Being imbued with President Ho Chi Minh’s thought of people’s roles and strength in the revolutionary cause, Long An Provincial Border Guard’s Party Committee and Command have been leading and directing the building of the strong “people’s hearts and minds posture” in border areas to meet the demands and duties of managing and protecting the border sovereignty and security in the locality.

Long An province, which is located in the Southern key economic region, is the area connecting the South East and the Mekong Delta, having the land border of over 130km, bordering with 2 provinces of Svay Rieng and Pray Veng in Cambodia. The areas under the Provincial Border Guard consist of 20 communes in 6 border districts and towns, with over 29 thousand/110 thousand of households of different ethnic groups and religions. With these features, in recent years, on thoroughly grasping the guidelines and policies by the Party, State, Central Military Commission, Ministry of National Defence, and directly by the Provincial Party Committee and the Border Guard’s Party Committee and Command on protecting the national border sovereignty and security, the Provincial Border Guard has effectively proved its core and specialised role in managing and protecting the border sovereignty and security. The movement of “the whole people joining hands to protect the territorial sovereignty and national border security in the new situation” has been synchronously and effectively carried out; people in border areas have seriously complied with the Party’s guidelines, the State’s policies and laws, trusted in the Border Guard and the local party committees and governments; actively developed the economy and culture, built the new, prosperous and happy life and actively joined hands to manage and firmly protect the national border sovereignty and security in all situations.

However, the border areas in the Province still have many difficulties and challenges such as: high rate of poor households and illiteracy, limited quality and effectiveness of the local political system. Meanwhile, the hostile and reactionary forces have enhanced continuously their acts of sabotage; local people lack legal knowledge; criminal offences, particularly drug-related crimes, trading frauds, illegal border crossings are on the rising trend and happen complicatedly, etc.

Building, managing and protecting the borders in safety, friendship, cooperation and development is the task of the whole Party, people, Military and the political system; in which, the people play a fundamental, long and decisive role. On grasping this viewpoint and the basis of being imbued with President Ho Chi Minh’s thought of “relying on the people, taking the people as the root”, together with comprehensively implementing all working aspects, Long An Provincial Border Guard has been paying attention to building the strong “people’s hearts and minds posture” in border areas, being the base to strengthen the all-people border guard, build the strong posture of all-people border guard; mobilising and bringing into play the strength of all people classes in building, managing and protecting the borders in safety, friendship, cooperation and development.

Being embedded with Uncle Ho’s sayings, i.e. “It is necessary to make effort to explain, propagandise, organise and lead all people to bring their patriotism into the patriotic work”, the Provincial Border Guard’s Party Committee and Command have coordinated with the local departments, offices, agencies and unions to promote the propaganda to improve cadres’ and people’s awareness of basic issues in the Party’s guidelines, the State’s policies and laws, people’s strength; protecting the Homeland, the national border sovereignty and security in the new situation, at the same time, often considered them as the basically professional solutions which play a basic role in building the posture of all-people defence, all-people border guard, including the “people’s hearts and minds posture” in border areas. The propaganda contents should focus on the 8^th Central Committee Resolution (11^th term) regarding “The Strategy for protecting the Homeland in the new situation”; Direction No. 01/CT-TTg, dated 09/01/2015 by the Prime Minister on “Organising the movement of the whole people taking part in protecting the territorial sovereignty and the national border security in the new situation”; Decree No. 34/2014/NĐ-CP, dated 29/4/2014 by the Government on “The regulation on the land border areas in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam”; the Law on National Borders; the Law on Vietnam Border Guard; Resolution No. 33-NQ/TW, dated 28/9/2018 by the Politburo on “The strategy for protecting the national border”, etc. Among them, it is necessary to make clear the importance and content of the “people’s hearts and minds posture” in border areas; plots and tricks of the hostile forces, especially the plots fostering the separation, autonomy and dividing the national unity. In the implementation, the Provincial Party Committee and Command have directed offices and units to diversify the propaganda forms and methods; attentively bring into play the roles of organisations, forces, means, media and the system of cultural institution; closely combine between the regular education, propaganda and specialised ones which are made suitable with the local features, awareness, customs and practices; promote the special propaganda, border guard’s foreign relations, people’s diplomacy, etc. Through which, the party committees, governments and people in border areas have clearly seen that protecting the national border is a major and regular duty of the whole Party, people, Military and the political system; to well manage and protect the national border, it is a must to rely on the people, for the people, consider “the people as the subject”, “each person in the border as a living milestone”, the armed forces as the core and the Border Guard as the specialised force. At the same time, it is also necessary to help people classes realise that building the “people’s hearts and minds posture” in border areas is bringing into play the patriotism, the love for socialism, the spirit of national unity, the agreement, will and determination to overcome all difficulties and challenges to better their life and be determined to struggle against all plots and tricks by the hostile forces; completely trust in the Party’s leadership, the State’s, local party’s and governments’ united management and governance; proactively bring into play the potentials and general strength in order to create the bases for strengthening the all-people border guard, the posture of all-people border guard to firmly protect the national border sovereignty and security in all situations.

