Comprehending the role of ethnic minority cadres in general and ethnic minority political cadres (hereafter EMPCs) in particular in the cause of building and protecting the border areas, over the past years, the Central Military Commission (CMC) and the Ministry of National Defense (MND) have always directed its agencies and units to set out guidelines and measures to improve the quality of this contingent. Thanks to that, many ethnic minority cadres, including battalion-level EMPCs, have performed the core role in agencies and units, making an important contribution to the cause of building the Army, consolidating national defense, and safeguarding the Homeland in revolutionary periods.

However, the party committees and commanders in some agencies and units have not been fully aware of the important role of EMPCs, especially in key strategic, border, remote and isolated areas. Therefore, they have not been fully brought into full play this staff’s role, capability and strength. The work of training EMPCs has still exposed some limitations and not been actively and proactively conducted right at the grassroots level yet. In particular, appointed selection enrolment has been applied for a number of cases, so the recruitment quality, especially the education level of ethnic minority cadets is still low. Some EMPCs after graduation have faced difficulties in adapting to their work, bringing about poor task performance. Particularly, some cadres have not completed the task and violated military discipline.

In order to build the Army politically as a basis for enhancing comprehensive quality and fighting power, meeting the requirements of national defense cause, it is necessary to improve the quality of a contingent of political cadres at all levels, including EMPCs at battalion level. This is considered as a consistent and long-term strategic policy of the Party, CMC, MND and units in the entire Army. Therefore, it is required to have synchronous guidelines and solutions at all steps and stages, with a focus on the following points.

First, continuing thoroughly grasping and well executing the Party’s views and guidelines on the work of ethnic minority cadres in the Army. This is a matter of principle and plays a very important position, ensuring practical effectiveness in the process of building the contingent of EMPCs at battalion level. Therefore, the party committees must have thorough understanding and well realize the Party’s views and guidelines  on the personnel work in the Army as well as the work of ethnic minority cadres, especially Resolution No. 51/NQ-TW by the Politburo (9^th tenure) and Resolution 513/NQ-ĐUQSTƯ by the Central Military Party Committee (now the CMC) on “Continuing perfecting the leadership mechanism of the Party, implementing the commander - commissar regime in the Vietnam People’s Army”, Resolution 769-NQ/QUTW on building a contingent of military cadres in the 2013-2020 period and beyond. Grounded on those documents, due regard should be paid to determining objectives and tasks, concretizing criteria of quality, capacity, working method and style of the battalion level EMPCs in accord with the environment characteristics and objects for the sake of effective management and education. In parallel with that, content, method and measure need to be scientifically and creatively identified to develop the system of their quality, capacity, working method, manner and style, ensuring the suitability for operating area’s particularities, people’s customs and habits in the stationed area, and groups of cadres and soldiers under their management. In the exercising process, it should avoid all manifestations of mechanical imitation, conservatism, “major ethnicity”, “illiberal ethnicity”, and “ethnic discrimination”. Along with that, it is crucial to arrange, consolidate and use the EMPCs appropriate to each region, each unit to meet the requirements of successfully executing the Party’s political and military guidelines and the Army and unit’s tasks.

Second, well implementing personnel work’s principles, procedures and contents; heightening the quality of training in parallel with promoting the positive and self-aware role of each EMPC at battalion level. Party committees undertake the leadership over the personnel work in units according to their assigned responsibility, ensuring that “the Party exercises the leadership over the personnel work and personnel management under the principle of democratic centralism”. Accordingly, party committees need to specify the objectives, plans, contents, and methods of management, education and training for the sake of the bolstered quality of battalion level EMPCs of their responsibility. In the process, significance should be attached to taking account of the Army and unit’s tasks as well as the potential and development trend of each EMPC to formulate proper, scientific, and suitable plans; to proposing effective measures, especially to educate and train this contingent. To that end, party committees must firmly grasp and strictly execute the principles, contents and procedures of personnel work; requirements for quality, capacity, working method and style of battalion level EMPCs. At the same time, they also need to well carry out the inspection and evaluation, ensuring objectivity, science, initiative and creativity, contributing to improving the quality of battalion level EMPCs and meeting immediate and basic, long-term demands.

