Promoting the spirit of the August Revolution, building Nghe An homeland into a prosperous province

On the occasion of the 78th anniversary of the August Revolution (August 19, 1945 - August 19, 2023), Nghe An Newspaper reporters had a conversation with revolutionary veteran Bui Trong Thanh.

PV:Sir, it is known that during the August Revolution of 1945, Nam Thanh commune (formerly Thanh Thuy commune) was the first locality in Nghe An to take power into the hands of the people. Could you tell us more about that historic day?

Mr. Bui Trong Thanh:Thanh Thuy commune in the past - Nam Thanh today is a countryside with a tradition of patriotism and revolution. During the periods of building and defending the country, the people of Nam Thanh always fought steadfastly against hostile forces, determined to protect their villages and hamlets, and to protect the independence and freedom of the Fatherland.

Here, on May 16, 1930, the Commune Party Cell (Bang Tra Party Cell) was established, comrade Bui Danh Toan (Mr. Thanh's father - PV) was appointed as Secretary. Under the leadership of the Party Cell, the people of Nam Thanh commune fought bravely, together creating the Nghe Tinh Soviet Revolutionary High Tide 1930-1931, the democratic movement 1936-1939, establishing the Commune Viet Minh Front Committee and the National Salvation Association organizations, preparing for the General Uprising, seizing power in 1945.

Before the uprising to seize power, I was working as a secret liaison for the Viet Minh General Headquarters. When the uprising took power, I was a member of the Red Self-Defense Team. I still remember clearly: On August 14, 1945, the Viet Minh Front of Thanh Thuy commune received an order from the Nghe Tinh Inter-Provincial Uprising Committee with the following content: "Immediately arrange the seizure of power, establish a revolutionary People's Committee in the village, regardless of whether the village comes first or the district comes first."

Immediately after that, on August 15, 1945, the Executive Committee of the Viet Minh Commune Front met and concluded: The opportunity to revolt and seize power had come. Although the decision to organize a coup while Nghe An and Ha Tinh had not yet gained power, the whole country had only a few liberated provinces in Viet Bac and a few communes and districts in the North and Central regions had successfully revolted was quite a dangerous act, but this would ignite a big explosion to promote the general movement...

Based on a correct analysis of the objective and subjective situation, the Executive Committee of the Viet Minh Front of Thanh Thuy commune decided to revolt and seize power. Regarding the measures to seize power, the most important thing is to ensure the element of secrecy and surprise. The seizure of power will focus on two goals: forcing the village chief to hand over his seal and the village must hand over all the commune's books to the revolution.

At 6:00 a.m. on August 16, 1945, the Front continued to meet and assigned tasks to revolt and seize power. At 2:00 p.m. on the same day, under the direction of the Viet Minh Front, the forces of 7 villages and the National Salvation Association organizations rose up to seize power, forcing Village Chief Pham Huu Dong to hand over his seal. By 5:30 p.m., the uprising to seize power had been a great success...

By the morning of August 23, 1945, under the command of the Viet Minh Front, the people of the villages and communes in the district stood up together, raised the red flag with the yellow star, and marched to Sa Nam town to seize power in the district... The Provisional Revolutionary Committee of Nam Thanh commune assigned me to command 20 people in the Self-Defense Force to participate. As we walked, we shouted the slogan "Overthrow the fascist invaders; overthrow the traitorous Vietnamese government; establish a revolutionary people's government. Vietnam is completely independent. Long live Vietnam's independence. Long live Uncle Ho Chi Minh"... Before the strength of tens of thousands of people armed with sticks and rulers, Nam Dan District Chief Nguyen Duc Han had to surrender, handing over his seal, books and guns to the revolution.

PV:How do you perceive the significance of the successful uprising to seize power in Nam Thanh commune in particular and the August Revolution in general??

Mr. Bui Trong Thanh:The victory of the uprising to seize power in Nam Thanh commune opened the way for the uprising to seize power in other villages and communes, directly threatening the survival of the Japanese fascist puppet government in Nam Dan district. This victory was achieved thanks to the solidarity, unanimity and high revolutionary determination of the working class in Nam Thanh. This was a victory of the correct application of the Party's policies, combined with the practical situation of the district and commune. The victory of the uprising to seize power was the crystallization of the revolutionary achievements achieved in the 15 years since the establishment of the Party cell, it demonstrated the indomitable fighting spirit of cadres, Party members and people under the leadership of the Party.

The victory of the August Revolution in 1945 was a great victory of the Vietnamese revolution led by the Communist Party, of great historical value to the nation and profound contemporary significance. From this victory, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was born, the Vietnamese people were thrown off the yoke of slavery and became masters; our nation entered an era of independence and freedom. The victory of the August Revolution in 1945 brought us three valuable lessons, which are the lesson of solidarity, the lesson of choosing the right time and the lesson of the correct leadership of the Party as the leading factor deciding the victory. These three lessons are the great spiritual heritage, the driving force that motivated the entire Party, the entire people, the entire army and the entire political system to promote internal strength, self-reliance and self-strengthening to successfully carry out the resistance war against the French (1945-1954); the resistance war against the US for national salvation (1954-1975); Two wars of aggression in the Southwest border and the Northern border... and in today's era, Vietnam is increasingly asserting its position in the international arena.

