President Ho Chi Minh delivering the Declaration of Independence at Ba Dinh Square on September 2nd, 1945 (file photo)

71 years ago, under the leadership of the Indochina Communist Party headed by President Ho Chi Minh, our people unanimously carried out the August General Uprising crushing the reign and oppression of the feudal and colonialist regime. Almost half a month later, on 2^nd September 1945, at Ba Dinh Square, on behalf of the entire people, President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence, solemnly announcing the birth of the Vietnam Democratic Republic to the world – the first worker-farmer state in the Southeast Asia region. The fundamental content and core thought of the Declaration are about national independence. This is also the consistent viewpoint that our Party and President Ho Chi Minh set for Vietnamese revolution. That viewpoint also represents our people’s earnest desire and it has been realized by the arduous and enduring efforts of our people under the leadership of the Party. The Declaration of Independence also represents the oath of Vietnamese people to defend their independence to the world and to those who intended to invade the country.

The Declaration not only marked an luminous milestone in the nation’s history, stating the independence, freedom and the right to independence and freedom of Vietnam and its people to the world, showed our iron will and determination to defend that inviolable right. This has been proved through the cause of struggle for national independence. Under the leadership of the Party, our people entered the two resistance wars against the French colonialist and the US imperialist aggressors with the spirit: “Rather sacrifice all than lose the country and be slaves”, “Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom”, “Independence and unification must be gained though we have to burn out Truong Son range”.

In the new situation, the basic spirit of the immortal Declaration and the valuable lessons learnt from the cause of struggle for national independence as well as national renovation, construction and protection over the past years are still of value. The independence we are enjoying is not only manifested in the existence of the Homeland, the maintenance of sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also in the way that we do not depend on outside forces in any fields. This means we have the right to decide all issues of concern, particularly our own revolutionary cause, the country’s development path, and internal and external policies. The important thing is how we inherit, apply and promote the spirit of the Declaration to fit the concrete conditions of the country amid the current context of globalization and international integration.

Accordingly, we must absolutely believe in the Party’s guidelines and leadership, be steadfast in the goal of national independence and socialism; resolutely and persistently struggle for the firm protection of the country’s independence, sovereignty, unification and territorial integrity in order to create a peaceful and stable environment for the country’s development. This is our goal, mission and also the ultimate interest of our country. For this reason, we do not permit any one to violate and damage that sacred thing. To protect national independence and socialism, we must uphold the country’s synergy; regularly strengthen defence and security potentials; build firm provincial (municipal) defensive areas; combine closely economic, cultural and social development with defence, security and diplomacy; combine the nation’s strength with that of the time, internal resources with external ones, etc. Particularly, we must attach importance to building strong people’s armed forces of which People’s Army and People’s Public Security must be “revolutionary, regular, seasoned and gradually modern” with ever higher comprehensive quality and combat strength. They must truly be absolutely loyal and reliable political forces of the Party, the State and the people and the core force in the cause of protecting the socialist Fatherland.

In reality, the concept of national independence has a very broad connotation, particularly in the current context of globalization and international integration. While the Declaration stated that “All nations are created equal. They have the right to life, happiness and liberty”, the 12^th National Congress of the Party decided  our external guidelines of: “ensuring the supreme national interests on the basis of fundamental principles of international law, equality and mutual benefit, consistently carrying out the foreign policy of independence, autonomy, peace, cooperation and development; diversifying and multi-lateralizing external relations; being proactive and active in international integration”. Accordingly, in external affairs, we should leverage outside resources to strengthen country’s comprehensive strength and pay attention to the anticipation of international, regional situations as well as new developments and trends relating to national defence and security. Then, we are able to actively propose to the Party and State solutions for contingencies, contributing to detering and annihilating possible risks threatening national independence.

Besides, our Party also pays attention to protecting human rights, attaching human rights with the national interests. It is manifested in the social guidelines and policies. Human rights and civilian rights are associated with and protected in each political, economic and social development stage. Over the past years, Vietnam has fully and actively participated in the UN and international organizations’ commitments and mechanisms for protecting human rights as well as the right to self-reliance of nations, anti-war and peacekeeping operations. The fulfillment of those commitments on the one hand reflects Vietnam’s responsibility to the international community, making contribution to the maintenance of security and stability in the region and the world, on the other hand contributes to firmly protecting national independence and socialism in the new situation.

Senior Colonel, M.A Nguyen Manh Dung