THE VIET MINH IN POWER

In Retrospect

Revolutionary Parties’ Activities in China

The repression of the colonial rule against revolutionary parties following the revolt in Yen Bay in 1930 was brutal. Thousands of members of Viet Quoc were brought to stand trials, jailed, or executed. Most revolutionaries who survived the repression evaded to China. Misfortunes came again, nevertheless. In 1940, military detachments of the Japanese Expeditionary Corps from t Kwangtsi, China, invaded Lang Son and dismantled the local French troops stationing in the border province. Believing that the Japanese would create for them an opportunity to gain back national independence, Tran Trung Lap, and Doan Kiem Diem of the Phuc Quoc Quan that followed the Japanese into Vietnam in coordination with members of other revolutionary parties rose in arms to seize the local administration. Nevertheless, the Japanese Fascists and the French colonial rule in Indochina, within a day, reached a compromise. The French colonialists were allowed to stay and continued to rule the colony under Japanese supervision. The revolt was crushed brutally. Tran Trung Lap and Doan Kiem Diem were killed. Other leaders and the remnant of the militia escaped massacre and evaded to and took refuge in China.

In Liao Chou, where most Nationalist revolutionaries and patriots congregated, party leaders had for decades founded political front or alliance to lay the foundations for the struggle for national independence. As early as 1934, Nguyen Hai Than, a veteran member of the Dong Du Movement and partisans of the Vier Quoc, Vu Hong Khan, Nghiem \Ke To, Chu Ba Phuong, and Le Khang actuated plans of actions for national revolution. Chu Ba Phuong came back to the country to reactivate the party organization links. In 1942, in a concerted effort, the leaders of Dong Minh Hoi and Viet Quoc founded the Viet Cach, with Truong Boi Cong, a veteran revolutionary figure, at the head. The organization assembled members of various revolutionary party and groups living in exile in China in a united front. In 1943, the chairmanship was passed to Nguyen Hai Than. Two members of the Communist Party of Indochina, Nguyen Ai Quoc, later known as Ho Chi Minh and Le Cong Son, were admitted to the membership. Ho Chi Minh was sent back on mission to Vietnam to organize the resistance. Upon his coming back to the country, He founded the Viet Minh to serve the Communist cause, instead. Many Viet Cach cadres simply disappeared because of his hidden scheme.

As a consequence of the French white terror prior to World War II, many patriots of a younger generation evaded to and sought refuge in China. In Canton, leaders of Viet Quoc, Dai Viet Dan Chinh, and Duy Dan formed an alliance to serve national cause and struggle for national independence. The purposes were to unify the national parties in a single organization, serve a common ideology, unite behind a single leadership, and deal with external affairs with a multifaceted approach. The ideology, in particular, was based on the principle "For the People;" as formulated by the revolutionary patriot Phan Boi Chau. All national parties were allies, and the Viet Minh, the opponents. The documents with guidelines were sent in secret to national parties operating inside the country. Emphases were placed on the laying out specific plans of actions, to invigorate party organizations, promote political education, establish military training centers for party cadres, and implement political propaganda programs. The methods of actions should vary with time, situation, and circumstance. For the first time, a national revolutionary united front practically laid out its doctrinal and political foundations for the country’s national salvation. The alliance became later a counter force and the dangerous enemy to the Communist-led Viet Minh. The Overseas Executive Committee included Nguyen Tuong Tam (Dai Viet Dan Chinh), Nghiem Ke To (Viet Quoc), Vu Hong Khanh (Viet Quoc), and Ly Dong A (Duy Dan)

The Political Situation inside the country

The French terror plagued throughout the country following the revolt at Yen Bay (1930) and the So Viet Nghe Tinh uprisings (1931). Almost all revolutionary activities were crippled. It was not until 1936 when the victory of the Popular Front that brought Leon Blum and the socialists to power in France (1936) that fresh wind was felt in French Indochina. The colonial rule appeared to loosen its grip on the natives giving political activists some ease in several domains of the political life. Like a spark of fire in a rush fire in the dry season, a movement for rights kindled and spread.

In Cochinchina where the natives enjoyed limited freedoms of assembly and of the press, many activists and revolutionaries adamantly entered into the fight for rights. The Communist Party of Indochina, for its part, called for an Indochina Conference with various demands on reforms for the workers’ human condition. The ardent patriot Nguyen An Ninh published the journal La Lutte, held high the banner of the fight for the rights to self-administration and civil rights for the natives. The Trotskyite group with Ta Thu Thau at the head actively engaged in public political activities and debates, fighting for the natives’ civil rights. Some of them ran for elections and won seats in the Saigon local representative council.

In the protectorate Tonkin where the natives were not entitled to rights as were the natives in the colony, demands for rights and reforms were strictly forbidden. Nevertheless, the protectorate rule showed ease in some areas of expression. The local press was allowed to express requests for reforms, better treatments to the natives, improvement on the workers’ working conditions. and enforcement of punitive measures on abuses of power and cases of social injustice.

Those favors of the colonial rule did not last long. however, Fascism expanded rapidly in Germany and Italy under the flag of Nazism of Hitler and Mussolini. In 1937, Japan invaded China and threatened the whole Southeast Asia including the Western colonies, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Indochina. However, fleeting euphoria of a better change for the country was felt among the pro-Japanese circles. Many leaders even thought that they could lean on the Japanese to fight the French colonists out of the country. Their dream proved to be futile. The Japanese wooed in appearance some figures to their side. They tended to protect some but ignored the others. Tran Trong Kim, Duong Ba Trac, and Tran Van An were helped to evade the country to escape from the arrest of the French. Members of Viet Quoc remained helpless, nevertheless. French control on revolutionary parties was ever rigid. Party activities throughout the country went underground. It was not until 1938 when Japan’s invasion into China was in full swing to the submission of the Koumintang government and its Western allies that a number of new parties began to appear. An Asian power such as could defy Western countries, and, like wise, a colony like Vietnam in stand face in face against the ailing France. Revolutionary activities thus resumed. Groups of intellectuals and university students burned with the patriotic fervor of the Lang Son Revolt engaged themselves in anti-French activities, regardless of whether they were motivated by Communist or Nationalist organizations

Nguyen Tuong Tam and key members of the Tu Luc Literary Group founded the Dai Viet Dan Chinh. The aims were to struggle for national independence, freedom, and democracy. The party enjoyed great influence among civil servants circles and the intellectuals of city middle class. Truong Tu Anh founded the Dai Viet. Best known among the leaders were Dang Vu Lac, Dang Van Sung, Nguyen Tien Hy, Nguyen Ton Hoan, and Bui Diem. The party honored the practices of its ideological lines of national existentialism. Party membership developed particularly among university student circles of Hanoi. Nguyen Huu Thanh alias Ly Dong A, developed the principles of struggle "for the people" by the revolutionary patriot Phan Boi Chau, formulating fundamental tenets for the Chu thuyet Duy Dan --Doctrine of Humanocracy. He was the coordinator of the study group Dai Hoc Hoang Mai --University of Hoang Mai-- an assembly that consisted largely of Hanoi university graduates and students. The group congregated in session in the vicinity of Kham Thien, Hanoi, for political debates and discussions. Among them were Thai Lang Nghiem Pham Van Tam, Le Quang Luat, Nghiem Xuan Hong, Dao Van Duong, Tran Van Tu, Nguyen Xuan Chieu, and Tran Thanh Dinh. Ly Dong A was later elected First Secretary of the Duy Dan Party (The National Party For the People). Last but not least, Chu Ba Phuong and Le Khang, who had returned from China, restarted revolutionary activities of various local Viet Quoc party branches and cells in the provinces of North Vietnam. Clandestine activities resumed, and the links between the party overseas organizations and party branches and cells and branches inside the country were then connected

As World War II rolled on in Europe, groups of resistance of Free France in Indochina, most of whom were servicemen in the French Army, operated clandestine anti-Japanese activities in the colony and protectorates. Vietnamese patriots, religious and spiritual figures, revolutionary party leaders, and intellectuals of the younger generation and, particularly, university students all actively engaged in the revolution. They met, discussed, and planned organized activities to struggle for national independence. The French colonial rule sought to extinguish the fire of revolution. The Japanese tried to save the situation, to calm down the natives’ wrath that ever rose. They gave, in appearance, protection to several personalities, Huynh Phu So, Ngo Dinh Diem, Tran Trong Kim, Tran Van An, and Duong Ba Trac, and lent support to nationalist groups, the Cao Dai and Hoa Hao, in exchange for compassion.

These types of Japanese support, in truth, only served the Japanese’s immediate political purpose, to create a counter force against the Free French Forces that operated in Indochina and to nurture a group of collaborators to serve the Japanese long-term political objectives. Facing the French repression and entrapped in unfavorable conditions created by the situation, virtually all Vietnamese revolutionary forces during World War II shrank in strength and diminished in growth. By the end of the war, the Viet Minh had only two platoons of militiamen; the Dai Viet had few military training centers in the low lands, and the Viet Quoc, which suffered tragic losses after the Yen Bay Revolt and the White Terror, could only operate underground. In the South, the two forces of Cao Dai and Hoa Hao and the militia under the command of Nguyen Hoa Hiep were thin and only equipped with coarse weapons. The struggle for national independence staggered with serious difficulties. The Nationalist-Communist fight for power that took place during the later years of the 1940’s were practically dependent on the initiatives of the leaders of either side.