PV:According to you, in the development process, has Nam Thanh commune, Nam Dan district in particular and Nghe An province in general promoted the spirit of "Standing first, rising first" of the homeland, as well as the spirit of the August Revolution in 1945?

Mr. Bui Trong Thanh:After the August Revolution in 1945, I joined the army; in 1958, I returned to my hometown to join the People's Council of the commune, working as the Standing Committee of the Commune People's Committee; from 1961 to 1966, I was the Chairman of the People's Committee of Nam Thanh commune; from 1966 to 1971, I was the Chief of Nam Dan District Police; from 1971 to 1978, I worked as an officer of the Provincial Fatherland Front Committee; in 1978, I retired and returned to my locality to work as an officer in charge of paying commune policy salaries for another 18 years... During this period of work, I realized that there were periods when we performed well and there were periods when we did not perform well.

During the resistance war against French colonialism and American imperialism, Nghe An was both the rear and the front line facing the enemy. Hundreds of thousands of the homeland's best sons went to fight, dedicating their youth. Those who stayed behind had the spirit of "not a pound of rice missing, not a soldier missing", "not a regret even if the car had not passed the house". All contributed together with the whole country to make great victories for the nation.

After the country's reunification until 1991, in the context of the embargo, as well as the general situation of the country, our homeland faced many difficulties. At the 7th Party Congress, the Platform for national construction in the transition period to socialism was born. From here, our country gradually achieved great achievements and Nghe An gradually improved. However, Nam Dan was still not a model district, Nghe An was still not a good province as Uncle Ho always wanted.

In the following years, when I was old and weak, I could no longer travel far and often, but only wandered around the district, commune, and hamlet. What I could see was only in the hamlet and commune; information about the district and the province was obtained through reading newspapers and listening to the radio. From what I heard and saw, I thought: Nam Thanh commune, Nam Dan district in particular and Nghe An province are promoting quite well the tradition of their homeland and the spirit of the August Revolution.

In Nam Thanh commune now, village roads and alleys are paved with asphalt and concrete, spacious and neat. Lighting and drainage ditches are being invested synchronously. The local environmental landscape is guaranteed to be green - clean - beautiful. The rural appearance, economic infrastructure, and people's lives have made great progress compared to before. As for Nam Dan district, rural infrastructure has been invested synchronously; the rural appearance is neat; there are many high-tech agricultural models; the spiritual life of the people has been improved step by step. The district has been recognized as meeting new rural standards and is currently focusing on building new rural areas in the direction of cultural development associated with tourism...

In Nghe An province, the economy has developed quite comprehensively, growing quite rapidly. Transport and urban infrastructure has been invested and upgraded. Culture and society have had many positive changes. National defense and security have been strengthened. Party building and the political system have received attention. We are gradually moving towards becoming a center of finance, trade, tourism, education and training, science and technology, high-tech industry, health care, culture, and sports in the North Central region... With what I have seen and heard, I am very happy that the current generation of descendants has continued the tradition of their ancestors. I have great faith in the current leadership team of the province, district, and commune.

PV:At this age of nearly 100 years old, what do you find most satisfying? What are your concerns and wishes??

Mr. Bui Trong Thanh:Each age will have its own contemplation. I will only talk about recent thoughts. What I am interested in, worried about, and wish for is that I recently read the newspaper and learned that in the recent Politburo meeting summarizing 10 years of implementing Resolution No. 26 on Nghe An, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong directed that "We must step strongly, go far, Nghe An like that is Nghe An". I hope that "Nghe An like that is Nghe An" will replace the old song "Soviet Nghe An is still Nghe An".

And to have a Nghe An that "takes strong steps and goes far", it is clear that the province must effectively implement Resolution 39 on building and developing Nghe An province until 2030, with a vision to 2045, and soon put the Resolution into practice. At the same time, we also hope that the Central Government will increase its support so that Nghe An becomes a fairly developed province in the country, with a fast and sustainable economic development, imbued with the cultural identity of Vietnam and Nghe An as Uncle Ho always wished... As for Nam Thanh commune, Nam Dan district, I think we also need to make more efforts. I listen to the radio and read the newspaper, but I see that the frequency of the commune and district is not very high.

In addition, I also hope that we continue to promote education and training for the young generation and young cadres. The tradition of the nation is “old bamboo, young bamboo grows”. The young generation is the one who will shoulder the country’s cause, promote the development of the nation in the future…

PV:Thanks!