Presently, although the socio-economy of the Province is thriving, the life of all people classes, the ones in border areas in particular, has been improved, hostile forces with their unchanged nature have been taking advantages of the limitations and shortcomings in management and activities of all-level political systems to stimulate local people, fade the people’s trust in the Party, State and local party committees and governments. As a result, taking part in building the pure, strong, valid and efficient local political systems is an effective solution which has been regularly considered by the Provincial Border Guard’s Party Committee and Command. President Ho Chi Minh once confirmed that an efficient and modern political system had to be built based on the principle that “Our country is a democratic country. All interests are for the people. All power is of the people… The governments from commune level to the Central one are elected by the people”. Following his sayings, the Provincial Border Guard Command has directed offices and units to closely follow the localities, hold the situations and the action quality of the grassroots political system, advise the local party committees and governments to make policies and solutions for strengthening and improving the quality of the party cells, governments and unions; strengthened, trained and improved the quality of cadres in the party committees in border communes to contribute to the consolidation of the grassroots political system, deserving one of the main forces to mobilise the strength of the great national unity bloc. Simultaneously, the Command has built and well implemented Plan No. 138/KH-BCH, dated 16/01/2019 on implementing Resolution No. 24-NQ/ĐU, dated 10/12/2018 by the Provincial Border Guard’s Party Committee on leading the implementation of the task on assigning party members of the border posts to be responsible for households in these border areas. The party committees of all grassroots border posts’ party cells have appointed their members to attend the  temporary activities of the villages’ party cells in the border communes, advised the localities to strengthen the grassroots party organisations, political organisations and develop the socio-economy; assigned party members to be responsible for households in border areas, mobilised and guided people to take part in the local defence and military tasks to contribute to building the strong all-people border guard and firmly protecting the territorial sovereignty and the national border security.

One of the basic, long-term and stable solutions to build the “people’s hearts and minds posture” is to actively develop the socio-economy, stabilise and improve the life of people in border areas. To gain effectiveness, the Provincial Border Guard’s Party Committee has brought into play the roles of the party members attending the  temporary activities of the villages’ party cells in the border communes, the border guard cadres attending the all-level party committees and people’s councils in advising the local party committees and governments solutions for combining the economy with defence and security; invested into the socio-economic development and improved the life of people in border areas. Also, the Committee has proactively advised and helped the local governments and people change the animals and plants, build the new rural areas, implement the social security, eradicate hunger, alleviate poverty and improve the people’s literacy through building plans and directly helping them carry out the models of socio-economic development of the localities. The Border posts continue to well implement the Emulation Movement of “The whole country joining hands for the poor – not leaving anyone behind”; programmes and models such as “Together with border women” in the period of 2021 – 2025; “Teachers and doctors with green ranks”; “Raising children to schools - Border guard posts’ adopted children”, “An address each week”, etc., at the same time, help the people develop the household economy; health check, treat and give free medicines to the people; coordinate with the local medical care to prevent diseases, do vaccination and medical activities in border areas; maintain the effectiveness of the charity classes in border areas. Together, offices and units well implement the public relations and other activities of “Gratitude”, take care and ensure the life for policy families, war invalids and sick soldiers; propagandise and encourage people in the localities to carry out the guideline of “attracting people to reside in border areas” in order to manage, protect the territorial sovereignty, the national border security and build the strong border areas. The border posts actively take part in building and developing the infrastructure, especially the facilities of health, education, culture and trading services, making sure that the local people could have conditions to stabilise their life, feel secure to produce, firmly locate in border areas, solve difficulties of socio-economic infrastructure, contributing to stabilising the political and socio-economic security in border areas.

Senior Colonel DOAN VAN AN, Political Commissar of the Provincial Border Guard