The Viet Minh in Power

      Weaknesses vs. Strengths

All through the fight for power prior to and after the August uprisings, the Nationalists had dutifully served their ultimate goal, to drive the foreign enemies out of the country and achieve Vietnam’s national integrity and independence. They had united in a front or an alliance to fight for a common cause while preserving their own entities. They adopted the principle of political pluralism. In the words of Nguyen An Ninh, a patriot of prestige, "like a player in a soccer team, "one observes the common rules and can display one’s talents." A number of weaknesses were apparent in the Nationalists’ camp, however. The goals of struggle were not well defined. They were more revolutionary than political. The objectives basic to the struggle were not clearly formulated. The purposes and perspectives that were fundamental to the establishment of a prospective political regime were overlooked. Popular political propaganda was poorly activated. There was a great lack of mass mobilization, and thus the absence of participation of the peasantry and workers. Still, the lines of leadership were incoherent. The cadres were compassionate, truthful, and compromising, but volatile. Although they adhered to a common cause and stood in line in a front, each party often carried out its programs of actions independently. Without consensus, they failed to unite in a solid bloc to fight against the Viet Minh.

The Viet Minh tightened their ranks behind a single line of leadership to serve their cause. Viet Minh leaders were all Communist. Their ultimate goal was to transform Vietnam into a Communist country. Ever means was possible to an end to achieve this end. Patriotism was instrumental to the Communist cause, and national independence was only a signboard. They consistently and persistently followed this line of strategy all through the fight for power. Viet Minh cadres observed discipline with absolute obedience. The Viet Minh were more or less flexible and realistic in action. They were nevertheless aggressive, uncompromising, vile, and cunning.

The Viet Minh laid out and achieved step by step their goal, objectives, and programs of actions. Their goal was clear: to revolutionize the country. to make it a country of independence, freedom, and happiness. Their immediate objectives were to fight the French colonialists and the Japanese Fascists out of Vietnam to win back national independence, establish a republic democratic nation. Their programs of actions were political and revolutionary and varied in scope and with time and in accordance with situation and circumstance. With power on hand, they had all the advantages over the Nationalists to win the people’s hearts and minds. Their call to struggle for the liberation of the country from foreign slavery truly responded to the aspirations of the people of the time who for generations had been thirsty for a better life.

The Viet Minh’s Achievements

Within more than a year in power (September 1945-December 1946), the Viet Minh administration had performed remarkable achievements in various areas of the economy, finance, education, and national defense. On September 12, 1945, Vo Nguyen Giap, the Minister for the Interior, signed into law the decision to dissolve the mandarin system of administration of the colonial times. Cadres of the new regime replaced officials of the old regime. The ailing economy following the disastrous hunger that had killed more than two million people of the North gradually recovered. The administration redressed step by step the country’s financial stability, canceling the free circulation of the Chinese bank-notes and stopped the currency traffic that had plagued the North of Vietnam all through the time the Chinese Koumintang troops stayed in the country to disarm the defeated Japanese Army. On September 15, 1945, by an administrative decree, it reformed the taxes policy, banning all forms of head money and additional taxes on agricultural products and business transactions. It encouraged land exploitation and production and the establishment of agricultural cooperatives. Reforms in national education were greatly appreciative. Vietnamese became the language of instruction from the elementary to university levels. The Hoang Xuan Han secondary education curricula which heightened national identity were immediately applied in the school-year of 1945-1946. As regards national defense, it built an organized army, although with little expertise. In addition to the regular troops Ve Quoc Doan (Natioal Defense Troops), the paramilitary Tu Ve (Self-defense Guards), and Dan Quan (Militia) were formed to help take care of public security. Young men, women, and teenagers were also grouped in associations and trained. Every effort was made in preparation for the resistance war against the French invaders.

Keen attention nevertheless focused on eliminating the inside enemy. Party members of national parties and opposing groups were arrested, imprisoned, or abducted to Khu (secret territory). Village notables, officials of the French colonial regime, and Confucian scholars and mandarins of the old Royal Court of Hue were closely watched. Anyone who resisted to or disagreed with Viet Minh’s politicization of the country were attributed to as traitors and reactionary elements and faced repression and even death. Materialism was introduced in the school curricula. The Viet Minh government drummed up the policy of national union and solidarity between people of all walks of life, the believers and non-believers, and the Catholics and non-Catholics In reality, believers of all faiths were targeted with isolation and discrimination. They were even encouraged not to go to church or pagoda. Buddhist monks were repudiated and sent home. Catholic priests were attributed to as the henchmen of the French imperialists, and thus the traitors to the country. In short, individuals, organizations, or institutions that were religious and that were viable to break away from the control of the Viet Minh were all prone to repression and elimination.

On October 28, 1946, fifty deputy in the Nationalist camp did not show at the regular session of the National assembly. At the same time, the cabinet ministers representing the Viet Cach and Viet Quoc, Nguyen Hai Than, Nguyen Tuong Tam, Vu Hong Khan, and Truong Dinh Tri withdrew from the government. On November 13, a new coalition government was formed. The Viet Minh held all key positions. In addition, a power inner circle consisting mainly of veteran Comumnists, Ha Ba Cang alias Hoang Quoc Viet, Nguyen Luong Bang, Dang Xuan Khu alias Truong Chinh, was formed to help implement government policies and shape state decisions.

Hanoi at War

Beginning in the early days of November 1946. the Tu Ve and French troops on guard at Haiphong wharves had sporadically exchanged gunfire to vie each other to seize control on the city waterways. On November 8, the self-defense units of Tu Ve in Haiphong were placed on alert. The French military arrested without cause two fighters of the Tu Ve of VII Quarters on Tam Gian Quarters, Belgique Street. Four French military vehicles were burned down. Using the incident as a pretext, the French Expeditionary troops in Haiphong prepared an all-out operation to occupy the city. Hoang Huu Nam, Vice-minister for Defense, was sent to Haiphong for negotiation. The French insisted on the delivery of all Tu Ve of VII Quarters. The negotiations came to no result. Exchanges of gunfire ensued. On November 20, Hoang Huu Nam of the Viet Minh and Colonel Herckel of the French Expeditionary Corps met but failed to reach an agreement for a cease-fire. On November 21, Haiphong was in flames. Colonel Debes, Commander of the French Army of the Coastal Region, issued an ultimatum. The war broke out.

On November 23, Haiphong was in chaos. French artillery on the battleship Suffren shelled in the streets in the business center of the city. The Viet Minh regular troopers under the command of Colonel Hoang Minh Thao shelled in Cat Bi Airfield and the military positions in the city held by the French troops. French tanks and armored vehicles advanced from Sau Kho (Haiphong Seaport Hangars) into the center of the city. Trees were felled. Furniture were thrown out in the streets. Viet Minh regular troops withdrew to Cau Niem (Niem Bridge) then to Kien An Province to preserve their forces. Groups of the paramilitary Tu Ve resisted with whatever they had in hand. Tu Ve and the militia at VII Quarters fought in despair in face of the invasion forces that were far superior in strength and expertise. Thousands of city-dwellers rushed in flock out of the city in panic.

In Hanoi, French soldiers caused disturbance in the city. At Hang Bun Street, they even caught women for pleasure in broad daylight, shoving the victims into their vehicles and driving away. The local Tu Ve came to their rescue. Exchange of gunfire happened. A French trooper got killed. To retaliate, a thousand French troopers laid siege on the street, destroyed the houses, and killed people. The city was in a mess. On December 16, General Moliere sent a letter to Defense Minister Vo Nguyen Giap accusing the Viet Minh troops of failing to keep order in the city. It even dictated that from 8 o’clock of December 20, the French Army itself would take charge of the security in the city.

The Viet Minh central government prepared the war. Plans to evacuate cabinet members and the personnel of central agencies to the safety zone in Ha Dong were at hand. The regular troops with arms and ammunitions withdrew from the city in preparation for a counter offensive. On December 19, Hanoi was at war. General Moliere, the commander-in-chief of French Troops, decided to take Hanoi by force. The Viet Minh General Headquarters revoked the order to counter attack to preserve the main forces. The militia voluntarily carried out the task, instead.

At 8:00 p. m. the city power plant was set to explode. The city was shrouded in the dark. The Tu Ve rushed in and destroyed the premises in French residential quarters. French nationals risked their lives to defend themselves. French tanks and armored vehicles under the command of Colonel Herkel attacked the central government palace Bac Bo Phu. They met with resilient resistance of the Tu Ve who held their positions until the last minute of their lives.

Bloody fights took place everywhere. Pockets of resistance were formed to make a defense line from the streets in the center of the city, Hang Bong, Hang Ngang, Hang Dao, Pho Moi, ... to the Kham Thien quarters in the south of the city. The defenders of the Capital were all plain-clothed militiamen largely composed of city-dwellers of all walks of society, young men, and high school and university students who formed themselves the Trung Doan Thu Do (Regiment of the Capital). For nearly two months, from December 20, 1946 to February 17, 1947, the people of Hanoi, and not the Viet Minh troops, heroically fought with coarse weapons against the invaders. An uncounted number of patriots sacrificed themselves for national cause. The French Expeditionary Corps suffered great losses. One thousand three hundred French troopers were killed, and two thousand five hundred others were wounded.

THE VIET MINH ELIMINATION OF NATIONAL PARTIES IN THE NORTH (1945-1946)

 

The Laws and Measures

To monopolize the newly-acquired power, the Viet Minh administration systematically executed without delay their plan of extermination of opposing parties. On September 5, 1945, only three days after President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence at Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi, Vo Nguyen Giap, the then Minister for the Interior, signed two administrative decrees, arbitrarily outlawing all party activities. Executing the law, the Viet Minh administration dissolved outright the Dai Viet Quoc Gia Xa Hoi Dang (Greate Vietnam Nationalist Social Party) and the Dai Viet Quoc Dan Dang (Greater Vietnam National Party). As a consequence, protests against the Viet Minh administration multiplied. In Hanoi, popular demonstrations demanded the resignation from office of President Ho Chi Minh and the return to power of ex-Emperor Bao Dai.

