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| Maj. Gen. Ngo Thanh Hai addressing a conference |
The work of mass mobilization is an important element of the party and political work and a routine political task of military units. The successful implementation of this work represents the sentiment and responsibility of leaders and commanders at all levels as well as of every cadre and soldier, contributing to building and cementing the close-knit relationship between the military and the people and the “people’s hearts and minds posture”.
Perceiving the viewpoint on the mass mobilization work by President Ho Chi Minh and our Party, the Central Military Commission (CMC), Ministry of National Defence and General Department of Politics have issued resolutions, directives and guiding documents on this important work. Under the guidelines on staying close to the area and reality, the mass mobilization work in the entire Military has promoted the synergy of organizations and forces and succeeded in establishing many effective models of mass mobilization. Cadres and troops in the Military have been in the vanguard of the movements to help people foster socio-economic development, eradicate hunger, reduce poverty, build new-style rural area, prevent and control natural disasters, crime, and fight against hostile forces’ acts of sabotage and plots to divide the great national unity block. Those have contributed to polishing the image of Uncle Ho’s soldiers in the people’s minds and consolidating the people’s faith in the Party, State and Military.
Typically, units have stayed close to the area and objects, encouraged the people to follow the Party’s guidelines and the State’s law and policy and to perform localities’ task, particularly in isolated, remote, ethnic-inhabited, border, sea and island areas. Cadres and troops have always stayed close to the area, “eaten, lived, worked and spoken the same ethnic languages” with the people. The whole Military has well implemented the emulation movements and campaigns launched by the Party, State, and Military, such as “the whole people unite in building new-style rural and civilized urban areas”, “the whole country joins hand for the poor – no one left behind”, “gratitude”, “clever mass mobilization”, “good mass mobilization units”, and “hunger eradication and poverty reduction”. Units have cooperated with local party committees, authorities and organizations in facilitating socio-economic development, transferring agricultural techniques, and providing facilities, domestic animals and crop plants. Cadres and troops have played the core role in assisting the people in natural disaster prevention and mitigation. During the process of mass mobilization, the Military has established creative approaches and models, such as “Conducting mass mobilization work during marches” and “Strengthening the relationship between Kinh people’s households and ethnic minorities’ households” by the Corps 15, “Eradicating a hunger household, reducing a poor household” and “Jars of rice for the poor” by the Military Region 5, “Homes for the poor in border, sea and island areas”, “Bank of cows”, and “Supporting children’s schooling” by the Border Guard Force, and “Coast Guards accompany fisher-people” by the Coast Guard. As a result, those have contributed to improving the people’s material and mental life and cementing the national great unity block and the solidarity between the military and the people.
Units have actively taken part in building local political system, training grass-roots level military cadres, initiating new members into the Party, making hamlets and villages no longer devoid of party cells and members, dispatching cadres to join commune-level party committees and authorities, opportunely, effectively handling complex incidents at grass-roots level, particularly those related to ethnicity, religion and environmental pollution. They have cooperated with forces in fighting against drug and human trafficking, trade fraud, illegal exploitation of natural resources and acts of violation of national sovereignty and security. At the same time, units have stepped up propagation work to raise people’s awareness towards and maintain their vigilance against the “peaceful evolution” strategy and tricks of “self-evolution and self-transformation” by hostile forces, thereby maintaining political security and social order in the stationed areas.
However, in the process, several party committees and commanders have yet to be fully aware of the role and importance of the mass mobilization work or to proactively renew contents, forms and methods of operation to match the characteristics of objects and areas. Coordination in operations between organizations, offices and units in some aspects has yet to be close and timely, particularly in grasping and exchanging information, anticipating the situation, and settling complex cases.
At present, hostile forces are making best use of the issues on ethnicity, religion and human rights as well as our weaknesses to step up sabotage against the Party, State and Military, to divide the national great unity block and the military-civilian solidarity, and to enhance “self-evolution”, “self-transformation” and “Military depoliticization”. Against this backdrop, it is necessary that military units should continue to improve the quality and effectiveness of the mass mobilization work in order to consolidate the people’s faith in the Party, State and Military as well as the close-knit relationship between the military and the people. To that end, units should focus on the following measures.
