Military Region 1 is seen as “the revolutionary cradle” where the peoples of Viet Bac were whole-heartedly loyal to the revolution and sheltered and assisted the Military Region’s armed forces in fighting and winning against all enemies. However, due to geographic particularities, the people’s life has still been in difficulty, especially in the remote, isolated areas and the areas mainly inhabited by ethnic minority groups. To pay a debt of gratitude to compatriots, over the years, Military Region 1’s armed forces have well carried out the work of mass mobilisation and actively helped the people with hunger eradication, poverty reduction, socio-economic development, and the building of a strong political system as the basis for building a firm “posture of people’s hearts and minds.”

Being imbued with President Ho Chi Minh’s instructions on the importance of mass mobilisation to the task performance and grasping higher echelons’ directives and resolutions on mass mobilisation, particularly the 11th Party Central Committee’s Resolution 25-NQ/TW, dated June 3rd, 2013 on “strengthening and renewing the Party’s leadership over mass mobilisation in the new situation,” the Military Region’s Party Committee has issued and realised the Resolution 1357-NQ/ĐU, dated March 18th, 2015 on “enhancing and innovating the mass mobilisation work of the Military Region’s armed forces in the new situation.” Doing so has enabled the Military Region to create a huge positive change in all-level party committees, commands, and political offices’ responsibility for this important task. The Military Region’s Party Committee and Command have deployed hundreds of companies and working groups as well as thousands of cadres and soldiers to the remote, isolated, border areas to assist the people in developing agriculture and overcoming the consequences of natural disasters and to implement economic-defence units’ projects, thereby building strong political bases and bolstering Military Region 1’s tradition of “integrity, pioneer, unity, and victory.” With those achievements, the Military Region’s armed forces have been given one Golden Star Order, two Ho Chi Minh Orders, one Second-Class Independence Order, two First-Class Military Exploit Orders, one Third-Class Military Exploit Order, one First-Class Homeland Protection Order, and many other noble rewards by the State.

Cadres and soldiers of Military Region 1’s Division 3 assisting the people of Lam Son commune (Chi Lang district, Lang Son province) in building a road

Currently, within the Military Region, the people are confronted with a lot of difficulties in their daily life. The hostile forces are taking advantage of the issues concerning ethnicity and religion to step up their sabotage strategy and develop illegal religions. That situation imposes more demanding requirements on the mass mobilisation work of the Military Region’s armed forces. Being fully aware that the poor performance of the mass mobilisation work together with bureaucracy will lead to a lack of support from the people, the Military Region’s Party Committee has determined to “continue renewing and improving the mass mobilisation work of party and state agencies and all-level authorities, with importance attached to conducting this work for the ethnic minority and religious people” as one of its central political missions. To that end, the Military Region’s Party Committee and Command will well implement several basic tasks and measures as follows.

First of all, enhance the work of propagation and education to raise all-level party committees, commands, and political offices’ awareness of mass mobilisation. All-level party committees, commands, and political offices shall keep grasping and strictly executing the 12th Party Central Committee’s Conclusion 43-KL/TW, dated January 7th, 2019 on continuing to realise the 11th Party Central Committee’s Resolution 25-NQ/TW, dated June 3rd, 2013 on “enhancing and renewing the Party’s leadership over mass mobilisation in the new situation,” the Central Military Commission’s Resolution 49-NQ/QUTW, dated January 26th, 2015 on “strengthening and innovating the Military’s mass mobilisation in the new situation”, and the Resolution 1357-NQ/ĐU, dated March 18th, 2015 by Military Region 1’s Party Committee on “stepping up and renewing the mass mobilisation work of the Military Region’s armed forces in the new situation.” They shall clearly understand that mass mobilisation is a long-term, basic political task of urgency to building a firm “posture of people’s hearts and minds” and preventing and combating “peaceful evolution.” In the process, offices and units shall focus on proper, practical, effective measures, closely cooperate with local authorities and forces in dealing with complex, sensitive issues, and actively renew the forms and methods of propagation. Due attention should be paid to increasing offices and units’ capability in assessing and anticipating situations to develop mass mobilisation plans and programmes in a focalised, practical manner. The Military Region’s Political Department shall direct its Mass Mobilisation Office to design guiding documents for other offices and units and organise refresher courses for all-level party committees, commands, political bodies, and political cadres in order to “make an enormous positive change in party committees and political system’s awareness and action towards mass mobilisation.”

