Understand the value and meaning of April 30, 1975 to avoid repeating mistakes

1. The truth is engraved in history.

Great Victory of Spring 1975, the peak of which was the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, which ended victoriously on April 30, 1975, liberating the South and unifying the country, a triumphant song, a unique and miraculous heroic epic of the Vietnamese people. At the same time, this is a great heroic epic of the socialist forces, national independence, of all progressive humanity in the world; chosen by many historians as the starting point of a period of world history - "the period after Vietnam" and for the past half century, searching for an answer to the question "why did Vietnam defeat the US?". This event also ended the most disastrous, heaviest, most humiliating defeat of the US imperialists and their traitorous lackeys and vassals "exchanging guns and bullets for dollars".

April 30, 1975 was recorded in world history as “a symbol of the vitality of proletarian internationalism and solidarity against imperialist aggression”. Therefore, as soon as the Vietnamese people achieved the Great Victory of Spring 1975, progressive people around the world, including progressive people in the US, turned to Vietnam with admiration, shared the joy, and gave many beautiful words and ideas praising that great victory. By the end of 1975, there were hundreds of telegrams, speeches, and statements from over 100 countries, communist parties, international organizations, and famous political activists congratulating and praising the great victory of the Vietnamese people.

Since then, every time April 30th is celebrated, valuable works have appeared around the world, praising the glorious victory of the Vietnamese people. In particular, the People's Daily (the mouthpiece of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China) published an article on April 30, 2005, affirming: "The victory of the Vietnamese people is a victory forever recorded in history, and April 30th is a great holiday of Vietnam and is also a day worthy of being celebrated by peace-loving and righteous people all over the world."

Many countries in the world consider the victory of the Vietnamese people to have profound epochal significance, encouraging and promoting the struggle for independence and freedom of progressive humanity; forever recorded in the history of the struggle for human liberation as the most glorious page, making an important contribution to consolidating the position of the forces of peace, democracy, national independence and socialism, worthy of the trust, love and admiration of progressive humanity in the world.^[1].

2. Distortion - self-exposure

The value and significance of the victory on April 30, 1975 are very clear, everlasting, deeply engraved in the wall of strength, will, and aspiration for independence, freedom, unity, and territorial integrity of Vietnam; proof of the failure of the invaders and those who "sell out the country for glory"; showing the inevitable victory of justice and the failure of actions that go against the tradition and interests of national unification. However, for the past 49 years, there have been individuals and organizations, for various sinister motives, who have used tricks to deny, belittle, and distort the value and significance of April 30, 1975. However, the truth is that the more it is distorted, the more its nature is exposed, and the distorters themselves are exposed.

Nowadays, on social networks often appeardistorted arguments, that is:

1) Demanding to “re-name April 30, 1975 as a suitable day”, with extremely naive excuses, that: “Calling it a liberation day is vague because there could not have been a North to liberate the South”; “Calling it a reunification day is very forced because the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the Republic of Vietnam are two different countries”; “How can it be called a peace day because the country has not yet had peace”; “Calling it a friendship day is also not correct because of the fighting with Cambodia and China”; “Calling it a reconciliation day is full of sand”; “Calling it a day of harmony, a day of slavery, a day of national hatred, a day of darkness are all incorrect”...(?!)

2) Distorting and slandering that "the people of the North annexed the South, so this is essentially just a civil war, a proxy war, an ideological war, so there is nothing to be proud of", then they proposed "calling April 30th the day of national hatred", "commemorating Black April"...

3) Denying the values ​​of independence, freedom, unity, and territorial integrity that the Vietnamese people have built and protected over thousands of years of history, claiming that: "If there had not been April 30, 1975, South Vietnam today would have developed no less than South Korea, far surpassing Thailand..." (?!).

4) Putting forward the argument that only "political pluralism" and "multi-party opposition" can achieve national harmony and reconciliation.

The nature of the event on April 30, 1975 shows that there is only one correct answer: "The day of liberating the South and unifying the country", because:

One is, called “liberation” because April 30, 1975 marked the liberation of Vietnam in general, and South Vietnam in particular, from the domination of the invading enemy (including foreign invaders and internal traitors). That meant the complete defeat of the invaders and their traitorous lackeys; it was also the failure of the plot to divide the country along with the organizational system, apparatus, army… created to nurture it.

Two is, called “unification” because April 30, 1975 marked the return of Vietnam to its true meaning with the tradition of building and defending the country, with the eternal aspirations of generations of patriotic Vietnamese people who love their country and people. It ended the period of dividing a body of Vietnam into two halves with two almost opposite ways of thinking and doing. One side carried out independence, unity, and territorial integrity, while the other side carried out a plot to divide into two separate countries, exchanging dependence for dollars, relying on foreign invaders to betray ancestors and race, bringing bombs and bullets from American imperialism to plow the country, killing the people.

Three is, for those who follow the revolutionary path of the Communist Party of Vietnam, steadfastly fighting against foreign invaders and internal traitors, protecting the interests of the Fatherland, national traditions, and the honor of a unified country, that is a righteous action that needs to be promoted and expanded. For the generation born after April 30, 1975, if they are well educated, they all know how to appreciate the value and meaning of April 30 as a part of their flesh and blood that makes up their own body and life. Foreigners who love peace and love Vietnam all admire and respect the strong vitality of the Vietnamese people and the intelligence, bravery, and heroism of the Vietnamese people.

