Distorting and denying the Victory Day of April 30, 1975 is a familiar trick of hostile forces when April comes every year, in order to lower the stature, meaning and value of the resistance war against the US for national salvation of our country. However, those are just lost voices.

At 11:30 a.m. on April 30, 1975, the flag of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam fluttered on the roof of the Independence Palace, marking a sacred moment for the Vietnamese people, gloriously ending the resistance war against the US for national salvation which lasted for 21 years (1954 - 1975). Since then, April 30 has become the official holiday of the Vietnamese people, named the Victory Day, or the Reunification Day. On this day, our Party, people and army often hold many commemorative activities to celebrate this great historical event. However, as usual, some extremist anti-communist figures abroad have published articles and given interviews with a false and hostile view of April 30, 1975. They called the war waged by the US imperialists in Vietnam in the 1954 - 1975 period "the civil war between the North and the South"; called April 30, 1975 as "National Hatred Day" and April 1975 as "Black April", ... in order to distort the nature, deny the stature, meaning and value of the resistance war against the US for national salvation of our people, inciting hatred lingered in a number of people who still miss puppet status for the American imperialists. However, their voices can’t change the true stature, meaning and value of Victory Day on April 30.

Regarding the nature of the war (1954-1975) in Vietnam, all historical evidences have confirmed that this was a war of aggression against Vietnam waged by the US imperialists. The plot of the US imperialists was to "Destroy our people's patriotic movement, annex the South and turn it into a new-style colony and military base of the US, and set up a defence line to prevent communism from spreading to Southeast Asia; at the same time, taking the South as a base to attack the North, the outpost of the world socialist system in Southeast Asia, in order to crush and repel socialism in this region, encircle and threaten other socialist countries”. To carry out that conspiracy, the US imperialists spent as much as 676 billion USD, "mobilising 70% of the army, 60% of marines, 40% of the navy, 60% of the air force at its peak. At one time, more than half a million American troops were deployed to the battlefields of South Vietnam (not to mention the troops of some allied countries), and the most modern weapons and means of war were mobilised to fight the Vietnamese people. Those evidences have exposed the distortion that "this is a civil war between the Vietnamese people". Many Western scholars, American politicians, and those who served in the Saigon regime also refuted that point. The author of the book Vietnam War and American Culture (published in 1991 in the US) affirmed that: "In short, the US invaded South Vietnam". Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, admitted: “We were wrong. Sending US military forces into Vietnam is the worst solution”. And Professor Tran Chung Ngoc - former Saigon army officer frankly expressed: "With new understandings of the war, we already know that the post-Geneva war is the war of aggression conducted by the American because of the false Domino theory... This is the conclusion of Western scholars, considering historical facts and not partisan sentiments”. Even Vice President of the Republic of Vietnam Nguyen Cao Ky admitted: “This is an American war. America always acted as "star", and we were just mercenaries". With some historical facts mentioned above, it can be confirmed that the war from 1954 to 1975 in Vietnam was not a "civil war", but the resistance of the Vietnamese people against aggression of the American imperialists. That resistance war won a complete victory on April 30, 1975 with the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign.

Our Military’s tanks entering the Independence Palace on April 30, 1975

Regarding the stature, meaning and value of Victory Day on April 30, 1975, the overwhelming majority of Vietnamese people consider it a brilliant milestone in the nation's history of fighting against foreign invaders, opening a new development era which is more brilliant for the country; not “Black April” or “National Hatred Day” as lamented by some radical anti-communists abroad. The resistance war against the US for national salvation with the decisive victory on April 30, 1975 had great significance for the struggle for independence and freedom for the nation, peace for the country, and at the same time had significance of the times. Assessing the stature and significance of the April 30 Victory, the 4^th National Congress of our Party affirmed that: "Time goes by, but the victory of our people in the resistance war against the US for national salvation will forever be inscribed in our nation's history as one of the most glorious pages, a shining symbol of the victory of revolutionary heroism and human intelligence, and entered the world's history as a great victory of the twentieth century, an event of great international importance and profound epochalism".

