As a trite trick, prior to our people’s celebrations of the August Revolution and the Independence Day (September 2nd), hostile forces and political opportunists intensify their sabotage strategy with a view to distorting and denying the nature, significance and historical value of the 1945 August Revolution. Hence, the entire Party, Military and people should be responsible for clearly indentifying and fighting against those wrong, hostile arguments and distortions.
1. At present, distortions and fabrications by the hostile forces and political opportunists become more dangerous as we are heading for the 13th National Party Congress. The hostile forces’ sabotage campaign is aimed at lowering and denying the August Revolution’s historic value, and undermining the faith in the goal of national independence and socialism, in the renewal policy and in the Homeland construction and protection under the Party’s leadership amongst a number of our cadres and citizens who lack revolutionary vigilance and political zeal. Therefore, it is a matter of urgency that we must fight to frustrate all distortions of the August Revolution’s historical value in the current situation.
2. It can’t be denied that the 1945 August Revolution is logically, directly developed from our people’s patriotic movements in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, with a new political standpoint and combat method. In the first years of the 20th century, destroying the oppressive yoke of colonialism, liberating the people and gaining independence and freedom became the most important matter of Vietnam. To resolve this matter, in the country’s history, there were many different viewpoints and methods. However, the people assigned the Communist Party of Vietnam to lead the country after the national history had strictly tested political solutions by classes and political forces at that time. “To save the country and liberate the people, there is no other way than a proletarian revolution.” In 1930, the Communist Party of Vietnam as the political party of Vietnam’s working class was established to meet unavoidable demand of the working class and settle the basic and urgent matter of “national liberation.”
After 15 years of struggle full of difficulties and hardships, under the clever leadership of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh, our people successfully conducted the 1945 August Revolution, destroying shackles of colonialism, establishing the first Worker-Peasant State in the Southeast Asia, opening up a new era of independence, freedom and socialism in the national history. That is an indispensable logic of the national history’s development and since the Party’s inception, there can’t be another one. Only by comprehending that logic could we realise the August Revolution’s inevitability and true value. That logic in the country’s history enables us to refute all arguments by the hostile forces and political opportunists aimed at distorting the success of the August Revolution, undermining and denying the Party’s leadership role and this great revolution’s historical value. The success of the August Revolution proves that the class mission and the national mission undertaken by the Party are wedded to each other inseparably. The Party led the people to successfully conduct the August Revolution, which could be seen as the performance of its class mission and national mission. It is not a “usurpation of power” as the hostile forces and political opportunists distort and fabricate.
3. The August Revolution can’t be a “thing that should not be done” as the hostile forces and political opportunists claim. It is not true to say that “when replacing the French Colonialists, the Japanese Fascists installed the government of Tran Trong Kim; hence, a revolution is “unnecessary.” In fact, “national independence brought to the Tran Trong Kim government by Japan could not be a symbol of Vietnamese people’s will and desire for unification and liberation. That government placed itself opposite the development trend of the country’s history and the times. Tran Trong Kim himself ever said that “we must be grateful to Great Japan for our national independence,” believing that “thanks to the trust of King Bao Dai, the people’s support, and Great Japan’s honesty,” we could “build a solid foundation for our Vietnam’s peace and prosperity to last forever.” It is clear to all of us that the government of Tran Trong Kim was only a puppet organisation unable to perform missions set by itself. That government was the direct result of Japanese Fascists’ occupation and rule; therefore, the fall of this government is inevitable.
The Vietnamese people determinedly rose up to liberate themselves, master and change their own life; they did not want to be “half-liberated”; they did not “believe in Great Japan’s honesty” as they knew that they would be put under “slavery and protectorate” by other countries.
Against the backdrop of complex global and domestic situation at that time, liberation of Vietnamese people required a profound and radical revolution. The August Revolution did reflect and satisfy those requirements, with its goal and task. At that time, the task of urgency of Vietnamese people was to liberate the nation, national liberation and independence was the first priority, but it was just the initial step. The success of the August Revolution enabled us to “seize power as the direct goal of all revolutions,” but another basic and important mission of a revolution is to establish a new government, consolidate and use that government to build a new society, bring a new free, healthy, wealthy life to the labouring people.
There is a fact that the August Revolution is the cause of national liberation in which our people liberated themselves. Under our Party’s leadership, our people’s aspirations for independence, liberty and happiness, which had been repressed under the yoke of colonialism and feudalism, was sparked off by the strength that could “move mountains” by the masses in the revolutionary process. The August Revolution “toppled the monarchy that had existed in tens of centuries, destroyed shackles of colonialism which had prevailed within our society in nearly 100 years, brought power to the people, and built a solid foundation for the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, national independence, freedom and happiness. That was an extremely far-reaching change in our country’s history.”
It was the first time in the national history the labouring people, who had been enslaved and oppressed, rose up for their mastery, brought power to themselves, ruled and constructed a new society by themselves. Since the August Revolution, “our people have become masters of our country.” Consolidating the people’s authority, constructing the country, and eliminating “hunger” and “illiteracy” as our “enemies” together with defeating a “foreign invasion” were matters of extremely urgency that our new Government had to deal with. The outcome of the Revolution continued to be strengthened via the first General Election to the National Assembly on January 6th, 1946 when our people happily enjoyed the rights of independent, free citizens.” This is a revolution which is not aimed at replacing an oppressive regime with another one; this revolution was conducted to remove oppression and inequality, bring mastery over the country to the people, and fundamentally change their position in the society. It is indisputable that the August Revolution is a profound and radical one.
Such a revolution and such a profound and radical national liberation cause in the country’s history must not be an “unnecessary thing” as the hostile forces and political opportunists think. In fact, that argument goes against the history, the nation and the people and it could not deceive anyone. The revolution is inevitable and it was conducted resolutely, opportunely, quickly, and radically.
4. The August Revolution is extremely valuable to the Vietnamese people, the world and even the times. A nation could not gain independence or freedom unless it rises up to liberate and save itself together with appropriate political guidelines for its struggle. That truth about struggle was proved by the 1945 August Revolution. Our Revolution strongly encouraged the oppressed peoples around the globe and especially the people in Asia, Africa and Latin America to fight against oppression and subjugation for the sake of their national liberation, independence and freedom.
The August Revolution proved that independence and freedom of a nation and its people is a noble, sacred value as evidenced by President Ho Chi Minh’s saying: “nothing is more precious than independence and freedom.” “A people who have courageously opposed French domination for more than eighty years, a people who have fought side by side with the Allies against the fascists during these last years, such a people must be free and independent.” After gaining independence and freedom, a government must take care of its people’s material and spiritual life, which is the true value of independence and freedom. When national independence and freedom is violated, all people must resolutely fight to defend the country under the spirit of “sacrificing everything rather than losing the country and being enslaved.” It is a matter of principle and historical value that can’t be denied or distorted.
To fully understand the historical value and profound significance of our people’s August Revolution, we should take a look back on the global and domestic situation at that time when our people were under the French Colonialists’ yoke; moreover, we should take the national history’s development since the Party’s inception into consideration. All arguments, such as the Party’s “usurpation of power,” a “lucky” revolution,” or “unnecessary thing” by the hostile forces and political opportunists, aimed at distorting and denying the August Revolution’s value and significance, are a farce only.
Associate Prof. NGUYEN MANH HUONG, PhD