The building of a firm “posture of people’s hearts and minds” plays a core role in constructing provincial-level defensive zones. It serves as a determinant to the construction of the All-People Border Defence within the province of Kon Tum. This work has also been seen as a breakthrough in the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics and lifestyle by the Provincial Border Guard of Kon Tum.

President Ho Chi Minh ever said: “within a society, to achieve success, there should be three elements, namely clement weather, favourable terrain, and concord among the people. Those three factors are all important. However, clement weather is not so important as favourable terrain, while the latter is less important than concord among the people. Concord means a consensus amongst everyone.” In fact, the building of the “posture of people’s hearts and minds” is to achieve “concord among the people” and to encourage patriotism and a sense of unity among all citizens to bring into play the synergy in the Homeland construction and protection. Being fully aware of that fact, over the years, with the support from the Party, the State, the Government, ministries and sectors, the province of Kon Tum has made comprehensive progress, the people’s material and mental life has been improved, defence and security have been maintained, all citizens have shown their faith in all-level party committees and authorities, and they have always kept their mind on their production and business. However, the province shares a 292-km-long border with Laos and Cambodia. The total area in the border is large together with high mountains and jungles. The province has a sparse population with a low level of education. A number of depraved customs still exist. In the meantime, socio-economic and cultural development in the border area is lower than the province’s average rate, while the percentage of poverty is still high. Political security and social order and safety are confronted with complex, unpredictable factors. Things mentioned above greatly impacts on the building of the “posture of people’s hearts and minds” in the border area.

Giving instructions on COVID-19 prevention and control to locals

Against that backdrop, the Provincial Border Guard (PBG) of Kon Tum has proactively cooperated with sectors and committees of the province and border districts in conducting the work of education and propagation to raise the awareness and responsibility of the political system and locals towards the management and protection of border. Many courses for cadres at commune and village levels on law dissemination have been held. The work of defence and security education for persons with great prestige has been well conducted. The movement of all people’s participation in safeguarding national border sovereignty in the new situation has been effectively organised. In addition to propagation via mass media, the PBG’s offices and units have included this work in refresher courses, conferences, meetings, and local annual emulation movements, such as “All-People Border Defence Day,” “All-People National Defence Festive Day,” “All people take part in protecting national security,” “March in the border,” “Class in the border,”  and “Tet holiday for the military and the people.” At the same time, the PBG has also carried out the work of propagation and education for the people from the two sides of the border via military diplomatic, people-to-people exchange, and twinning programmes, natural disaster and epidemic prevention and control, search and rescue, free medical examination and treatment, and exchange programmes on the occasion of major political events and national holidays, such as the First Border Friendship Exchange Programme between Kon Tum and Rattnakiri province of Cambodia and Attapeu and Sekong provinces of Laos, and the Annual Conference on joint patrols between the PBG and the border guard forces of Laos and Cambodia as well as on the building of a border of peace, friendship, stability and development. As a result, the responsibility of cadres and locals for protecting territories and border has been raised. Most of the people working in the border belt or near border targets have been self-consciously committed to managing, inspecting and protecting border sections and markers, while actively encouraging their relatives and other people to proactively grasp and provide information relating to territorial sovereignty, political security, and social order and safety for local authorities and border guard posts.

