Ho's statue (Vinh City) today used to be the residence of workers at Truong Thi and Ben Thuy in the past. Photo: Hai Vuong

From May 1, 1930 to the end of July 1930, the struggle movement of the workers and peasants in Nghe An pushed the French colonialists and the feudal mandarins of the Southern Dynasty into a passive and confused situation. Saten, the Resident-Resident of Central Vietnam, admitted in a report sent to the French Government on July 5, 1930: “For a long time, we have only known the methods of operation of the old revolutionary parties. This time, the mandarins seem to be confused and bewildered about the perfect organization of the communists in the European style... ”.

The painting depicts the struggle movement of the farmers of Nam Dan district, forcing the district governor Le Khac Tuong to sign and stamp the petition of the masses. The photo was taken at the Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum. (Photo: Hai Vuong)

THE BIRTH OF THE SOVIET GOVERNMENT

From late August to early September 1930, the revolutionary movement in Nghe An reached its peak with increasingly fierce struggles. The beginning was the struggle of nearly 3,000 Nam Dan farmers on August 30, 1930. Here, the masses gathered in rallies at three locations in the district and then marched to Sa Nam town, flooded the district office, burned archives, broke into prisons, and freed prisoners. The Nam Dan district chief, Le Khac Tuong, was forced to sign and stamp the petition.

Important milestones in the Soviet Climax in Nghe An. Photo: Hai Vuong

On September 1, 1930, in Thanh Chuong, a large-scale demonstration took place with 20,000 participants...

The historic demonstration on September 1, 1930 in Thanh Chuong is considered the opening milestone marking the birth of the Soviet government in Nghe - Tinh...

The revolutionary movement developed dramatically, beyond the initial plans of the Regional Party Committee and the Provincial Party Committee. The strong pressure of the peasants' struggle paralyzed and disintegrated the colonial-feudal government apparatus from the district to the villages. In that situation, the Red Peasant Association Executive Committees represented the people in managing all village affairs. Soviet governments were formed in almost all villages in Thanh Chuong, Nam Dan and many other areas in Anh Son (including present-day Do Luong), Nghi Loc, Hung Nguyen. Particularly in the mountainous areas, in Mon Son, Luc Da (Con Cuong), there were Soviet party and government bases.

Thai Lao scene after the demonstration on September 12, 1930. Photo taken at the Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum. Photo: Hai Vuong

In particular, in Hung Nguyen, on September 12, 1930, about 8,000 farmers from 3 communes: Phu Long, Thong Lang and Nam Kim (Nam Dan) lined up, armed with sticks, spears, ropes, and raised red flags with hammers and sickles, marched down to Yen Xuan station. The Command Board ordered the stationmaster to be tied up and the telegraph lines cut off, and at the same time signaled the train from the North to stop. Passengers on the train joined the protest, turning it into a large rally.

When the first protesters arrived at Thai Lao, the French colonialists used two planes to drop bombs and fire machine guns into the crowd, killing and injuring many people. They also sent soldiers to suppress them. In the afternoon, when the farmers came out to bury their fallen compatriots, the French planes came to massacre them again. The total number of dead was 217 people and 125 people were injured. In addition, they also arrested dozens of others. The extremely brutal massacre shocked public opinion at home and abroad.

On the night of September 12, 1930, nearly 5,000 people in Nam Dan beat drums and gongs to protest, marching to the district office to protest the murderous actions of the colonial-feudal government. French soldiers stationed at the district headquarters shot and killed two people. Also on that night, about 4,000 farmers from the two communes of Bich Hao and Vo Liet (Thanh Chuong) protested against the inhumane actions of the French imperialists and held a memorial service for the martyrs.

Graves of Soviet martyrs who died on September 12, 1930 in Thai Lao (Hung Nguyen). Photo: Hai Vuong

To protest the brutal terrorist acts of the French colonialists, factory workers in Vinh - Ben Thuy continuously went on strike. Workers at Song Con Plantation also protested. Students from schools in Anh Son, Do Luong, Nghi Loc, and Phu Dien districts went on strike. People from Dien Chau, Yen Thanh, and Quynh Luu districts protested and marched to the district and prefecture to present demands against the colonial-feudal government.

