Being located to the North and directly connecting to several central districts of the City, including 11 communes, 1 town and the population of 250.000 people, Hoc Mon is a suburban district possessing many potentials and advantages for socio-economic development, and plays an important role in the defence and security posture of Ho Chi Minh City and the 7^th Military Region. Clearly understanding its roles and basing on the grasp and serious implementation of the seniors’ resolutions, directions on defence and security, the District, in recent years, has paid more attention to building the strong and extensive militia and self-defence force, which consists of suitable ratio and structure, contributing to the successful accomplishment of the local’s defence and military missions and the maintenance of the political security, order and social safety at the grass-root scales. Basing on its activities, the real requirements and the thorough understanding on the importance of the propaganda, dissemination and education of law, the improvement of law and discipline compliance, and the real capability of the militia and self-defence force, the District Party Committee and Military Command have led and directed the propaganda, dissemination and education of law with many creative, synchronous and suitable solutions, gaining many positive results. This is expressed clearly in the results of the annually political awareness exams with 100% being passed, 80-85% being good and excellent. The militia and self-defence force cadres and soldiers have strictly complied with the State’s law and the Military’s discipline, without any violations being punished; promoted the responsibility, closely cooperated with other forces to actively handle all cases, avoiding the “hot spots”; well implemented the motto of “5 on-sites” to respond to and overcome natural disasters; been one of the main forces in the prevention of the Covid-19 pandemic, etc., in order to contribute to the stable maintenance of politics, order and social safety, making favourable conditions for the socio-economic development in the District.

However, in their working practice, the speakers of law for the militia and self-defence force who are the secretaries of the party committees, the youth unions in communes, wards, towns, offices and enterprises, have to both direct all activities of the areas, units and implement all activities of party and political work in the militia and self-defence force. Their search of information, practice of skills of law dissemination and education, at times, have not been focused. As a result, promoting the responsibility of the party committees and commands in areas, offices and units in leading and directing the propaganda, dissemination and education of law for the militia and self-defence force has been the important and decisive factor making the breakthrough in improving the effectiveness of this important work. To carry it out, the District Party Committee and Military Command have actively cooperated with other offices and forces to help the speakers firmly grasp the seniors’ directions and instructions on the propaganda, dissemination and education of law, at the same time, promoted the roles of the Council of the law dissemination and education to closely evaluate the reality of law compliance by the militia and self-defence force in order to select the appropriate contents, educate attentively and suitably; frequently completed, further trained and improved the responsibility and ability for law speakers and propagandists both in their morality, lifestyle and the methods of dissemination and education. Annually, the District holds further training classes to improve skills and methods of presentation such as interpreting, analysing, conversing combined with using the PowerPoint, applying the information technology into seminars among conversations groups in Zalo, Viber, Facebook, etc. in order to make scientific, comprehensible, feasible, flexible, plentiful and suitable knowledge transference, meeting the mission requirements for disseminating and educating law to the militia and self-defence force in the present situation. Accordingly, the awareness by the party committees and commands in the local areas, the militia and self-defence force units of the dissemination and education of law has been improved; the periodical leading resolutions of all party committees and party cells have included policies and solutions on leading the propaganda, dissemination and education of law; the determination of contents, forms, time and participants has been more detailed, scientific and practical, which has completely overcome the formalism and achievement following in disseminating and educating the law for the militia and self-defence force.

Facing the negative effects of the market economy, the renovation of contents, forms and methods for propagandising, disseminating and educating the law has been paid much attention to make sure the drastic leadership and direction by the District Party Committee and Military Command. Regarding the contents, the District Military Command has asked communes, towns and militia and self-defence force units to clarify the Party’s guidelines and policies; the missions of the City armed forces in general and Hoc Mon District’s in particular; the laws, circulars and decrees on the militia and self-defence force’s affairs; the traditions of brave and resilient struggles by Hoc Mon district - the district of 18 betel-garden villages; the interdisciplinary decrees and circulars on cooperating with other forces to struggle, prevent crimes, search and rescue. On disseminating and educating the law, speakers have well implemented the thought orientation, activities guidance; renovated the reference practically to the participants’ functions and tasks in order to build and improve the awareness of law, disciplines and rules for the militia and self-defence force at any time.

Together with grasping, improving the awareness and orienting the thought, the District Military Command has directed the functional offices, especially the Political Office, to research the locations, features of each commune, town and militia and self-defence force unit of all offices and enterprises in the area in order to apply various forms and methods such as disseminating and educating the law for groups of communes, towns and militia and self-defence force units; for groups on their duties combining with online education for 12 bridgeheads of 12 communes and towns by the junior political commissars and vice junior political commissars. The District Military Command has actively cooperated with the Council of the law dissemination and education and the District Police to disseminate new and important subjects which affect the cadres and militia and self-defence force soldiers’ awareness and responsibility in doing their missions; cooperated with the District’s Justice and the People’s Procuracy to propagandise the law and the violations in the mass media. Specifically, the District has actively implemented models such as “01 legal document in the district armed forces every week”, “01 lesson, 01 legal document related to the local defence and military affairs every week”, “01 law question every day”, “Clubs learning law online with Zalo, Mocha35”. In order to make the contents “more attractive”, the District has organised contests to study law in the theatrical forms; mobilised the participation in the “Competition to study the Constitution and law on the Internet”, writing contest on “Studying the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam”; combined the law propaganda in the singing competition in the local areas and units; propagandised the typical examples of “good people, good work”, creative and effective working methods in implementing the law on newspapers, radios of the Military Region, City and Hoc Mon District. Accordingly, the legal information exposed to cadres, party members generally and cadres and soldiers in the militia and self-defence force particularly is more and more plentiful and profound, making a clear change in the awareness of the execution of the State’s law, the Military’s discipline and regulations of the local areas and units. Simultaneously, the District has combined the dissemination and education of law with the effective organisation of programs, simulation movements in the local areas and units (such as building new rural areas, hunger eradication and poverty alleviation, joining hands for the poor – don’t let anyone left behind; the youth leading to protect the Homeland, etc.), making motivation to promote the militia and self-defence force’s roles, dynamics and enthusiasm in participating these movements, contributing to the successful accomplishment of all assigned missions.

In order to effectively transfer the contents, the local party committees and governments, leaders and commanders of all militia and self-defence force units have continuously taken concerns in investing and assuring the materials and means to support the propaganda, dissemination and education of law, including the purchases of computers, tablets, projectors, speakers, legal documents and books to make full advantage of the online, visual, fast and timely education methods, contributing to the improvement of the quality and effectiveness of this important work.

The propaganda, dissemination and education of law is an important and frequent mission for all levels, agencies and forces from the Central to local authorities and the whole people towards the construction of the society of order, rules, safety and soundness in order to develop the country in the socialist orientation. The achieved results are the important bases for Hoc Mon District to continuously enhance the propaganda, dissemination and education of law for the militia and self-defence force in order to improve their awareness of complying with the State’s law, the Military’s discipline and the working capability for this force, at the same time, making contribution to the accomplishment of all assigned missions due to their positions and responsibility and the construction of the developed, civilised, prosperous and beautiful District.

Lieutenant Colonel LE VAN BINH, Vice Political Commissar of the District Military Command