For the US imperialists, no matter how far the past is, the development of science and technology, the wealth of dollars will never erase the most disastrous, heaviest, and most humiliating defeat in their history. For the forces that "rely on foreign powers to destroy the country's unity", no matter where they are, whether they stay in Vietnam or take refuge in a foreign land, they still cannot hide the stain of a time of mistakes, having the heart to follow the enemy and shoot at their own people. For the mercenaries, who can earn back a sum of dollars to contribute to enriching their country, until now they still cannot forget the traces of the old battlefield every time they return to Vietnam during the renovation period.

3. Understand clearly to avoid repeating past mistakes

Remembering the victory of April 30, always uphold the spirit of vigilance, resolutely protect the independence, freedom and unity of the country in all circumstances; actively fight against erroneous and hostile viewpoints that deny and distort the value and significance of the resistance war against the US to save the country, and protect the revolutionary achievements led by our Party. The losers need to remember the pain to awaken and regret their past mistakes, avoid repeating failures; give up hatred, and end the sabotage that has been caused for so long. Progressive people around the world awaken their conscience, know how to cherish and protect peace, multiply noble love between people, and together create a peaceful and happy planet.

In the minds of generations of true Vietnamese patriots, independence - freedom - happiness is not only an aspiration that must always be preserved, protected, cultivated and passed on, but also the result of a resilient and indomitable struggle to enjoy and repay the sacrifices of our predecessors for the Fatherland. Independence, freedom and happiness are always associated with the responsibility of building and protecting the Fatherland, protecting the Vietnamese race; protecting the sky, sea and islands, and the sacred borders defined by the efforts and blood of generations of predecessors.

Also starting from the goal of independence and freedom for the Fatherland and the pursuit of happiness and prosperity for his compatriots, Nguyen Ai Quoc - Ho Chi Minh traveled across five continents and four seas, researching many ways to save the country, and finally chose to follow the path of proletarian revolution, taking Marxism - Leninism as the torch to light the way for the Vietnamese people to follow, linking national independence with socialism, class liberation with human liberation. Since 1923, Nguyen Ai Quoc wrote: "Only communism can save humanity, bringing to all people regardless of race and origin freedom, equality, charity, solidarity, prosperity on earth, jobs for all and for all, joy, peace, happiness"^[2].

Independence is for freedom and happiness, and to have freedom and happiness, one must first have independence. Therefore, the idea that “there is nothing more precious than independence and freedom” and “even if we have to burn the Truong Son mountain range, we must win independence for the nation” is a truth that never changes. That is the thread that runs through the Vietnamese revolution and explains why we must persevere in overcoming all difficulties and sacrifices, determined to defeat the invading French colonialists and win victory in the resistance war against the US, save the country, protect national independence and unify the Fatherland.

To have true independence, we must be attached to socialism and follow socialism to have independence, because “Only communism can save humanity, bring freedom, equality, charity, solidarity, prosperity on earth to all people regardless of race and origin, jobs for all and for all, joy, peace, happiness”. That is also the answer for those who have wavering, skeptical thoughts and wonder: “Why does Vietnam follow socialism”!

Modern weapons, lots of dollars, large and numerous soldiers, but cannot overcome the will for independence, freedom, national unity and culture of the Vietnamese people. The event of April 30, 1975 in Vietnam proves that to humanity more clearly. Never compare the will to protect the independence and national unity of the Vietnamese people with the division of North Korea and South Korea. Because, as a person who is responsible to his ancestors and loves his country, no one wants to divide the country, only when he is not strong enough to keep it will he accept division.

Look at the consequences of a Korean country after the 1951-1953 war being divided into two: South Korea, North Korea. Since then, a Korean country with a long history has been divided into two, people from one country consider each other as sworn enemies, a situation of border blockade occurs, to the point that there are families that have to be separated forever, people from the South and the North have not met for more than half a century! They may be sitting on piles of money, but they always long for reunion, expressed through colored cloth knots tied tightly to the barbed wire fence - at the North - South Korean border with a fragile hope, even hopeless.

As for South Korea, although the economy is improving, it cannot escape its dependence on the US and if faced with a situation of either protecting North Korea or protecting the US, it has no choice but to side with the US and destroy North Korea. Isn't that an act of "fighting each other", "bringing an elephant home to trample on the ancestors' graves"? And how many people think that in order to make South Korea rich like today, a part of the money came from fighting for the US on the Vietnam battlefield and Korean soldiers caused many tragic massacres of Vietnamese people?

It has been nearly half a century since April 30, 1975 – the fateful day that ended 21 years of resistance against the US to save the country. Please stop talking about winning or losing, but think about the goal of building and developing a peaceful, independent, unified, prosperous and happy Vietnam. Because history has answered: the will for national independence and national unity will surely win; the act of rebellion, dividing the country, "bringing elephants to trample on the ancestors' graves" will inevitably fail!

The Communist Party of Vietnam has never and will never want to use weapons to compete with any force in exchange for death and suffering. The Vietnamese people do not want war and bloodshed. But because they cannot use peaceful methods, the Vietnamese people have no choice but to take up arms and fight to protect that independence and unity, which is also to protect the eternal truth that Vietnamese ancestors created, cultivated, embellished, and passed on, and which is also the universal value of progressive humanity moving towards civilization.

[1]The world praises the great victory of our people.Truth Publishing House, Hanoi, 1977, pp. 149, 283, 344, 392.

[2] Ho Chi Minh:Complete Works, National Political Publishing House - Truth, Hanoi, 2011, vol.1, p.496