To cope with increasing opposition, on September 12, Vo Nguyen Giap signed another administrative decree authorizing the creation of the security service Ty Liem Phong. The organ was vested with full authority to arrest and imprison anyone that was considered a danger to the regime. Within 24 hours after that,, on September 13, Ho Chi Minh, also, by an administrative decree, created the Military Court. The creation of the two security organs evidently served Viet Minh’s urgent political purposes, to show defiance to popular protest, intimidate opponents, and suppress the anti-Viet Minh movement that was on the rise. Above all, the Viet Minh used the new security organs as a legal instrument by means of which they would definitely preserve their monopoly of power.

The Oppression

Targeted with harassment, arrest, imprisonment, and death threat were the writers of the Tu Luc Van Doan (Tu Luc Literary Group) Vu Dinh Chi, Khai Hung Tran Khanh Giu, Nguyen Tuong Bach, and Nhu Phong Le Van Tien--; members of the Han Thuyen Literary Society, the scholar Truong Tuu and the theorist of the Fourth International in Hanoi Nguyen Duc Quynh, and veteran members of the Nam Dong Thu Xa (Nam Dong Literary and Social Studies Club), Nhuong Tong Hoang Pham Tran, Hoc Nang Nguyen Van Phat, and Gian Chi Nguyen Huu Van. Among the targets were also the leaders of national parties, Nguyen Xuan Tieu alias Nguyen Ly Cao Kha and Ta Quang Hoi alias Ta Nguyen Minh of Dai Viet Quoc Xa; and Dr Nguyen Xuan Chu and the lawyer Le Toan of the Viet Nam Ai Quoc Dang (Patriots’ Party of Vietnam)

To consolidate their administration, the Viet Minh created the Viet Minh Front with satellite organizations to praise Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh and activate popular support for them, They were the national salvation associations, namely, the Phu Lao Cuu Quoc, for the seniors; Thanh Nien Cuu Quoc; for young men; Phu Nu Cuu Quoc for young women; Nhi Dong Cuu Quoc, for young teen-agers; and so on. In the large cities such as Hanoi, Haiphong, and Nam Dinh, paramilitary groups Tu Ve (Self-defense Guards) were equally created to take charge of the military and security services in the local streets and quarters. Politically, all these organizations served the Viet Minh’s propaganda purposes, to defame the Nationalist leaders and cadres, and thus attenuate their influence on the masses and dismantle their organizations. Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang was portrayed as a gang of bandits and the lackeys of the filthy Chinese Koumintang. Its headquarters on Quan Thanh Street, Hanoi, was put under tight watch. Its party members in Nam Dinh and Haiphong were followed, and their activities were forbidden.

The Nationalists, on the other side, launched campaigns of propaganda in the press to denounce the Viet Minh’s false cause and the true face of Ho Chi Minh. This agent of the Soviet Third International was unmasked to the public. The articles in the journal Viet Nam published in Hanoi by the novelist Khai Hung, Tran Khanh Giu, notably, warned the Vietnamese people and the Allies against all dupes and vile tricks of Nguyen Ai Quoc and the hidden artful schemes of the Viet Minh. The denunciations of the journal gave a dead blow on the head of the Viet Minh administration. Campaigns of anti-Viet Minh propaganda were also activated by secret distribution of pamphlets and intermittent broadcasts through loudspeakers at Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang headquarters in Hanoi, Haiphong, and Nam Dinh.

Beginning in October 1945, the Viet Minh security police applied strict measures of control on the journal Viet Nam. They stopped the distribution of the journal to the provinces and arrested the deliverers. The journal’s office was isolated from the readership. In a short time, the staff had to cease the publication. Vu Dinh Chi was assassinated. The writer Tran Khanh Giu was kept under watch. In December 1946 when the war broke out in Hanoi, he returned to his home village of Hanh Thien, Xuan Truong District, Nam Dinh Province. He was abducted and executed by a local cadre who was allegedly his old student. His body was crammed in a bamboo cage which was then released into a river.

The Viet Minh Maneuver

From September 9, 1945 onwards, the Viet Minh were militarily and politically subdued by the Chinese generals who came to Vietnam following the decision of the Allies at Potsdam in July 1945 to disarm the defeated Japanese Army and maintain order. The Koumintang troops flooded the cities and provinces in the North to the incapacity and inferiority of the Viet Minh, Revolutionary Nationalists among whom were Nguyen Hai Than, Nguyen Tuong Tam, Vu Hong Khanh, and others, who had taken refuge in China and enjoyed sympathy of Generalissimo Chiang Kaishek, returned to the country and arduously fought with the Viet Minh for power. The Viet Minh were then at a loss. Their newly-born administration was like a candle before the wind. To their disadvantage, throughout major cities and provinces, other national parties activated political opposition to apply pressure on them to win back power. Confronting the enemies from all sides, Ho Chi Minh managed to manipulate his opponents into joining him to fight for the interests of national cause.

On November 11, 1945, Ho showed his good will and declared to dissolve the Communist Party of Indochina. He nevertheless created at the same time the Hoi Nghien Cuu Chu Nghia Cac Nac (Club for the Studies of Marxism) in its place. Such an act, raised doubts about Ho Chi Minh’s truthfulness among opposing party organizations. The Viet Minh administration met with tense opposition. Facing the urgency of the moment, they hurriedly organized the general elections by means of which they would effectively count out their opponents legally. Members of the Communist Party of Indochina and pro-Communist candidates were all elected to the National Assembly. In Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh won with 98% of the votes. Non-Communists and the Nationalists were eliminated. However, subdued by pressure from the Koumintang generals and leaders of the opposing parties, on December 22, 1945, Ho Chi Minh made a step backwards. He agreed to compromise with his Nationalist opponents, giving them five cabinet posts and 70 seats in the National Assembly in exchange for their cooperation. Nguyen Hai Than (Viet Cach) was assigned Vice-president; Nguyen Tuong Tam (Dai Viet Dan Chinh), Minister for Foreign Affairs; Nghiem Ke To (Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang) Vice-minister for Foreign Affairs; Truong Dinh Tri (Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang), Minister for Health; and Vu Hong Khanh (Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang), Vice-chairman, National Affairs Council. Ex-emperor Bao Dai was nominated Supreme Advisor to the government. All of them and 70 deputies were only figureheads. The Viet Minh made all decisions

The Tricks

The fight for power aggravated the Nationalist-Communist conflict in large cities and provinces. The Viet Cach openly activated both anti-French and anti-Viet Minh sentiments. Propaganda campaigns of crime denunciation against the Viet Minh were operated among the population. The negotiations with the French of the Viet Minh were accused as an act of betrayal to the nation. The Viet Cach with Nguyen Hai Than at the head, in particular, looked for support from Koumintang General Lu Han to gain an upper hand over the Viet Minh. Ho Chi Minh, on the other side, maneuvered to outdo the Viet Cach and other opposing parties with artifices to win over the Chinese general’s favors. Ho had campaigns of Gold Week organized. He appealed to the Vietnamese people to contribute with wealth to national construction and defense. Tons of gold he amassed were offered in part to the Chinese general in exchange for his withdrawal of support for the Nationalist ally.

While courting the Chinese Koumintang with bribes, Ho Chi Minh made peace with the French invaders. Ho opened the seaport of Haiphong to the French Expeditionary Corps. He sped up negotiations with France through the mediation of the French envoy to Vietnam Jean Sainteny, working towards signing with France a modus vivendi. With it, he dealt with France on an equal footing, won from her the de facto recognition of the Viet Minh as the legitimate representative of Vietnam and gained back Viet Minh’s political supremacy over their opponents.

The Repression

Upon achieving his purposes, Ho Chi Minh made volte face, breaking relations with leaders of national parties, decimating their leadership and eradicating their organizations. Taking advantage of their power, the Viet Minh destroyed them with whatever means they had at hand. Opponents, dissidents, and uncooperative individuals were equally targeted with terror and repression. To get rid of these elements, they attributed to them with crimes of treason. These traitors were abducted, arrested, jailed or put to death.

Confrontation with violence instigated by both sides took place, In the major cities, Hanoi, Haiphong, and Nam Dinh. Exchanges of gunfire and grenades occurred in the streets in broad daylight. Most often the Viet Minh prevailed. Members at he headquarters of the Viet Cach, Dai Viet and Viet Quoc in Hanoi were attacked. The Viet Quoc headquarters near the Municipal Theater in Haiphong, and on Pho Ga Street in Nam Dinh were under strict watch. The Viet Quoc main siege on On Nhu Hau Street in Hanoi were targeted with violence. Uncontrolled fights between the Nationalists and Communists increased at the completion of the modus vivendi in Da Lat on March 6, 1946. Coupled with it was the withdrawal from North Vietnam of the Chinese Koumintang troops. Seizing the opportunity, the Viet Minh launched hefty military operations to destroy the militia and the bases of the Viet Cach, Dai Viet, and Viet Quoc. In the provinces, the guerrilla bases of Dai Viet and Viet Quoc. where the militia had been trained to fight the Fascist Japanese occupiers and French colonialists, suffered Viet Minh violent attacks. The forces of national parties could only stand on the defensive.

On May 28, 1946, a Viet Minh delegation left for Paris to negotiate for a treaty with France. Ho Chi Minh also went to Paris. The conference took place at Fontainebleau near Paris. Discussions ensued for two months but came to no conclusion. On September 13, the Pham Van Dong delegation left Paris. Ho Chi Minh stayed and sought to reach a compromise. On September 15 , at the office of the Ministry of Overseas Lands, Marius Moutet and Ho Chi Minh signed, again, a modus vivendi according to which Vietnam was recognized as a free country-- and not an independent one as expected-- within the French Union. He made his trip back to Vietnam on the French battleship Dumond D’Urville. The Viet Minh propaganda machinery drummed up the Vietnamese-French relations and Ho Chi Minh’s achievements with flowery slogans amid popular protests and indignation of national parties

Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh delegation’s diplomatic failures resulted in violent opposition of the national parties. Anti-Viet Minh sentiments increasingly rose in the population To deal with the situation, the Viet Minh decided to fight back hard, suppressing all party activities. The Nationalists demonstrated their unbending willingness and sheer non-cooperation. On October 28, 1946, 50 deputies in the Nationalist camp did not show at the National Assembly. Nguyen Hai Than, Nguyen Tuong Tam, Vu Hong Khanh, and Truong Dinh Tri voluntarily withdrew from the government. Tension mounted. Both sides prepared to exterminate each other. Nevertheless, the bloodiest fights between the Viet Minh troopers and the forces of national parties only began after the withdrawal of the Chinese Koumintang Army in September 1946.

