APPEAL TO THE PEOPLE BY THE NINTH ENLARGED CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE, VIETNAM FATHERLAND FRONT

 (April 6, 1965) 

The Ninth Enlarged Conference of the Central Com­mittee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front published an appeal, calling on the entire people of Vietnam, irrespec­tive of sex, age, nationality, or religious belief, to give full play to their patriotism and glorious tradition of revolutionary heroism, unite as one man under the banner of resistance to U.S. aggression for national salva­tion, and, with full confidence, march forward coura­geously to defeat the U.S. aggressors. 

The appeal says: "The people throughout our country are facing an extremely serious situation. The U.S. im­perialists, the sworn enemy of our nation, are frenziedly stepping up their aggressive war in South Vietnam and recklessly attacking the north. They are hoping that they could intimidate us and win a 'position of strength' in an attempt to force our people to sell out to them the sacred national rights which are independence, sover­eignty, unity and territorial integrity already recognized by the 1954 Geneva agreements." 

"But the U.S. imperialists have miscalculated,'' it con­tinues. "Their 'special war' in South Vietnam is meeting with heavier failures day by day. The props on which they have been relying to carry out the aggressive war are being shaken to their foundations. They cannot triumph over the 14 million South Vietnamese who are united and fighting under the glorious patriotic banner of the South Vietnam National Front for Liberation. The more they fight, the more they lose, and the more they expand the fighting, the bigger their failures. The heroic South Vietnamese people have won greater and greater victories as they fight and will surely win com­plete victory." 

The appeal declares: "A united people is invincible. Our people's revolutionary war is surely victorious. In the southern part of our country these truths are shining brighter and brighter like sunlight." 

Referring to the repeated heavy blows dealt by the North and South Vietnamese people at the U.S. marauders, it notes that blindly pursuing their dirty in­terests, the U.S. imperialists have not given up their sinister designs of aggression and war provocation. Their clamors about "peace" and "negotiation" are mere humbug and deceitful tricks. They have openly launched war against Vietnam as a whole. Scrapping the 1954 Geneva agreements, they have crudely encroached upon the Vietnamese people's independence and sovereignty, seriously jeopardizing peace in Indo-China, Southeast Asia and the world. 

The appeal stresses that "the Vietnamese revolution is coming to a new turning point: the whole country is in a state of fighting directly against the U.S. aggressors. The fatherland is appealing to our entire people: 'Let us unite to struggle against U.S. imperialism for national salvation!' " 

The appeal says, "Facing such a situation, the Central Committee of the South Vietnam National Liberation Front on March 22, 1965, issued a statement voicing the determination of our 14 million compatriots in the south to 'wipe out the U.S. imperialists, liberate South Viet­nam, defend North Vietnam and advance toward the reunification of the fatherland.' Warmly responding to this historic statement, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front on March 27, 1965, issued a statement in which it pointed out that to defend the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the fatherland is the sacred duty and an inviolable right of the more than thirty million of our people." 

It points out: "The task of our people in North Viet­nam in the present period is: to boost production to build socialism while struggling against U.S. imperialism to defend North Vietnam and support with all our might and main the patriotic struggle to liberate South Viet­nam." 

It calls on: 

- The officers and men of the armed forces - the ground, air and naval forces, the people's security forces, the militia and self-defence corps to strive for the building up of armed forces, to carry further the heroic tradition of their nation and army, fight still more vigoro1.1sly, win still more resounding victories to defend the fatherland and the people. 

- The workers to carry forward revolutionary tradi­tion of their class, to hold hammer in one hand and gun in the other, to improve management and technique, constantly raise labour productivity, boost industrial production, strengthen the economic and national defence capabilities of the north while standing ready to fight and fight heroically to defend their factories, mines, and construction sites. 

- All co-operative farmers to carry further their glorious tradition of fighting the enemy for national salvation, to carry plough in one hand and gun in the other, step up production, consolidate their co-operatives, improve management and technique, constantly increase labour productivity in order to ensure an all-sided, vigorous and steady development of agriculture, push forward the movement of the people living in the lowland to develop economy and culture in the moun­tainous regions, raise the people's living standards, strengthen the national defence capabilities while stand­ing ready to fight and fight courageously to defend their villages and native land. 

- The intellectuals and public servants to heighten further their patriotism and revolutionary ardour, devote all their might and main to the cause of building social­ism and defeating U.S. imperialism and its quislings. 

- People of all walks of life constantly to sharpen their vigilance, enhance their fighting spirit, calmness, and courage, not to indulge in subjectivism and under­estimate the enemy, be prepared at all times to cope with all eventualities, develop the spirit of self-reliance, engage in active production and practise economy, en­deavour to defend and build the north and support with all their might and main the liberation fight of their compatriots in the south. 