For the Vietnamese revolution, it is the biggest, most complete, and greatest victory to realise the revolutionary goals led by our Party and President Ho Chi Minh; a heroic and brilliant page on the country’s thousand-year-history of national construction and defence. We defeated the most powerful and ferocious enemy in the twentieth century; gloriously ended the 30-year battle for independence, freedom, and reunification of the country; put an end to over a century of domination of old and new colonialism in our country; basically completed the people's democratic national revolution in the whole country; ushered in a new era of national development when our country is completely independent and unified, people live in peace and freedom to build a prosperous and happy life. With this victory, our Party and people are able to concentrate all material and spiritual resources to carry out the cause of building socialism through out the country. It can be said that without the April 30 Victory, we would not be able to carry out neither the renovation cause nor the industrialisation and modernisation and achieve great achievements of historical significance over the past 50 years. Today, the country has escaped from the status of a poor and underdeveloped country, and become a developing country with a middle income level. In 2020, the country’s economic scale and potential ranked in the top 40 largest economies in the world and fourth in ASEAN. From a poor and backward agricultural country, Vietnam has become a world leading exporter of rice and many agricultural products (coffee, cashew nut, seafood, rubber, etc.). Its economic structure has shifted positively towards industrialisation and modernisation, with industry and services accounting for about 85% of GDP. Our country has established diplomatic relations with most of the member states of the United Nations, including the five permanent members of the UN Security Council; has economic - trade and investment relations with 230 countries and territories; is a member of many major international economic institutions. Vietnam has been elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council twice and held many important positions in other international organisations. The living standards of all classes of people are constantly being improved. The rate of poor households decreased from 58% in 1993 to less than 03% in 2020 according to the multidimensional poverty standard. Vietnam is recognised by the United Nations as one of the leading countries to realise the Millennium Development Goals. Its social and political stability is maintained, defence and security are strengthened; national independence and sovereignty are safeguarded. Those achievements show that, after April 30, 1975, the country is by no mean "dark and gloomy" like what hostile and reactionary forces said. On the contrary, "Our country has never had such opportunity, potential, position and international prestige like today". As for Ho Chi Minh City, after nearly 50 years of construction, development and healing the wound of war, the Party Committee, government and people of the city have always promoted the spirit of the April 30 Victory, overcome difficulties and challenges to obtain great and comprehensive achievements in all fields. The city has become a special metropolis, a hub, and an economic locomotive of the country, contributing 23% of GDP and 27% to the national budget. Its people’s living standards are improved, social security is guaranteed, the lives of the poor and policy families are taken care of with many progressive policies. Political security, social order and safety in the city are maintained. The above fact is an eloquent proof of refuting distortions and denial of the meaning and value of the Victory Day on April 30, 1975.

For the world, our April 30 Victory is a typical one of the world revolutionary forces, smashing the biggest strategic counter-offensive (since the Second World War) of imperialism into the three revolutionary movements of the times, disrupting the counter-revolutionary global strategy of imperialism, breaking the important line of American imperialism in Southeast Asia; contributes to promoting the struggle of the world's people for the goals of national independence, peace, democracy and social progress; encourages the nations carrying out the cause of national liberation and anti-imperialist, creating favourable conditions for the victories of Lao and Cambodian revolutions; puts an end to neo-colonialism around the world. The April 30 Victory of the Vietnamese people confirms one truth that, today, a nation though not large in area or population, even with the absence of a developed economy, may still very well defeat much stronger invaders if it has solidarity, determination, right and creative revolutionary lines suitable to its own conditions and circumstances, and the help of international friends.

Nearly 50 years have passed, but the stature, meaning and value of the April 30 Victory continue to shine, motivating the entire Party, people and army to firmly step on the path of renewal to build a Vietnam with "rich people, strong, democratic, equal, civilised country", as powerful and happy as developed countries. History and reality refute all distortions and denials of the stature, meaning and value of our April 30 Victory Day.

NGUYEN NGOC HOI