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

THE VIET MINH ELIMINATION OF NATIONAL PARTIES AND GROUPS (1945-1947)

Although it was a relatively small organization at the outset, the Viet Minh were led by a well-organized and highly disciplined core of Moscow-trained agit-props among whom were Ho Chi Minh and Tran Van Giau. They were the agents who had expertise in executing political maneuver in almost all instances. The Viet Minh fought with vigilance and all means to an end for their cause. In the fight for power, they usually played an upper hand over the Nationalists, and thus their success swept to victory in the August uprisings of 1945. Practically, they outfoxed their Nationalist opponents with well-defined objectives and well-thought strategies.

Communism was unknown to common people in the 1950’s; the Communist-led Viet Minh were therefore not popular. Nationalist leaders of revolutionary parties, however, had clear and thorough thought about communism, and Communist practices. The fact caused great disadvantage to the Viet Minh and thus construed the reason for which the Nationalists became the danger to the existence of the Viet Minh. As a matter of fact, they were targeted with elimination. Ideologically, communism and nationalism, are like water and fire. Thus, the Communist-Nationalist confrontation during the August uprisings and the years that followed had increasingly intensified with bitterness and complexity. Both sides had been ever since entangled in an incessant internal war of attrition with hatred and violence.

Tactically, to mask the true face of Viet Minh. Ho Chi Minh and his comrades had, at first, to disguise themselves as Nationalists. They kept their identity a secret. They often camouflaged their activities under a hidden scheme. They acted as patriots with nationalistic zeal and patriotic fervor. It is no wonder until the end of the Vietnam War (1955-1975), quite a few people still believed that Ho Chi Minh was truly a patriotic Nationalist-- Nguyen Ai Quoc, Nguyen, the Patriot. (A member of the Third International, Ho Chi Minh had used as many as 50 secret names!)

The Viet Minh were notorious in propaganda to win popular support. Low-level Viet Minh cadres usually repeated what their superior had said without thinking about what it meant to draw people to their side. They were commonly called by the nick name "V(E)M," an allusion to V(E)T, a parrot. Nevertheless, superior cadres were clever and cunning. To their political opponents, they temporarily backed off and make concessions when necessary to achieve their purpose some time later. Using tactics of this kind in their fight for power during the August uprisings of 1945, they carried out defined strategies, well-set programs, and well-thought methods. Best of all, they cleverly exploited all their advantages to eliminate opponents and swept away their opponents to win final victory.

Upon his abdication and transfer of power to the Ho Chi Minh government in August 30, 1945, Emperor Bao Dai declared that he himself and the royal family were ready for any sacrifice and their sacrifice should be useful to the people. He requested the new government to take care of the royal temples and tombs, to deal fraternally with all parties, to give them the opportunity to participate in the national reconstruction, and to demonstrate that the new regime would be built on the absolute union of the entire people. Contrary to his wishes, chaos ensued, and terror began to expand.

Even before the Nationalist-Communist conflict intensified, the Viet Minh felt perfectly justified in their role as the executioners for social justice; they considered themselves the liberators of the people. They practiced monopoly power and liquidated political opponents. In Saigon, the prominent intellectual Phan Van Hum was murdered at Thu Duc District, Gia Dinh Province. The leader of the Dang Lap Hien (Constitutional’ Party) Bui Quang Chieu was abducted and executed at Hon Da Bac, Rach Gia Province. In Hue, the Prime Minister of the Royal Cabinet Pham Quynh, the Governor Ngo Dinh Khoi and his son, Ngo Dinh Huan, being accused on ungrounded charges of treason, were executed clandestinely. In Hanoi, Truong Tu Anh, the leader of the Dai Viet, was assassinated. Ly Dong A, the First Secretary of the Duy Dan Dang (The Party for the People), escaped death but disappeared. The former Prime Minister Tran Trong Kim, targeted with suspicion, sought refuge overseas. Emperor Bao Dai imposed himself self-exile in Hong Kong, and Empress Nam Phuong and the royal family, under the patronage of the Redemptorists in Saigon, evaded Hue and took refuge in Paris.

　

THE VIET MINH ELIMINATION OF THE NATIONAL RESISTANCE FORCES IN THE SOUTH

　

　

The Political Situation in the South prior to the August Uprisings

After the coup d’etat of March 9, 1945, the Japanese authorities in the Indochina intended to transfer power to Cao Dai political leaders. However, being committed to their religious faith, they declined. His Excellency General Tran Quang Vinh, a prominent political and military leader, in a meeting at the Holy Site, explained to a group of Cao Dai youths that their role as patriots had been played, that political power should be transferred to Emperor Bao Dai, and that the emperor would then choose politicians to govern the country and the people of Vietnam would decide what political regime Vietnam would adopt. Cao Dai believers should perform their duties as citizens and attend to their faith (Van Chuong, September 1991)

Two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. On August 14, spiritual and political leaders in the South among whom were Ho Van Nga, the Prophet of Hoa Hao Buddhism Huynh Phu So, Nguyen Van Sam, and Tran Van Thach formed the Mat Tran Quoc Gia Thong Nhat (United National Front). On August 15, Japan surrendered to the Allies. In Saigon, the Japanese authorities transferred power to the Hoi Dong Nam Ky (Council of Administration of Cochinchina) with Tran Van An as the chairman. Ho Van Nga was assigned as the Vice-viceroy of Cochinchina while awaiting the Viceroy Nguyen Van Sam who was on the way from Hue to Saigon.

Tran Van Giau’s Chicanery

Hanoi sent Tran Van Giau, a Viet Minh politics commissioner, and Nguyen Binh, a veteran member of Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang, to the South to seize power Aware of the overwhelming political and military strength that would destroy their control of power. Tran and Nguyen sought support beside the Nationalist spiritual and political leaders. At the Cao Dai Headquarters of Militiamen, Tran and Nguyen earnestly preached national unity and solidarity. With mere rhetoric, they were successful in convincing the Nationalists to cede power to them, dissolving their four military divisions under their command. Militiamen were to go back to their native villages and join local national resistance units. Only two companies were retained.

General Tran Quang Vinh of Cao Dai resigned from office. The command of the two military detachments was passed to His Excellency Nguyen Van Chu. On his way back to the Cao Dai Holy Site, the general was arrested at Cho Dem, Duc Hoa District, Long An Province, on the order of Huymh Van Tien, the then Director of Police in the South. He was abducted to the Viet Minh Headquarters in Dong Thap and then to Ca Mau guerrilla zone where he was to be executed. By miraculous chance, he was saved there by Nguyen Van No, an old militiaman under his command, who was a lead-serviceman of the local Viet Minh troops (Van Chuong, September, 1991).

The Viet Minh’s creation of the Uy Ban Hanh Chanh Lam Thoi (Privy Council of Administration) on their own initiatives aroused deep resentment among leaders of the political and revolutionary circles. The members in this council consisted only of Communists or pro-Communists, which fact presented an act of presumptuousness to spiritual leaders, much to the indignation of the Nationalist leaders and non-Communis figures. Worse still, they executed outright plans to eliminate the Nationalists, even the sympathizers with them. Ho Van Nga and many members of the Viet Nam Doc Lap Dang were among them. Faced with vile trick played on them by the Viet Minh, the Nationalists reacted with vehemence. In the conference of September 7, 1945, spiritual figures, leaders of national parties, and members of the Fourth International strongly blasted Tran Van Giau and the Viet Minh for their act of superiority and monopoly of power. The Viet Minh backed off but did not compromise.

As the conflict persisted, the tension built. On September 8. at Can Tho, the Hoa Hao organized a demonstration to protest against the Viet Minh in support for the United National Front. The following day, the Viet Minh reacted with violence. A huge meeting was proceeded with plan of actions at the Can Tho City Hall. The Hoa Hao were charged with carrying out the dark scheme to overthrow the people’s administration and take it by force.

The retaliation was brutal. The Viet Minh launched a string of search-through operations throughout Can Tho to arrest Hoa Hao leaders and cadres. The city prison was crammed full of Hoa Hao dignitaries and adepts. Within hours, the organizers of the demonstration among whom were Huynh Thanh Mau, the younger brother of the founder of Hoa Hao Buddhism, Tran Van Hoanh, the eldest son of General Tran Van Soai, and Nguyen Xuan Thiep, the Hoa Hao representative who was about to go to Hanoi for negotiation with the central government. They were all executed at the Can Tho soccer field a month later, on October 7, 1945.

In Saigon, Tran Van Giau, on September 9, had his men surrounded the headquarters of Viet Nam Van Dong Hoi (Vietnam Alliance for Independence) on Miche Street where the Prophet Hyunh Phu So was in residence. On September 13, Viet Minh police led by Ly Hue Vinh hunted down prominent leaders of the Front, Vu Tam Anh, Ho Van Nga, Tran Quang Vinh, Luong Trong Tuong. Tran Van Giau gave Le Van Vien a black list comprising the names of hundreds of intellectuals to be executed. This Binh Xuyen leader nevertheless did not execute the order, convincing himself that if all these intellectuals got killed there would be no one left to reconstruct the nation. In this first wave of terrorism, the Viet Minh abducted and killed many prestigious Nationalists.