First, grasping and strictly implementing the Party’s directives and resolutions on mass mobilization, particularly the Party Central Committee’s Resolution 25-NQ/TW (11th tenure) and the CMC’s Resolution 49-NQ/QUTW on “strengthening and renewing the Party’s leadership over mass mobilization in the new situation”. Units should enhance the work of propagation and education to raise cadres and troops’ awareness of the position and role of mass mobilization work and to promote the vanguard, exemplary role and working style of cadres and party members, particularly commanders at all levels, thus creating a huge change in their awareness and responsibility towards mass mobilization. At the same time, it is important to encourage the movement “clever mass mobilization” in line with the Military’s Determined to Win emulation movement, local patriotic emulation movements and other movements and campaigned launched by the Party, State, Fatherland Front, committees, ministries and sectors; to multiply new factors and typical examples in mass mobilization.
Second, being active in the staff work, improving the effectiveness of mass mobilization in areas and tasks, working out solutions to effectively dealing with new arising issues. To do so, it is essential to renew contents, forms and methods of mass mobilization in urban areas and industrial zones and actively take part in building strong grass-roots level political system and “people’s hearts and minds posture” in order to contribute to building strong defensive zones, particularly in border, sea and island areas. Due regard should be paid to reviewing practice, studying and developing theories of the Military’s mass mobilization in the new condition. During the course of implementation, the mass mobilization work must be directed towards grass-roots level, stay close to the people’s daily life, proactively cooperate with local party committees, authorities, organizations and forces in the area in grasping the situation, exchanging information, and tapping the synergy to effectively conducting the mass mobilization work. Local military offices should promote their role in giving advice to party committees and authorities and their function as the centre for cooperation with other forces in performing the mass mobilization work.
Third, encouraging the role and responsibility of party committees, commissars, and political offices in leading and directing the implementation of the mass mobilization work. Party committees should supplement and amend the leading and working regulations to make those relevant to their unit and office’s function and task, assign party committee members to be in charge of mass mobilization, align the results of mass mobilization with assessment and classification of party organizations and members as well as with the emulation and reward work on an annual basis. The commissar must assume the responsibility before the party committee and higher echelons for the implementation of the mass mobilization work. Meanwhile, the commander must proactively develop the plan to realize the resolution, review, amend, supplement and complete the regulations on work operation and management as well as renew working method and style. Political offices at all levels should give sound advice to party committees and commands on conducting reviews, applauding, rewarding and multiplying typical examples of mass mobilization while eradicating the signs of disregard for mass mobilization.
Fourth, regularly building and consolidating mass mobilization offices both qualitatively and quantitatively. Significance should be attached to improving mass mobilization cadres’ political stuff, morality, lifestyle, knowledge, professional competence, and working method so that they would be highly responsible, really enthusiastic and knowledgeable and devote themselves to serving the people. In addition, it is vital to correctly recruit cadres into mass mobilization offices at all levels and pay due attention to training and enhancing the capability and professional competence and skills of mass mobilization cadres, those who are deployed to reinforce grass-roots level units, working groups of mass mobilization, and cadres and troops, meeting the task requirements. At the same time, there should be preferential treatment policies for cadres, particularly those working in the remote, isolated, border, sea, and island areas and the key areas of defence and security to create a favourable condition for them to keep their mind on their work and unit.
Fifth, party committees and commands at all levels within the Military should step up the implementation of the 11th Politburo’s Conclusion 120-KL/TW on “Continuing to accelerate and improve the quality and effectiveness of the building and implementation of the Grass-Roots Level Democratic Regulations” and the CMC’s Directive 590-CT/ĐUQSTW on “Continuing to accelerate the building and implementation of the Grass-Roots Level Democratic Regulations in the Military”. Importance should be attached to renewing the working style, holding democratic dialogues, opportunely handling issues at grass-roots level, creating a sense of unity within the units. The role of mass organizations and soldiers’ councils in giving opinions to and discussing the measures to effectively implement resolutions of the party committee and orders by the commander towards the mass mobilization.
The improved effectiveness of the mass mobilization work is a task of paramount importance of the Military, particularly in today’s situation. The successful implementation of this work will help cement the close-knit relationship between the military and the people and ensure that the Military always relies on the people, promotes its core role in the Homeland protection cause, and fulfil its function and task assigned by the Party, State and people.
Maj. Gen. Ngo Thanh Hai, Director of the Department of Mass Mobilization