Post by AllPowerToThePeopleGuest on Apr 27, 2005 16:57:47 GMT -5
The following is a statement from the Free People's Movement on the 30th Anniversary of the fall of Saigan and victory of the heroic Vietnamese People. This message appears online at www.freepeoplesmovement.org/viet.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, April 30th will mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, which signified the victory of the heroic Vietnamese people's against Imperialism after many years of war.
Cuban Defense Minister Raul Castro begain a week long visit to Vietnam on Tuesday, April 26th, where he will join tens of thousands of it's people in celebrations of the anniversary. He is accompanied by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, Ramiro Valdes (an original military commander of the July 26th movement that lead the victorious Cuban Revolution), and Fernando Remirez de Estenoz, head of international relations for the Communist Party of Cuba. Cuban leaders such as Fidel Castro and Ernesto 'Che' Guevara were among the most vocal in calling for increased support to the Vietnamese people from the so-called 'socialist bloc' during the war.
It was on April 30th, in 1975, that a North Vietnamese (People's Army of Vietnam) tank crashed through the gates of the presidential palace in Saigon, long since renamed Ho Chi Minh city after the revolutionary leader and founder of the Vietnamese Communist Party.
The Vietnam War, in which the US military utilized terrorism and napalm against combatants and civilians alike in an attempt to crush the will of the Vietnamese people in their struggle for national liberation, and which left 58,000 US troops and nearly 4,000,000 Vietnamese men, women and children dead, ended a few hours after the departure of the last Americans by helicopter from the roof of the US embassy. The puppet president of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), General Duong Van Minh (aka Big Minh) -- who had been hastily installed in the regime's dying days -- had no choice but to admit defeat. The National Liberation Front's blue and red flag with a golden star was raised above the palace.
Unfortunately, and to a large extent because of the material conditions of the time, the Vietnamese people weren't able to establish socialism even after victory, contrary to claims of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The Free People's movement stands in solidarity with the people of Vietnam; and while recognizing their achievements, and supporting them against imperialism, we must also be critical of the Vietnamese Government's policies and push for increased worker control and worker's democracy so that socialism can finally be realized.
Nonetheless April 30th marks a historic day in the struggle of oppressed people around the world. Let us celebrate this monumental achievment, knowing a defeat of imperialism anywhere is a victory for oppressed people everywhere!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, April 30th will mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, which signified the victory of the heroic Vietnamese people's against Imperialism after many years of war.
Cuban Defense Minister Raul Castro begain a week long visit to Vietnam on Tuesday, April 26th, where he will join tens of thousands of it's people in celebrations of the anniversary. He is accompanied by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, Ramiro Valdes (an original military commander of the July 26th movement that lead the victorious Cuban Revolution), and Fernando Remirez de Estenoz, head of international relations for the Communist Party of Cuba. Cuban leaders such as Fidel Castro and Ernesto 'Che' Guevara were among the most vocal in calling for increased support to the Vietnamese people from the so-called 'socialist bloc' during the war.
It was on April 30th, in 1975, that a North Vietnamese (People's Army of Vietnam) tank crashed through the gates of the presidential palace in Saigon, long since renamed Ho Chi Minh city after the revolutionary leader and founder of the Vietnamese Communist Party.
The Vietnam War, in which the US military utilized terrorism and napalm against combatants and civilians alike in an attempt to crush the will of the Vietnamese people in their struggle for national liberation, and which left 58,000 US troops and nearly 4,000,000 Vietnamese men, women and children dead, ended a few hours after the departure of the last Americans by helicopter from the roof of the US embassy. The puppet president of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), General Duong Van Minh (aka Big Minh) -- who had been hastily installed in the regime's dying days -- had no choice but to admit defeat. The National Liberation Front's blue and red flag with a golden star was raised above the palace.
Unfortunately, and to a large extent because of the material conditions of the time, the Vietnamese people weren't able to establish socialism even after victory, contrary to claims of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The Free People's movement stands in solidarity with the people of Vietnam; and while recognizing their achievements, and supporting them against imperialism, we must also be critical of the Vietnamese Government's policies and push for increased worker control and worker's democracy so that socialism can finally be realized.
Nonetheless April 30th marks a historic day in the struggle of oppressed people around the world. Let us celebrate this monumental achievment, knowing a defeat of imperialism anywhere is a victory for oppressed people everywhere!