The Resistance

In addition to threats and violence from the Viet Minh, the Nationalists got entangled in a series of unforeseen events and problematic issues. On September 13, 1945, British General Douglas Gracey who executed the decision of the Allies at the Postdam Conference in September 1945 came to Saigon to disarm the defeated Japanese troops. On September 16, the French troops landed on Saigon. On September 18, Tran Van Giau was denied the recognizance as the legitimate representative of the Vietnamese administration by .the Allies. General Gracey agreed to create a Vietnamese Foreign Affairs Committee that served as a liaison team beside the Allies, instead. Tran Van Thach, Ho Van Phuong, and Nguyen Thi Suong were assigned to the task. All of them were not -Viet Minh.

In reality, beginning in mid-September, Saigon was in flames. The resistance war began. The Viet Minh’s potential human and material resources in Saigon were thin; they had almost nothing. The combined military forces under the command of spiritual and political leaders, by contrast, were imminently strong. The militia with the reinforcements from popular groups raised blockade in and around Saigon. Resistance fighters held key positions in the city. In the early morning of September 14, the militia prepared to fight. Everywhere, mostly in the poor residential quarters and suburban areas, Ban Co, Khanh Hoi, Cau Kho, Tan Dinh, and Thi Nghe trees were felled and furniture were thrown out on the street, raising a barrage to obstruct the advance of French troopers. The gas storage at Nha Be was set afire. The popular resistance fighters of national parties were in control of Cho Lon, Saigon China Town; the Binh Xuyen, along the Ben Nghe Canal to Saigon River; the Cao Dai Forces, on the routes to Tan Son Nhat Airport and Tay Ninh Province. the resistance force under the direction of To Ky; and the Viet Minh troops commanded by Hoang Quoc Viet, in the north of the city, Tan Dinh, and Thi Nghe.

On September 21, with General Gracey’s approval, Colonel Cedille, the France Commissioner, took command of the French troops. Vested with the military authority, the colonel declared, in a public notice, he would execute all troublemakers and banned the circulation of the local press. On September 22, General Gracey freed all French soldiers and nationals detained by the Japanese from prison and equipped them with arms, allegedly for self-defense. On September 23, the French Troops launched attacks on and seized Saigon City Hall and the main public administrative agencies, departments, services, and offices. French infantry troops conducted a thorough house search operation to look for weapons and ammunitions storage in the center of the city and the city port.

On September 23, 1945, facing the French infantry troops’ repression, the militia with coarse weapons valiantly stood up and pledged to fight. Tran Van Giau and the Communist members in the Privy Council of Administration of the South had already taken refuge in the secured zone of Cho Dem, Long An area, south of Saigon. Pham Van Bach and his colleagues of the new Viet Minh Administration, on their turn, retreated to the secure zone. The resistance leaders were put into a crisis situation. On September 27, they met and formed the National Government to reorganize the Resistance. On the other side, the French were also in a dilemma. They wanted a cease-fire. Upon agreement of spiritual and national party leaders, on September 30, negotiations for a truce between French Colonel Repito Preneuf and Pham Van Bach, chairman of the new Privy Council, took place. A cease-fire was taken into effect. The militia forces were reorganized and regained control at several key positions. Taking advantage of the situation, the Viet Minh secretly searched for and seized political opponents. Among the victims were also the lawyer Duong Van Giao, Ho Van Nga, Dr. Ho Vinh Ky and his wife, Dr. Nguyen Thi Suong, Le Kim Ty, Lam Ngoc Duong, Truong Lap Tao, and many members of the Fourth International in the South.

Worthy of noting is the case of Ho Van Nga, the chairman of the Viet Nam Quoc Gia Doc Lap Dang (Vietnam National Independence Party). A sympathizer with the Viet Minh, Ho Van Nga had many times praised Tran Van Giau as"the one who was ready to serve the country" He was nevertheless arrested along with the members of the Resistance Committee for the Blockade of Saigon, Kha Vang Can, Nguyen Van Sam, and Tran Van An. He and other leaders, Vu Tam Anh, Nguyen Thanh Phuong (Cao Dai), and Tran Quang Vinh (Cao Dai) were detained in the same prison. The latter inmates evaded the prison out of a plot meditated by Nguyen Thanh Phuong. Ho Van Nga stayed.

The Viet Minh security police came to arrest Ho Van Nga while he was on sleep. He was imprisoned without intervention from his best friend, Tran Van Giau. Nearly half a year later, in 1946, Ho Van Nga was transferred to Rach Gia for execution. He was stabbed to death at Kim Quy Hon Da Bac. And, his body was released into the river without leaving a trace. Until his death, Ho Van Nga still believed Tran Van Giau would never cause him harm.

Members of the Fourth International, Phan Van Chanh, Nguyen Van So, Phan Van Hoa, Tran Van Si, Nguyen Van Soai, and Nguyen Van Tien were abducted and killed. They were buried alive at the Long Tao River, Binh Thuan Province. Ta Thu Thau, the leader of the group, was arrested, jailed, and executed at Tu Nghia District, Quang Ngai Province when he was on his way home in the South from Hanoi. He was presumably executed on the order of Tran Van Giau. Ta Thu Thau had treated Tran like his student while Tran was in Saigon and took care of him during his stay in France.

Operations to Eradicate Traitors

Trinh Hung Ngau recounted in his memoirs "To the Present and Future Generations," July 13, 1946, that Tran Van Giau disclosed to him Tran had ordered his men to execute approximately 2,500 national party cadres in the several months the Viet Minh were in power in the South in 1945. To execute their plan, the Viet Minh security police spread the rumor that the operation was targeted at the traitors. The vile scheme was aimed to blind the people and deviate public opinion from the truth. The hunt for traitors was carried out with arrests, abductions, and executions on false charges. The victim was difficult to escape death. A notice published on the Viet Minh press on September 8, 1945, specified that the administration was in the process of instituting an investigating commission whose aims were to examine into and denounce the crimes of the gang of traitors. The traitors would be brought to the People’s Court. They would be punished. Their properties and lands would be expropriated and given to poor people.

A Clean Pair of Heels

While the militia were fighting hard against the invaders in Saigon and the surrounding areas, Tran Van Giau and members of the Privy Council fled without a word to Cambodia. A People’s Council of Administration was created and led by Pham Ngoc Thach. The new organ, on its turn, moved to the rear area in Cho Dem, Long An Province. The purpose of the move was destined not to prepare for the resistance but to negotiate with the French for the sake of convenience, to deal with the enemy under favorable conditions. However, the negotiations lasted only 10 days and came to no result. The war spread. The People’s Council chose not to confront the enemy. They quietly retreated to Hau Giang (Bassac River plain). Some members in it evaded to Thailand, and Pham Ngoc Thach and the others, to Hanoi. Nguyen Binh was in full command of the Viet Minh troops.

In Saigon and elsewhere in the adjoining areas, the militia, and not the Viet Minh, sacrificed themselves for national cause. They used all kinds of weapons they had in hand to fight against the invaders. Subdued in face of a mighty military force, they were fast disbanded. The French Expeditionary Corps seized Thu Dau Mot, Bien Hoa, and My Tho, on October 25, Vinh Long, October 2, Can Tho, October 30, and Ca Mau, February 2, 1946.

In February 1946, the Viet Minh administration in Hanoi vested Nguyen Binh with full authority to reorganize the resistance.. Following his predecessors’ political practices, Nguyen wooed the resistance leaders to join the Viet Minh. Having experienced the malicious tricks of the Viet Minh in the past, they declined. Many expressed worries about Nguyen’s scheme. Le Van Vien, the leader of the Binh Xuyen forces, who had worked under the command of Nguyen Binh in Guerrilla zone 7 --Saigon and the adjoining areas--, had doubts about Nguyen’s thought and act. Le Van Vien left the guerrilla zone, returned to Saigon, and cooperated with the French to fight against the Viet Minh. Cao Dai and Hoa Hao military commanders, being aware of the use of tricky language that was common to the Communist-led Viet Minh were on their guard against this opportunist and broke relations with him.

A Term for Reconciliation

On March 6, 1946, the Viet Minh administration in Hanoi and the French compromised on a momus vivendi. The Viet Minh regained the commanding position. The Viet Minh in the South, this time, tried to win support of free-floating elements of Cao Dai and Hoa Hao, and political parties. Nguyen Van Thanh of Cao Dai, as a case in point, was lured into the maze. Quite a few religious dignitaries and Nationalists resisted. The conduct of bad faith of the Viet Minh made them examine into the past experiences They could not cooperate with the Viet Minh again as a result of their dishonesty. Having had distrust of the Viet Minh’s conduct, the Nationalists worked hard towards winning back their commanding position, neutralizing the Viet Minh’s monopoly of power. However, for national cause, they expressed their spirit of reconciliation by creating a National Front in which members of the two camps, the Nationalist and Communists, could represent and work to settle dispute. Only in this way could they unite themselves in the resistance against the French.

On April 2, 1946, leaders of Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Roman Catholicism, Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang, Viet Nam Doc Lap Quoc Gia Dang, Binh Xuyen, military commanders of the resistance forces and representatives of the Viet Minh met in a conference at Ba Queo, Cho Lon. On April 20, representatives of both sides elected leaders to the Supreme Commission for the Resistance. The Prophet Huynh Phu So of Hoa Hao was elected chairman; Vu Tam Anh (Resistance Militia), vice-chairman; Mai Tho Tran, (Communist) secretary; Le Trung Nghia (Resistance Forces), member in charge of propaganda; Huynh Van Tri (Binh Xuyen), member in charge of the military affairs. Elected as advisors were Pham Thieu (Communist), Pham Huu Duc (Communist), and Tran Van Lam (Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang).