- All overseas Vietnamese to turn their thoughts to­ward their beloved fatherland, actively support the just struggle of our people against U.S. imperialist aggression and mobilize world public to do the same. 

-The entire Vietnamese people, irrespective of their age, sex, nationality and religious belief, to give full play to their patriotism, heroic and revolutionary tradi­tion, close further their ranks for national salvation ' unite as one man under the ever-victorious banner of the Vietnam Workers' Party and President Ho Chi Minh, the great leader of our people. 

The appeal urges· all those, who have the national spirit in the puppet army and administration in South Vietnam quickly to realize the heinous crimes and inevi­table failure of the U.S. imperialists and the utter rotten­ness of the U.S. lackeys so as to return to the embrace of the fatherland and people and find for themselves a bright future among the people's ranks. 

It appeals to all peace- and justice-loving forces in the world, including the American people to promote further the mass movements to demand that the U.S. government correctly implement the 1954 Geneva agreements on Vietnam, end its war of aggression in south Vietnam and all its acts of war against the Democratic Republic of Viet­nam, withdraw all troops, weapons and war materials of its own and its satellites from South Vietnam and let the South Vietnamese people settle their own internal affairs. 

The appeal declares: "For the past 20 years or more, the South Vietnamese people have struggled valiantly and unremittingly, making great contributions to the liberation and defence of North Vietnam. They have en­dured so many sacrifices and hardships for the indepen­dence and freedom of the whole country, and for peace in the north. We shall never forget these great services rendered by our fellow-countrymen in the south to the fatherland and the nation. 

"At present, in face of the frenzied aggression carried out by the U.S. aggressors against the south and their attacks on the north, more than ever before, we must fight together with our fellow-countrymen in the south to annihilate the U.S. imperialist aggressors and the traitors." 

It continues, "In response to the appeal of the Central Committee of the South Vietnam National Front for Lib­eration, our 17 million people in the north pledge their close solidarity with their compatriots in the south in the fight against the common enemy and support with might and main the revolutionary liberation movement of our compatriots in the south. If to defend North Vietnam is the sacred duty of the South Vietnamese people, to sup­port the south is the sacred duty of the North Vietnamese people. Vietnam is one. The Vietnamese people is one. The U.S. imperialists are committing aggression against our fatherland. It is the duty of all Vietnamese to fight the enemy for national salvation. That is self-evident. That is an inviolable right of all nations under imperialist aggression." 

The appeal says, "Our people is a heroic people. No force on earth can subjugate us. For thousands of years in the past, our people had proved themselves to be an undaunted, indomitable and heroic people and have on many occasions fought resolutely and victoriously against enemies several times stronger. 

"Today, history has entrusted us with an extremely heavy but extremely glorious task: to defeat the U.S. im­perialist aggressors, the ringleader and most ferocious of the imperialists, the deadliest of the colonialists, enemy No. 1 of the people throughout the world, so as to liberate the country completely and defend our fatherland - an outpost of the socialist camp, win a great success for the national liberation movement in Asia, Africa and Latin America and contribute to the defence of peace in Southeast Asia and the world." 

The appeal stresses that, "for the independence of the fatherland, the glory of the nation, for our own survival, our sacred internationalist duty and a bright future for our younger and coming generations, we are resolved to make all sacrifices to fulfil this heavy but glorious task". 

It says, "We derive strength from the nationwide soli­darity and enjoy the solidarity and support of the socialist countries, the peoples of Laos, Cambodia and other coun­tries in Southeast Asia and the people of the world, in­cluding the American people. We have a glorious tradi­tion, we have experience in how to fight and to win. With an iron-like confidence, we are sure to defeat the U.S. aggressors." 

The appeal finally says, "The U.S. imperialists are pursuing an unjust cause. Justice is on the side of our people. Justice will definitely triumph over injustice. Our people will certainly defeat the U.S. aggressors. The U.S. imperialists have only one way out, that is, to stop their war of aggression, withdraw all the troops of their own and their satellites, respect the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of our coun­try as is clearly stipulated in the 1954 Geneva agreements. If the U.S. aggressors stubbornly persist in intensifying their aggressive war in the south and attacking the north, the Vietnamese people are resolved to fight and strike hard and accurately till final victory." 

The appeal concludes with the slogans: 

"North Vietnam must certainly be defended! 

"South Vietnam will certainly be liberated!

"Our fatherland will certainly win complete indepen­dence and freedom! 

"Our entire people will certainly achieve a peaceful, unified, independent, democratic, prosperous and strong Vietnam! 

"Compatriots throughout the country, let us close our ranks and courageously march forward!"