Comrade Le Sy Than embellished the patriotic and revolutionary tradition of his hometown Dien Ngoc (Dien Chau).
Comrade Le Sy Than was enlightened early, absorbed progressive ideas, and followed the patriotic path of his predecessors.
Dien Ngoc - a coastal commune located in the North of Dien Chau district, is a homeland rich in historical and cultural traditions of Nghe An. Throughout the history of the nation, many outstanding children of Dien Ngoc have contributed to beautifying the patriotic and revolutionary traditions of their homeland, including comrade Le Sy Than.
Comrade Le Sy Than was born in 1909 in a poor patriotic peasant family in Phu Loc village, Tien Ly commune, Ly Trai canton, Dien Chau prefecture (now Dong Loc hamlet, Dien Ngoc commune, Dien Chau district, Nghe An province). With the good traditions of his homeland and family, he was soon enlightened, absorbed progressive ideas, and followed the patriotic path of his predecessors.
When the Van Than - Can Vuong movement failed, the vibrant patriotic movements of the early 20th century, which peaked in 1906, 1907, and 1908, strongly influenced the patriotic youth class, including the young man Le Sy Than.
At this time, the student Le Sy Than, who was intelligent and quick-witted, enthusiastically collected many progressive books and newspapers, read newspapers, and wrote poems for his friends. He was one of the people who selected intellectuals in Tien Ly to study abroad under Phan Boi Chau's Dong Du program.
The first Patriotic Youth Organization in Tien Ly was established. They tried to contact the organization of the Dong Du movement to send some Tien Ly youths such as comrades: Mien Tu, Vo Van Ban, Nguyen Huu Tich... to Siam (Thailand). Here, the overseas organization led by Mr. Vuong Thuc Oanh and Mr. Dang Thuc Hua received and trained them before sending them to Japan to study. However, the number of people who were able to go was not much, and on the other hand, due to the colonialists' relentless search, arrest, and suppression, the movement could not be maintained continuously and regularly.
In the fall of 1926, comrade Le Sy Than was selected by the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association (abbreviated as the Youth Association) in Central Vietnam to attend a political training class in Guangzhou, China, along with comrades Vo Mai, Tran Phu, Le Duy Diem, Tran Van Cung, and Nguyen Dinh Tu. When he arrived in Hanoi, Le Sy Than had to return because he was not old enough (17 years old) according to the Association's regulations.
After attending classes at the Whampoa Military Academy, comrade Vo Mai returned to his hometown and contacted comrade Le Sy Than and a number of young people working at the Van Phan fish sauce association, organizing the establishment of the first "Revolutionary Youth Comrades Association" in Dien Chau including: Le Sy Than, Tran Toan, Duong Van Lan, Vo Tri, Tran Tan, etc. The association focused on gathering mass forces and attracting a large number of people to participate.
From the end of 1927 to 1929, in Dien Chau, the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association was established in 14 communes. In 1929, the Association was expanded from Van Phan to Thanh Bich and Ly Nhan. Comrade Le Sy Than, who was the Secretary of the Association in Van Phan, was assigned to Tien Ly to organize wards, associations and propagate the revolution. Here, he mobilized the establishment of associations such as: Filial Piety Association, Fish Sauce Association, Salt Association, etc.
The associations in Van Phan also organized many activities such as reading patriotic books, newspapers and poems, visiting each other, organizing funerals... with the aim of enlightening some members to become the nucleus for the Party base later. Le Sy Than was the one who had the merit of initiating and building a number of key cadres in the filial piety associations, fish sauce associations... to establish the "Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association" branch in Khoan Dong. Thanks to the activities of those early Communist organizations, the Vietnamese people became more deeply aware of the reactionary nature of the feudal and imperialist regimes taking place in their homeland.
In March 1927, at Mr. Tham's house - where the first anniversary of the death of Mr. Phan Chu Trinh - a patriotic scholar - was being commemorated, comrade Le Sy Than mobilized more than 20 people to attend. During the memorial service, everyone reviewed the eulogy that Mr. Phan Boi Chau read during the farewell ceremony for Mr. Phan Chu Trinh. The eulogy was widely circulated among the people, and many people read it by heart.
During that memorial service, Le Sy Than reminded the youth of Tien Ly that:“Gambling, drinking, womanizing and laziness are all vices. A person who depends on vices is a slave to love. A person who is a slave to love cannot accomplish great things.””. That saying has become a long-term practice of Tien Ly youth throughout the years of working in the Revolutionary Youth Association in this poor coastal area.
From 1925 to the end of 1929, Le Sy Than was the one who initiated the associations in Dien Chau to become the nucleus for the Party base later on. Le Sy Than's family was also the base that hid party cadres such as: comrade Vo Mai, Tran Van Cung, Tran Tien, Tran Toan...
On June 17, 1929, the Central Indochina Communist Party was established. The Van Phan Revolutionary Youth Comrades Association sub-group was one of the sub-groups of the Nghe An Provincial Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Comrades Association, which was transformed into the Indochina Communist Party cell, consisting of comrades Vo Mai, Le Sy Than, Tran Tien, Tran Toan, and Duong Van Lan. Comrade Le Sy Than was appointed as the association's secretary.
At the end of 1929, the Indochinese Communist Party advocated the implementation of the proletarianization movement. Comrade Le Sy Than was assigned by the Central Region Committee to operate and build the movement in the Long Tho Lime Factory - Thua Thien Hue. On July 20, 1929, comrade Nguyen Duc Tinh - Secretary of the Indochinese Communist Party Provincial Committee of Thua Thien Hue was captured by the enemy. Comrade Le Sy Than was appointed Secretary to replace comrade Tinh. After operating for a while, on November 16, 1929, comrade Le Sy Than was also captured by the enemy, sentenced to prison, and exiled to Lao Bao.
In Lao Bao prison, comrades Le Sy Than, Tran Van Cung, Nguyen Son Tra... still organized Party activities, opened classes to teach the national language, and studied Marxism-Leninism taught by Tran Van Cung. Le Sy Than copied all the lectures and bound them into a 10cm x 7cm book, then passed them around to study and research.
In early 1934, comrades in Lao Bao prison decided to launch a struggle through each cell in many forms, but without a hunger strike. The leadership included: comrades Le Sy Than, Tran Huu Duc, Ha The Hanh...
In August 1934, knowing that Le Sy Than was the leader of the struggles in the prison, the enemy imprisoned him in a solitary confinement cell and brutally beat and tortured him. After several years of continuous torture and imprisonment, he died in October 1940 at Lao Bao prison (Quang Tri).
In early 1945, the Cao Ngoc Tho youth group, a revolutionary organization in Dien Chau, mobilized and gathered young people and students in villages and communes to form National Salvation organizations under the Viet Minh Front and named them “Viet Minh Le Sy Than” to commemorate the loyal communist soldier of the homeland. The organization “Viet Minh Le Sy Than” was widely responded and participated by young people and the masses.
The life and revolutionary career of comrade Le Sy Than - a shining symbol of fighting spirit, sacrifice and courage, dedicating his whole life to the Fatherland and the revolution. Comrade Le Sy Than passed away at a very young age, but his contributions are truly a shining example for our young generations to strive for and follow./.
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References:
- Historical records of Dien Chau district 1930-2005 - Social Publishing House, Hanoi 2005.
- Historical records of Dien Ngoc commune 1930-2010 - Publishing House of Information and Communications - Hanoi 2010.
- Artifacts archives at XVNT Museum - 2007.
- Article about (Comrade Vo Mai) in the book Nghe An communist examples, volume 2.