The majority of EMPCs come from mountainous, border, remote, isolated and island areas with limited level of awareness and understanding of political and social issues. Therefore, schools and educational institutions must continue improving their training objectives and requirements in conformity with the responsibilities, tasks and operation characteristics of EMPCs after graduation. In the process, due attention must be paid to actively renovating education - training contents, forms and methods in accord with the objects, teaching theory associated with increasing practice of party and political work situations in the tasks right at schools, ensuring suitability with the characteristics, cognitive capacity, psychology and culture of EMPCs. Simultaneously, emphasis should be placed on building motivation, attitude, responsibility, role of self-study, self-training as well as fostering methods of self-education for cadets; organizing and diversifying practical activities of party and political work in complicated conditions to train, challenge, and help EMPCS have a steadfast political willpower and show their willingness to receive and well complete the assigned tasks.

Third, promoting synergy and close cooperation among forces inside and outside the Army; closely combining ideological work with organizational and policy work. Each organization and force should clearly define its function, duty, authority and responsibility for raising the quality of EMPCs at battalion level. Consideration should be taken to building a leadership and cooperation mechanism to maximize the activeness and creativity of organizations and forces in determining contents, forms and measures to enhance the quality of EMPCs. In the process, it is necessary to avoid overlaps of functions, tasks or manifestations of perfunctorily conducting the contents with low efficiency. Grounded on the higher echelon’s instructions and resolutions, units need to study and apply them to well fulfilling the work of training and cultivation; developing and standardizing the contents, programmes and methods of training battalion level EMPCs. In each lecture, in addition to the prescribed contents, instructors should pay attention to including the propagation against manifestations of superstition, moral and lifestyle degradation; proactively fighting against all allegations of hostile forces taking advantage of ethnic and religious issues to undermine the great unity of our country.

Military schools, especially the Political Officer College, play a particularly important role in improving the quality of EMPCs. Therefore, it is vital to continue undertaking researches and closely cooperating with functional agencies in synchronously carrying out solutions, especially the ones to heightening the quality of pre-selection, recruitment, examination, evaluation, and post-inspection. At the same time, significance should be attached to studying, perfecting and standardizing training models; innovating training contents, programmes and methods as well as teaching and learning methods; strengthening the coordination between schools and units in conducting training, internship, and so forth, ensuring conformity with characteristics and operating environment of the contingent of EMPCs.

Units’ party committees and organizations directly lead, direct, guide and organize the implementation. Together with advising functional agencies to determine guidelines and solutions for leadership and direction close to the tasks and object characteristics, these committees and organizations need to take the initiative in helping EMPCs and put them into practical situations of party and political work in their units to make the contingent of EMPCs improve their qualifications and working capacity. Based on the functions, tasks and characteristics of the stationed area, the units should actively cooperate with local party organizations, authorities and unions in EMPCs management, education and training; closely combine ideological work with organizational and policy work to create a comprehensive and synchronous impact in order to raise the quality, capability, method, manner and style of EMPCs at battalion level. Meanwhile, it needs to make EMPCs imbued with basic and core theories of Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s thought, Party’s political and military guidelines, Army’s missions, hostile forces’ plots and artifices, help them form scientific worldview and methodology and develop the trust and infinite loyalty to the Fatherland, Party and people. Thereby, the contingent of EMPCs can promote their role in propagating and mobilizing people, making a contribution to developing our economy, culture and society, bringing about a great unity within the nation, building a “posture of people’s hearts and minds” and fighting against the wrong views of hostile forces in the stationed area.

The above-mentioned issues have a leading and guiding role throughout all the activities of training, cultivating, and bolstering the quality of battalion level EMPCs. Therefore, it is essential to master and apply creatively these issues, avoid absolutism or underestimation of any, contributing to raising the quality of battalion level EMPCs and meeting the revolutionary and Army’s task requirements in the new situation.

Maj. Gen. Tran Quang Trung, Deputy Political Commissar of the Political Officer College