During the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement of 1930 - 1931, more than 2,000 people died, of which nearly 1,500 were in Nghe An province alone. Photo: Hai Vuong

At the end of October 1930, in the context of the revolutionary movement developing despite the enemy's brutal terror and having to start dealing with their new plots and tricks, the Nghe An Party Committee held the first Congress of delegates in Dong Xuan village (Xuan Lieu commune, Nam Dan district, now that location belongs to Xuan Tuong commune, Thanh Chuong district).

The Congress elected the official Executive Committee of the Party Committee including comrades: Nguyen Tiem (Secretary), Ton Gia Chung, Nguyen Sinh Dien, Phan Dinh Dong, Nguyen Tran Tham, Phan Huy Thuong, Tran Thi Minh Chau.

Faced with the strong development of the revolutionary movement and the brutal repression of the enemy, in September and October 1930, the Party Central Committee issued a directive to the Central Committee to guide the movement and mobilize the people nationwide to support Red Nghe - Tinh:“The urgent duty of the entire Party in the whole country is to do our utmost to defend Nghe - Tinh, expand the movement of demonstrations and protests, and resist the evil tricks of imperialism. The lives of our brothers and sisters, the peasants of Nghe - Tinh now depend on the response and protection of all the workers and peasants in the whole country...".

The Central Party's announcement has inspired the fighting spirit of the workers and peasants from North to South. Many demonstrations and struggles in support of the Nghe Tinh Soviet with the slogan "Don't touch the workers and peasants of Nghe - Tinh" broke out in the provinces and cities: Hanoi, Hai Phong, Hon Gai, Thai Binh, Ha Dong, Nam Dinh, Ha Nam, Thanh Hoa, Saigon, Cao Lanh,...

However, due to the lack of a revolutionary situation, seizing power could not be the immediate goal of the Communist Party. The Central Region Party Committee and the party committees at all levels in Nghe An and Ha Tinh did not have a policy of uprising to seize power. Meanwhile, before the revolutionary storm of the masses, the colonial-feudal government system of Nghe - Tinh was strongly shaken.

Many new constructions have sprung up on Hung Nguyen land, including the modern urban and service area VSIP. Photo: Hai Vuong

Faced with that situation, the Red Executive Committees of the Village and Commune Farmers' Associations, under the direction of the Party cells, took on the function of managing the villages. The first thing the Commune Farmers' Association did was redistribute land to the farmers, ending the payment of taxes to the imperialist-feudal government; at the same time, forcing the village chiefs to return the collected tax money to the people, forcing creditors to postpone debts, landowners to reduce rent, and regulating wages for servants and hired workers. The Commune Farmers' Association also organized dam building, ditch digging, and water pumping to fight drought. In some places, public land was taken to organize collective production for farmers according to the cooperative model.

The Soviet government abolished the colonial-feudal government apparatus and old laws, and implemented freedom and democracy for the people such as: freedom to go to school; gender equality in marriage and in all social and family affairs. Red self-defense teams were established to suppress and punish counter-revolutionaries, protect order and security in villages...

Ho Chi Minh Square and Uncle Ho's statue in the center of Vinh city. Photo: Hai Vuong

At that time, leader Nguyen Ai Quoc was operating abroad but he still followed and directed the revolutionary movement in the country. He praised the heroic fighting spirit of the workers and peasants in the revolutionary movement of 1930-1931, which culminated in the Nghe-Tinh Soviet, and at the same time he gave advice to the Party Central Committee on leading the peasant movement. He pointed out that, in the immediate future, it was necessary to "gather, organize, and mobilize peasants to fight for their daily rights, not to carry out a local uprising".

On the other hand, he sent a letter to the Communist International praising the Red Nghe-Tinh and asking the Communist International to call on international communist and workers' parties to launch a campaign against white terrorism in Indochina. In response to the request of Nguyen Ai Quoc and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the French Communist Party organized mass rallies and published news in the newspaper Humanité (Humanity), protesting the terrorist policy of French colonialism in Indochina, praising the revolutionary movement in Nghe-Tinh, calling on the working class and people to support the Vietnamese revolution.

(Documents used in the article: History of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee (1930 -1954) - Volume 1)