Second, concentrate on improving the competence of cadres in charge of mass mobilisation. Being imbued with Uncle Ho’s teachings on the qualities of cadres in charge of mass mobilisation, the Military Region’s Party Committee has directed all-level affiliated party committees to correctly assess their mass mobilisation cadres and organise refresher courses for this contingent. Focuses of those courses should be placed on the 12th Party Central Committee’s Conclusion 43-KL/TW on continuing to realise the 11th Party Central Committee’s Resolution 25-NQ/TW, the Central Military Commission’s Resolution 49-NQ/QUTW, and other guiding documents so that cadres will always grasp the Party’s guidelines, resolutions and directives by the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence, and guidance of the General Department of Politics on mass mobilisation. Importance should be attached to bettering cadres’ skills in studying situations and local customs, staff members’ propagation capacity, and troops’ command of ethnic languages to meet the task requirements. Units and offices shall send their cadres to refresher courses and well organise clever mass mobilisation and propaganda contests. They shall continue to effectively implement the Project on equipping cadres, soldiers, and especially working groups with knowledge of ethnic languages, while requiring their staff members to “respect the people, listen to the people, make the people understand, and earn the people’s trust.” Besides, cadres in charge of mass mobilisation shall actively improve their morality and lifestyle, “stay close to the people, trust the people, respect the people, understand the people, learn from the people, and be responsible for the people,” build up civilised manners, heighten the responsibility to set good examples, and better enhance their working capacity.

Third, frequently apply the contents and forms of mass mobilisation in a practical, effective fashion. Grasping the situation and each area’s characteristics, all-level party committees shall disseminate the Party’s guidelines and the State’s law and policy directly relevant to the people’s life, particularly on socio-economic and cultural development in the remote, isolated areas and the areas mainly inhabited by the ethnic minority and religious people so as to cement citizens’ faith in the Party and the State. Emphasis should be placed on helping the people with hunger eradication, poverty reduction, and new-style countryside construction as well as taking part in search and rescue operations and natural disaster and epidemic prevention and mitigation. Cadres in charge of mass mobilisation shall frequently accurately assess situations, particularly in the key, complex areas, give advice on settling incidents to avoid “hot spots,” and closely cooperate with forces in fighting to prevent the hostile forces from undermining national great unity block so as to maintain political security. They shall grasp the Party and State’s foreign policy and diversify forms of propagation for border citizens and other countries’ citizens to maintain friendship and cooperation in the defence of the border. Moreover, it is important to encourage the role of working groups in helping the people with economic development and effectively realising the military-civilian medical care programme (aka the health programme No.12) in order to improve citizens’ health and the effectiveness of mass mobilisation.

Fourth, step up the emulation movement of “clever mass mobilisation” and build “good mass mobilisation units.” Grasping the guidelines on “continuing to execute the emulation movement of clever mass mobilisation” specified by the 13th National Party Congress Resolution, on a yearly basis, all-level party committees shall include this movement in their resolutions and organise it properly. They shall combine the emulation movement of clever mass mobilisation and the building of “good mass mobilisation units” with the Determination to Win Emulation Movement and campaigns launched by the Party, the State, the Military, and localities. Offices and units shall closely collaborate with local party committees, authorities, organsations, and forces in stepping up models according to which divisions will help districts, regiments will give assistance to communes, and battalions will provide support for villages to practically improve the people’s life and create a bond of friendship between the Military and localities. Units stationed in the border areas shall closely cooperate with the Border Guard Force in flexibly encouraging the ethnic minority and religious people to participate in the Patriotic Emulation Movement to contribute to strengthening the national great unity block. Due attention should be paid to following the motto of “listening to the people, making the people understand, giving instructions to the people, and earning the people’s trust” in order to build a friendly and responsible image of cadres and soldiers of the Military Region’s armed forces. Last but not least, consideration should be given to carrying out inspections, supervisions, reviews, and commendation work, multiplying typical examples of “clever mass mobilisation,” and opportunely rectifying weaknesses in the performance of tasks to improve the effectiveness of mass mobilisation.

Bringing into play the tradition of “being pious to the people,” cadres and soldiers of Military Region 1 will keep enhancing mass mobilisation to achieve a consensus amongst the people about the Party’s guidelines, the State’s law and policy, and socio-economic development programmes, consolidate national defence and security, maintain stability, bolster the image of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers,” and deserve the trust of the peoples of Viet Bac as a strong motivation for national construction and protection in the new situation.

Lt. Gen. DUONG DINH THONG, Commissar of the Military Region