Address On the Occasion of the Inauguration of the Congress to Merge the Viet Minh and Lien Viet

 March 3rd, 1951

Source: Selected Works of Ho Chi Minh Vol. 3

Venerables, delegates, brothers, and sisters,

I am very glad to have the honor of winding up the inauguration ceremony of this Unification Congress Viet Minh — Lien Viet.

First of all, on behalf of the Presidium, I send my greetings to our fighters, cadres of the Viet Minh — Lien Viet Front, my condolences to our compatriots in the temporarily occupied zone and abroad (Applause).

Today's happiness is common to our entire people, to this Congress, but my own is understandable and indescribable as well. A man who has struggled with you for many years for the entire people's unity, today sees a forest of unity in full bloom with an eternal future (Laughter).

What makes me happier is that not only the entire Vietnamese people are united, but the Cambodian and Laotian peoples are also united. (Long applause). The news of the unity of these two brother nations is personally brought by the Cambodian and Laotian delegates.

Thus, the Vietnamese people are united, the Cambodian people are united, and the Laotian people are united. Let us strive for a Vietnamese — Cambodian — Laotian unity (Long applause).

With the common will of our three brother nations, we will overcome all difficulties and hardships, smash the aggressive French colonialists, smash the American interventionists and any other invader. (Applause).

You will thoroughly discuss and clear sightedly fix the Platform, Statute of the National United Front in this Congress. I will only point out some points for your study.

1 — The Front must make steady progress on the road of democracy.

2 — The activities of the Front must centre on a cardinal task to avoid useless waste of force. This cardinal task is the patriotic emulation.

3 — The parties, organisations and prominent personalities within the Front must closely unite, cordially help one another, sincerely learn from one another's merits and criticise one another's shortcomings to progress together.

This Congress is composed of representatives of all strata, religious beliefs, nationalities, old and young peoples, men, and women, a mutually-loved great family. After the Congress, this bloc of unity and cordiality will no doubt develop and consolidate among the entire people. This bloc of great unity will embrace the people of the friendly countries, of France and peace - and democracy - loving people throughout the world.

This prodigious force will help us not only bring the resistance to victory and the rehabilitation to success, but also contribute to the defense of world peace and democracy.

Venerables, delegates, brothers and sisters,

At the beginning of last year, we won a great political victory, the recognition of our Government by the Soviet Union, China, and the people's democracies, which led to the great victory at the Border and in the Midland.

At the beginning of this year, we won a new great political victory, the founding of the Viet Nam Workers' Party and the Viet Minh-Lien Viet unification: with this trend, we will score greater military victories.

Long live the unity of the entire people!

Long live the Viet Nam National United Front!

Long live the Vietnamese-Cambodian-Laotian great unity!

The resistance will certainly be victorious!

The camp of peace and democracy will certainly be victorious!