The creation of the Front posed serious problems to the French. French neocolonialism was at stake. With millions of supporters and militiamen under its leadership, the Front could resist the French troops with force and reverse the situation. Being aware of this, the French changed their strategy, spearheading against the Front’s militia instead of focusing on eliminating the Viet Minh troops. In Saigon, French security police opened strings of search-through operations. Police checkpoints were posited at crossroads to arrest suspects. Liaison teams of the Front were fast disbanded. More than 150 members of the Front were arrested, among whom were the key leaders, Nguyen Trung Chanh and Nguyen Thanh Tan. French troops, at the same time, launched alternative attacks on the guerrilla bases at Ba Queo, Tho Dia, and Binh Hoa. Unable to resist, the Front militia were forced retreat to the Vietnamo-Cambodian borders. Those units that stayed had to operate their activities underground.

Seizing the opportunity, the Viet Minh, as always, accelerated their secret plan of actions, neutralizing the Front politically. They created the Hoi Lien Hiep Quoc Dan Viet Nam (The People’s Associations of Vienam) abbreviated as Lien Viet to replace the Front. Nguyen Binh and Pham Thieu, the key representatives of the Viet Minh in the Front, withdrew their representation. They broke relations with the Nationalists. Worse still, in the name of the Viet Minh administration in the South, they dissolved the Front. Successive political events with the expense of the Nationalists ensued. On February 26, 1946, France and China signed an agreement by which France returned to China Canton, the concession it had occupied in exchange of China’s agreement to let the French Expeditionary Corps land on the seaport of Haiphong, North Vietnam. In addition, on April 1, the French Expeditionary Corps replaced on agreement terms the Chinese Koumintang troops to assume the legitimate role of an Ally Army in North Vietnam.

In the South, the Viet Minh regained the commanding position, playing an upper hand over the Nationalists .In the North, Ho Chi Minh made volte face, eliminating the Nationalist leaders and destroying their organizations. Repression of the cadres and members of opposing parties was in full swing. In the South, the situation became exceedingly complicated. On March 26, the French authorities nominated Dr. Nguyen Van Thinh as the Prime Minister of the Nam Ky Tu Tri (Self-governed Administration of Cochinchina). Faced with the oppression of the French, on one side, and the repression of the Viet Minh, on the other, the leadership of the Front decided to withdraw its military forces from the guerrilla zones. They returned to Saigon where they believed they could confront the French, reactivating the resistance clandestinely.

The most active resistance force operating in Saigon composed largely of devout members of Cao Dai and Hoa Hao. although a number of it still served under the command of Nguyen Binh in accordance with the terms upon which the Front and the Viet Minh had agreed. Because of this, the resistance force fought in a difficult situation. Having had clear and thorough knowledge of the Nationalists’ new strategy, the French tightened control on the Front’s activities. Operations of terrorism were activated. Members of the Cao Dai, Hoa Hao, and other elements having ties with the resistance were arrested and jailed. To their disadvantage, the Front lacked a rear area where it could find human and material resources. Finally, the Front leaders had, again, to change strategy, to withdraw its forces to Tay Ninh in the west, where the Cao Dai enjoyed great popular support, and Hau Giang (Bassac River plains) where the Hoa Hao had a solid army of militiamen and a rear area abound in human resources and fertile lands.

In a concerted effort to prevent the French’s recrudescence of colonialism and the Viet Minh’s hostile practices against them, Nationalist personalities among whom were Nguyen Van Sam, Tran Van An, Nguyen Bao Toan, Le Van Thu, Lam Van Tet, and Dang Van Ky, called for the creation of a union. They urged on leaders and personalities who had disassociated themselves from the French to join in it to fight against both the French invaders and deal with the Viet Minh aggressors.

On February 27, 1947, the Mat Tran Quoc Gia Thong Nhat Toan Quoc (Pan-Vietnam National Union) was created in Nannin, China. In the South of Vietnam, the conflict between the Viet Minh and the Nationalists was at its height. In the western provinces, clashes between the military forces of the two sides happened anywhere and at anytime. At the beginning of April 1947, the military forces of Cao Dai, Hoa Hao, Dai Viet, Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang and Binh Xuyen occupied Dong Thap Muoi (Plains of Rush), transforming it into a guerrilla zone. On their move, the militia were caught under crossfire by roadside ambushes of the Viet Minh and under raid on inland waterways by French air-force.

To ease the tension that generated constant bloodshed, the Viet Minh and the Nationalists agreed to negotiate on a dialog of reconciliation. The Prophet Huynh Phu So was prearranged to meet with the representatives of the Viet Minh at Tan Phu, Dong Thap Muoi. On the night of April 16, 1947, when approaching the rendez-vous, the founder of Hoa Hao was all of a sudden entrapped in an ambush. He was abducted to unknown whereabouts and disappeared thereafter. Assassinations of key leaders of the Union by the Viet Minh resurfaced. Dr. Tran Van Tan was assassinated in Gia Dinh, in November 1947. Bloody clashes between the Viet Minh and the Nationalist resumed.

Thousands of Hoa Hao Buddhists were abducted and killed. Along the boundaries of the Phu Thuan and Long Thanh villages were found three collective graveyards at each of which more than 200 Hoa Hao Buddhists had been executed on vengeance by the Viet Minh. They were stabbed, hand-tied and eye-folded, then dumped into the ditches. Passers-by, two or three days later, still heard the groaning and moaning of the dying. They were only half-buried! The victims were portrayed as bloodthirsty bandits and killers. A temple was built in dedication to the martyrs. After the fall of South Vietnam in April 1975, the local Communist authorities destroyed the worship-place. Tran Kieu, who was the secretary of General Tran Van Soai of Hoa Hao, kept full documents of more than 11,000 martyrs who were killed before and after the Tay An Co Tu (Tay An Old Temple) massacre on April 16, 1947. (Interview with Hong Van Hoanh, April 1992)

The Cao Dai Church suffered similar tragedy. Following the days of the August uprisings in 1945, the Viet Minh in Quang Ngai massacred as many as 4,000 Cao Dai followers. Hundreds of them were buried alive in collective graves along the bank of Ve River and at the foot of Ve Bridge. Witnesses reported a total of about 6,000 Cao Dai followers being executed in the Cu Chi and Trang Bang areas, east of the Tay Ninh Township. Collective graves with thousands of remains of the victims killed by the Viet Minh were found in the Tra Cao area, Tay Ninh Province. (Vo Dinh Tan, December 1991).

Witnesses in Tay Ninh related that on the eve of the Lunar New Year’s Day of Dinh Hoi (1947), the Viet Minh burned down all the houses and killed an uncounted number of innocent Cao Dai followers of the 50 hamlets in the Long Thanh area. The tragedy took place when the Viet Minh troops were on their way of retreat to San Cu Bau De Mountains after they failed to make attack on the Tay Ninh Holy See. The massacre still imprints on the memory of the survivors with the slaughter of Nguyen Van Dien, Thi Van Loc, Do Hoang Gian, and his wife and their two children. After they had executed Nguyen Van Dien, the murderers searched through his body. They found only some pieces of precious metal. Angrily, they threw the body into a ditch nearby. With a machete, they cut off Do’s and his wife’s head. Angered by loud cries, they threw Do’s 4- and 2-years children into the burning flames. Thi van Loc was found lying disemboweled in a forest nearby several days later (Vo Ha Quyen, 1985:11-12)

"The love for life and faith in Goodness," the Reverend Le Van Mang of Cao Dai contended, "are manifest in the Cao Dai Writ and the Holy Messages from the Supreme Cao Dai. Cao Dai followers are brothers and sisters to themselves and members of the same family to others. We preach peace for everyone, for the Viet Minh. During the Idochina War (1946-1954), His Holiness Pham Cong Tac and Cao Dai dignitaries saved hundreds of thousand Communist cadres and followers from persecution by the French. By that time, there was no clear indication as to whether the Viet Minh were the believers of bad faith. Atheism pervaded, and the devils were victorious. Only Ho Chi Minh himself knew he was a Communist. His goal was to transform Vietnam into a Communist country. Anyone who disagreed with him was anti-Viet Minh. As a consequence, he was reactionary and put to death. Cao Dai believers were a target for elimination. No one really knows how many brothers and sisters of ours were abducted and killed. In the archives on file prepared for the canonization of Cao Dai believers who died for their faith during the first years of the resistance war, we have a list of 1,271 martyrs.

Millions of Cao Dai followers lived under threat. To protect the lives of Cao Dai adepts and fellow countrymen who only had their bare hands to resist the atrocious Viet Minh, his Excellency Tran Quang Vinh, with the approval from His Holiness Pham Cong Tac, signed an agreement with the French authorities in the South. The terms served a twofold purpose. One, they would help the innocent from being arrested without a reason during a French military operation. Two, they gave ordinary people an instrument for self-defense by means of which they could fight against both the Viet Minh aggressors and the French invaders. It was not an easy task to do, however. The French authorities had doubts as to whether Cao Dai believers were loyal to them because they themselves were patriotic and revolutionary. Because of this, for twenty militiamen, only one was equipped with a rifle. In Long An Province, several thousand men had only one rifle. However, with determination, Cao Dai followers stood firm. (Van Chuong, September, 1991)

Having suffered tragic losses inflicted on them by the French troops’ attacks and the Viet Minh’s repression, the two largest Nationalist military forces, Cao Dai and Hoa Hao, were forced to fight on the defensive and guerrilla warfare tactics. The groups of militiamen under the command of Trinh Minh. the military groups under the leadership of Le Quang Vinh, and the militiamen under the direction of Nguyen Giac Ngo retreated to their guerrilla zones. Trinh Minh The and his fellow fighters occupied the That Son Mountains, Le Quang Vinh and his warriors operated their military activities in the swampy U Minh areas, and Nguyen Giac Ngo and his fighters, to marshy areas in the Bassac River plains. These leaders pledged to fight against the French invaders and the Communist Viet Minh aggressors. Other groups returned to the French-occupied zones and risked their lives to operate their clandestine activities.