Uncle Ho ever said that “good or bad things partly depend on cadres’ ability. However, they also lean on leadership. Clever and flexible leadership could lead to great success.” Being imbued with the President’s teachings, the PBG’s Party Committee and Command have taken a lot of measures to build strong political bases in the border area. In this regard, significance has been attached to selecting, training and deploying cadres with good qualities and great capacity to work at localities. The PBG has promoted the role of delegations and cadres assigned to work at border communes’ party committees in grasping localities’ situation and help localities to screen the quality of party members and consolidate party organisations within hamlets and villages. Great value has been attached to initiating new members into the Party and building a strong contingent of village-level cadres on a par with their task requirements, thereby contributing to making 5 villages and hamlet no longer “devoid” of party members and enabling party committees, authorities, the Fatherland Fronts, and other unions within villages and hamlets to operate more efficiently. Many of cadres at border communes have been mature from classes organised by “green-badge teachers.” Besides, the PBG has proactively cooperated with the Provincial Youth Union in assigning border guard cadres to work at commune-level youth unions, thus making contributions to raising the quality of youth union operations and youth movements within both localities and the PBG. Due attention has been paid to deploying the PBG’s party members to attend hamlet-level party cells’ meetings and assigning ethnic border guard cadres to help ethnic households in difficulty with production. Doing so has enabled the PBG to both safeguard the national border security and encourage the masses to take part in economic development and security and order protection, contributing to making political bases in Kon Tum province’s border area increasingly strong.

The PBG has actively participated in localities’ socio-economic and cultural development via specific activities. Realising local advantages and potential, the PBG has persistently given assistance to the people and gradually encouraged them to actively take part in localities’ socio-economic development programmes/projects and change their method of production. It has cooperated with offices, sectors and committees in surveying, identifying and constructing zones for agricultural production according to new-style countryside criteria in accordance with the border area’s particularities. It has also actively advised and worked with localities to build models and facilities for the people’s production, while directly helping locals to harvest crops, clean up hamlets and villages, construct and repair communal houses. Under the mottos: “border guard post is like home, the border is like hometown, and ethnic locals are like brothers,” cadres and soldiers of the PBG have worked with locals to build effective models of socio-economic development within the border area.

To mobilise resources for models and projects, the PBG has proactively collaborated with the all-level Fatherland Fronts, offices and sectors both inside and outside the province, and enterprises in establishing funds. As a result, there have been many effective, long-term models. For instance, the PBG and localities have managed to raise and provide 124 cows for 67 households. The progamme entitled “supporting children’s schooling” has given financial assistance worth 500,000 VND per month for 75 pupils in difficulty. Regarding the model of “border guard post’s adopted children,” 14 border guard posts have adopted 14 children. The PBG has constructed hundreds of “houses for the poor in the border area,” “houses of great unity,” and houses of charity as well as a lot of public facilities for the people’s daily life.

Assisting members of Women’s Unions in production

The PBG has cooperated with the Provincial Women’s Union and those of Hanoi city and Dong Nai and Ben Tre provinces in executing the Programme titled “assisting frontier women” within 5 border communes. Under this Programme, many houses of unity have been built, while models, such as “women join the PBG in defending border line and markers in tandem with protecting natural resources and minerals,” “ethnic women’s team for raising pigs,” and “team for growing high-quality cassava,” with products acquired by enterprises have allowed the people to keep their mind on their work. The system of inter-commune and inter-village roads has been basically constructed, repaired and upgraded in line with the border patrol road, which has created a favourable condition for the people’s business and production. Up to now, 13% of poor households in the border area have overcome poverty sustainably. 96% of households have accessed the national electricity grid. 85% of households have possessed solid houses. 4 out of 13 border communes have reached the new-style countryside criteria.

In addition, offices and units of the PBG have actively advised party committees and authorities of border communes on establishing regulations on building advanced and civilised lifestyle as well as maintaining and developing traditional handicraft villages and fine customs of ethnic minorities. Consideration has been given to promoting the role of village patriarchs, persons with great prestige, and ethnic cadres in encouraging the people to remove backward customs and develop cultural villages and hamlets.

Studying and following Uncle Ho’s teachings with specific, practical deeds, the PBG of Kon Tum has made contributions to building a firm “posture of people’s hearts and minds” in the border area, consolidating the people’s faith in local party committees and authorities, and bringing the Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies to locals. Doing so will also give an incentive to locals’ participation in patrolling and defending the national border within the province.

Sr. Col. LE MINH CHINH, Commissar of the PBG