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

THE VIET MINH SEIZURE OF POWER (1945)

　

　

　

In 1942, Ho Chi Minh distanced himself from the Cach Menh Dong Minh Hoi (Vietnam Alliance for Revolution) known as Viet Cach and founded the Viet Nam Doc Lap Dong Minh Hoi (Vietnam Alliance for Independence) abbreviated as Viet Minh. Thereafter, this Communist-led organization succeeded in laying the foundations for two guerrilla bases, one in Dinh Ca, Thai Nguyen Province and the other in Bac Son, Lang Son Province. Two platoons of guerrillas were formed; one was led by Phung Chi Kien, a graduate from Whampoo Military Academy, China, and the other, by Vo Nguyen Giap, a history teacher at Thang Long High School, Hanoi. Phung Chi Kien got killed in a confrontation with the Japanese troops, and the platoon under his command was disbanded. Faced with a possible disastrous incident, Vo Nguyen Giap and his group found their way to `Bao Luc to seek refuge in China.

After several months of active redress, Vo Nguyen Giap’s troops returned to Vietnam. They were then quickly developed from a platoon into a company, and a battalion. This small army comprised mostly armed squads of propaganda They were the only military force the Viet Minh had acquired at hand by the time the August uprisings were about to take place. It was relatively a small unit of armed men as compared to the greater and more powerful armed militia of the Dai Viet Quoc Dan Dang (Greater Vietnam National Party) and the Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang Vietnam National Party).

While the Viet Minh military force was in its infancy, DVQDD and VNQDD had founded bases for clandestine activities and military training. Ever since 1942, the DVQDD had succeeded in forming groups of militiamen that operated in various areas in the midlands of North Vietnam. The guerrilla groups at Kep base, Bac Giang Province, conducted secret military activities under the command of Vu Dinh Huyen. After the coup d’etat of March 9, 1945, the DVQDD guerrillas operated openly all along the vast area, from Bac Giang, and Bac Ninh to Lang Son on the Vietnamo - Chinese border. On March 15, 1945, the Military School of Lac Trieu was established with the task to train officers and noncommissioned officers for the party troops, particularly for the militia operating in the mining and coastal areas of Dong Trieu and Quang Yen. In Yen Bay Province, where DVQDD seized the control, Tran Quoc Tuan iMfantry Academy was founded. It received and trained as many as 500 cadets, most of whom were students and college graduates. The DVQDD militia grew rapidly with the coming into Vietnam of the Chinese Koumintang troops under the command of Lu Han and Tsiao Yan in September 1945. The militiamen under the command of Vu Kim Thanh that returned from China joined the DVQDD troops, raising the number of militiamen to ten thousand. The White Star Division was formed. This joint national forces controlled the vast coastal areas of Tien Yen, Mong Cay, Cam Pha, Hon Gay, Dong Trieu, and Pha Lai.

Although under violent oppression of the French colonialists, VNQDD survived with tenacity. After the bloody repression in the white terror, the revolt of Phuc Quoc Quan led by Tran Trung Lap in Lang Son in 1940, the uprisings in Nghe An and Do Luong in 1941, and continual unrest in Saigon, Can Tho Rach Gia, Bac Lieu, and Dong Thap Muoi in 1940-1942, veteran revolutionary figures among whom were the partisans of VNQDD were hunted down. A number of them had to evade the country and sought asylum overseas. Most of them. however, stayed in the country and fought in hiding. All activities of the party at the base in the provinces in the Center and the North, went underground.

The struggle for national independence rose as in a tide after the Japanese coup d’etat of March 9, 1945. Party mem,bers of VNQDD engaged in open activities in Quang Nam, Nam Dinh, Son Tay, Vinh Yen, Phu Tho, Viet Tri, Lang Son, Hanoi, Haiphong, Dong Trieu, Mong Cay, and Lang Son. They soon turned the fight for independence into an anti-Viet Minh struggle when the Viet Minh to all intents monopolized the power and used violence to eliminate the national parties and groups from the political scene. Trom Quang Ngai to Lang Son guerrilla zones were quickly formed with anew task, to fight, this time, against both the Viet Minh and the French, who had returned to Vietnam with intent to reoccupy the country.

The Viet Minh became a myth in the struggle for independence against the French colonialists and Japanese Fascists as soon as they successfully made contacts with the Americans at the close of World War II. In November 1944, Ho Chi Minh received arms and ammunitions from the British Army and a group of American businessmen in Indochina in addition to the meager amount of weapons he had acquired from the OSS in China. He had provided the American team with intelligence information, for instance, the traces of some pilots of the planes shot down in Indochina by the Japanese. Within a short period of time, they stood out among other resistance organizations in the country as a pivotal force that had had connections with the Allies and gained their recognition. Enjoying this prestige, the Viet Minh attracted to their side large groups of people from all walks of life who at the moment were thirsty for national independence.

The Viet Minh easily gained warmest popular support. They equally gained ground on other national political parties and groups in their justifications as a prestigious organization that fought for national cause. Above all, ,they ouywitted their opponents in operating propaganda activities. Their clandestine press, the journals Quan Du Kich (The Sniper), Co Giai Phong (The Liberators), and Cuu Quoc (National Salvation) enjoyed immense readership. They were equally acclaimed among the intellectuals of Hanoi, particularly, the democrats, Vu Dinh Hoe, Duong Duc Hien, and Phan Anh, and the socialists, Nguyen Xien and his group. These two groups became later the backbone elements that served the Viet Minh in the propagation of the ideals of the revolution. Quite a few of opportunists and hooligans joined in the Viet Minh movement and formed the largest obedient contingent in the Viet Minh Front onwards.

The victory of the Allies in Europe gave genuine impetus to the struggle for independence of the Vietnamese people. The thirst for it was so great. Hope and jubilation permeated the hearts and minds of the whole population, fascinating the old and the young and binding everyone to a cause. The people wished for change, getting off the life of bondage. They would follow whoever that could lead them to victory, to gain national independence. The fight against the French colonialists and Japanese Fascists by the militia of various revolutionary parties and groups sparked here and there in the mountainous regions in North Vietnam Soon after the surrender of Japan to the Allies in the Pacific Ocean on August 15, uprisings motivated by political parties and groups spread in the North and the South of the country.

In the North

In Hanoi, on August 17, the Lien Doan Cong Chuc (League of Civil Servants), out of the ins inspiration of the Dai Viet Dan Chinh (Greater Vietnam Civil Servants and Citizens Party) of Nguyen Tuong Tam and the Doan Thanh Nien Quoc Gia Xa Hoi (National Association of Youths for Social Services) of Nguyen Xuan Chu, organized a meeting in front of the Municipal Theater to demonstrate the wish for independence of the people and support the Tran Trong Kim government. The just cause attracted tens of thousand people. Worming themselves through the crowds, Viet Minh agit-props of the armed squads of propaganda spread news of a true demonstration under the direction of the Viet Minh, to make a revolution. The day was August 19, and the place was, again, the Municipal Theater. Revolution was to everyone something new and intriguing, evoking a change for a new life, a bondage-free life! People whispered the news in one another’ s ears. The masses were fascinated by it. People had one day to prepare for it. Just with flags and banners.

On August 19, a colossal meeting took place at Hanoi Municipal Theater. In the early morning, hundreds of thousand people coming from all directions had already gathered in front of the theater. The Viet Minh, within a moment, took the commanding role. and their cadres maneuvered with ease the event. There were chants of slogans and shouts of acclaim At eight o’clock, some cadres appeared in front of a microphone stand and read some sort of declarations, which were heard in tiny voice through the loudspeakers. A thunder of cheers rose on manipulation of the agit-props. People went wild as Viet Minh red-and-yellow-star flags suddenly floated around. And, with the Viet Minh vanguards’ maneuver, the meeting instantly turned into a march demonstration.

The demonstrators in waves marched to the Viceroy’s Palace. They marched while chanting slogans. At the palace, the Viet Minh delegates met with Dr. Nguyen Xuan Chu, the head administrator of the Royal Court of Hue in North Vietnam. The Viet Minh insisted on a transfer of power. The administrator refused with firm determination. The dialog between the two parties came to a dead end. Exchange of harsh words went on. The loyal administrator refused to give in although under threat. Nevertheless, the highest royal official, who was helpless and had no one around but himself to deal with the situation. He was finally subdued not by violence but out of clemency. He resigned to let the Viet Minh representatives did what they wished. He did not have the heart to order the national guards within his authority to fire at his innocent fellow citizens. The reception was over. The Viet Minh declared they had seized the administration.

Taking advantage of their victory, under the direction of the General Uprisings Committee, the demonstrators marched towards the military barracks on Dong Khanh Street where the Japanese troops stationed to seize the military power. There, they met with the firm stance of the Japanese soldiers on guard. The gate was tightly shut. Machine-guns were ready to fire. The demonstrators closed in and tightened their circle in front of the barracks, creating road blocks from Cho Hom Market to Dong Khanh Street. Someone threw bricks at the Japanese on watch at Cho Hom - Ham Long crossroads. They instantly retaliated with gunshots. Two people got wounded. Shouts of "fight! fight!" surfaced from the masses. At the gate of the barracks, a young student, in a show of bravery, rushed to the wall, tried to jump over it, and got shot. Within minutes, Japanese tanks were sent in, blocking the main entrances to the barracks to form a barrage in front of it to control public order. From then on, no one was allowed to get in or out.

The crowds became perplexed. Many people intended to leave but didn’t know how to get out of the place. Outside the barrage, mothers were hurriedly looking for their children. The crowds hustled all around for a withdrawal. Chaos was about to happen when the national flag in the barracks was lowered, and a Viet Minh flag was hoisted in its place. A thunder of cheers rose as the Japanese tanks prepared to retreat. The Viet Minh had seized the military power from the Japanese! Within hours, the Viet Minh  cadres declared they  had taken the power by force. 

The plain truth is that a pro-Japanese Vietnamese had successfully got inside the barracks and negotiated for a solution with Kawada, the Japanese officer in command. His solution was simple: to restore public order with an symbolical act, to replace the national flag with a Viet Minh flag This would relieve tension and thus make the crowds disband. The proposal was accepted by the Japanese central command in the city. No Viet Minh representatives were present at the event. They had disappeared.

At the front doors of the Municipal Theater, a memorial service honoring the death of the brave youth who died for national cause was conducted and attended by a huge crowd. His betrothed lover was introduced at the ceremony. The lady was Ph. Th. Th. She was years afterwards the very famous singer Th. H.

In the Center

On March 9, 1945, the Japanese Army in Indochina staged a coup d’etat, overthrowing its servile administration with French Admiral Decoux at the head. Vietnam was nominally given back independence. French-instituted Emperor Bao Dai was still entrusted the authority to rule the country. On March 11, the emperor declared Vietnam was an independent country and annulled the unequal treaties it had signed with France on June 6, 1882 and August 15, 1884. The Tran Trong Kim Cabinet was created on April 17 and resigned from office on August 7 for the failures in the incapacity to rule.

The Tran Trong Kim Cabinet, in truth, had faced with all kinds of difficulties in external and internal affairs. The Japanese Army still held the power to rule and exercised control on it in every aspect. The short-lived cabinet, on the one hand, had to fight beside the Japanese authorities for a competent administration. It made every effort, on the other hand, to redress an ailing economy devastated by the war and the unprecedented hunger that had killed two million people, to reform a frail military defense. and to flatten out a seriously corrupt officialdom. Chaos reigned over the country. The Premier also faced with a political situation that entangled the country in a dilemma. He made contacts with personalities and groups of prestige for solution, including the Communist-led Viet Minh with whom he thought he could find compromise. The letter organization, through its representative, refused to cooperate with the government and vowed to fight against it for its ideology, instead.

The Royal Court o Hue reached an impasse with the Viet Minh’s refusal to compromise. The Honorable Ngo Dinh Khoi, in his letter to the Royal Court, proposed the emperor to seek support from the Japanese, asking them for a transfer of their arms and ammunitions with which the government could confront the Viet Minh. He nevertheless refused the invitation of the emperor to form a royal cabinet in replacement of the Tran Trong Kim government. His brother, the former Royal Minister for the Interior Ngo Dinh Diem was mentioned to be the right personality in this position, instead. It was not an easy task, nonetheless.

On August 19, Emperor Bao Dai urged on the people to support him to defend national independence and the interests of the country. The following day, he sent a wire to General De Gaulle of France demanding the latter political figure to give up the intention to return to Indochina and reoccupy Vietnam. He also wired to President Truman of the United States of America, requesting the latter personality to intervene in De Gaulle’s intention to return to Vietnam. His efforts came to no avail, nevertheless.

The Viet Minh mounted pressure on the Royal Court of Hue. They fomented popular uprisings in the provinces of the Center. Protests resounded almost everywhere. In Hue, tens of thousand demonstrators incited by veteran Communists, Ton Quang Phiet and To Huu among others, demanded Emperor Bao Dai to abdicate and cede power to the Viet Minh. The emperor, through the mediation of his chief of office Pham Khac Hoe, a Viet Minh follower, agreed in the last resort to invite the Viet Minh to form a government. Nevertheless, from Hanoi the Viet Minh-led Privy Government demanded the emperor to abdicate.

On August 24, at the suggestion of Pham Khac Hoe, Emperor Bao Dai decided to abdicate. He admitted that the Viet Minh were a new competent political force. On August 30, Tran Huy Lieu who represented the Viet Minh government accepted the transfer of power from the emperor himself..

In the South

In Saigon, the situation was much more complex. After the coup d’etat of March 9, 1945, the Japanese authorities still maintained the French colonial administrative machinery, regardless of Japan’s official recognizance of Vietnam as an independent country. The Japanese Ambassador Yokohama replaced Admiral Jean Decoux as Governor General of Indochina. Tasukamoto headed the administration in North Vietnam as Residential Governor. in the South, Minoda replaced Pages, acting as the Governor of Cochinchina. Iido replaced Ducoroy and seized the control of the Tong Doan Thanh Nien The Thao (Youth General Associations for Sports), an active organization that played a role in the social life. South Vietnam, apart, remained a colony. Minoda specifically declared that no indigenous political parties or groups could participate in the new administration. All government agencies and services remained to be in existence, and all the actual laws remained to be in effect. Faced with the new arising difficulties, Vietnamese political personalities and leaders of parties and organizations who had received some sort of protection from the Japanese authorities reacted passionately. They made every attempt to influence the Japanese authorities to gain back the country’s suzerainty.

The days following the coup d’etat created favorable conditions for the struggle for national independence. Such personalities as Tran Trong Kim, Tran Van An, and Duong Van Giao who had lived in exile overseas, returned to the country. Political figures and spiritual leaders of the Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang, the Fourth International, the Cao Dai, and the Hoa Hao met and discussed plans of action. The Mat Tran Quoc Gia Thong Nhat (National United Front) came into existence. At the beginning of June, at the Vuon Ong Thuong (Saigon City Park) the organization succeeded in organizing a masses demonstration that attracted tens of thousand supporters. A ceremony in commemoration of the death of the veteran revolutionary Duong Ba Trac, who had died while on political refuge in Singapore, was proceeded. Speeches activating patriotism and the struggle for national suzerainty were delivered and warmly acclaimed.

On August 14 and 15, two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On August 16, Japan surrendered to the Allies. On August 16, the national parties and groups of Mat Tran Quoc Gia Thong Nhat comprising the five major political organizations in the South--Phuc Quoc Dong Minh Hoi (League for National Restoration), Dai Viet Quoc Dan Dang (Greater Vietnam National Party), Cao Dai, Hoa Hao, and Binh Xuyen officially declared the will to serve the national cause. Four divisions of people from all walks of life were enlisted to serve the country. With a good sweep over Saigon, these forces took all the offices and military positions previously held by the Japanese army. On August 19, the Viceroy Nguyen Van Sam, came to Saigon. In his capacity as the head of the administration of the South, he immediately initiated negotiations with the Japanese to take the arms and ammunitions in their possession to secure public order and national defense.

The situation became complicated after the abdication of Emperor of Bao Dai and his transfer of power to the Viet Minh in Hue. The leaders of the National United Front was cornered at the dead end. In addition, the Youth General Associations for Sports suddenly deviated from its course of actions. From an apolitical organization, it turned into a political force. The new orientation was "to serve the country and sacrifice for national independence." The command was placed in the hands of the Communist-orientated medical doctor Pham Ngoc Thach. The latter doctor replaced Iido to direct the organization on the recommendation to the Japanese authorities of Ho Van Nga, the leader of the Viet Nam Doc Lap Dang (Vietnam Independence Party) on August 15. Nevertheless, Pham Ngoc Thach did not assume his role and placed it unconditionally under the leadership of the Viet Minh, instead. The organization was quickly transformed into a political instrument with the expense of the national parties and groups. It became a backbone of the obsolete Viet Minh military force thereafter.

By that time, Tran Van Giau, the Viet Minh politics commissioner in the South, proposed to the National United Front leadership to join the Viet Minh Front to serve national cause, to struggle for the support of the Allies and to cope with the new situation, as the French colonialists prepared to return to Vietnam. On August 23, to show its good wiill and spirit of national concord, leaders of the National United Front agreed in a meeting to disband its military forces and transferred the military command to the Viet Minh. All of a sudden, on August 25, there appeared on a large wood-board in the center of Saigon on which was posted a list of a 9-member Privy Council of Administration of South Vietnam. Eight members in it were Communist and procommunist, and one member was independent. This supercilious attitude of the Viet Minh was an act of impudence to the leaders of the National United Front. The Viet Minh had flatly negated the role of the nationalists. to monopolize power to the detriment of the national parties and groups. Such personalities as Vu Tam Anh, Le Kim Ty (Cao Dai), Pham Huu Duc (Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang), Ho Van Nga (Viet Nam Quoc Gia Doc Lap Dang), Nguyen Van Huong (Dai Viet), Huynh Phu So (Hoa Hao), Ho Vinh Ky, Lam Ngoc Duong, Huynh Van Phuong, and Duong Van Biao met and discussed measures to deal with the Communists.

In his briefing to the audience on August 23, Duong Van Giao presented with evidences relating to acts of treason of Tran Van Giau. In early 1944, when Tran Van Giau was jailed by the French at Ba Ra he met a fellow comrade, Duong Bach Mai. The latter inmate was transferred while under detention from the sea-island Poulo Condore. Duong disclosed to Tran that he was brought back to the inland jail on predisposition by the French security police for an anti-Japan scheme. Right at that night, Duong Bach Mai and Tran Van Giau were brought to Saigon to carry out the secret plan. The Nationalists demanded in a meeting the Privy Administration to clarify the situation. A joint session of negotiation was held at the School of Arts at Gia Dinh to settle the dispute. The Communists took a step backwards. Tran Van Giau resigned from his position as chairman of the Privy Council of Administration and held the second position in it. Pham Van Bach of the Viet Nam Quoc Gia Doc Lap Dang became the chairman.

On September 2, a march demonstration to mark the Day of Independence took place on Catinat Street Saigon. The Catholic priest Tricoire was killed by a gunshot from the French Club across the street while standing in the City Cathedral of the Dame. Seizing the opportunity, the security police under the direction of Duong Bach Mai arrested some 200 Europeans and French nationals. Taking advantage of the chaotic situation, a number of hooligans rushed in and pillaged the French and Chinese stores. Disorder spread, and the Viet Minh failed to control the situation.

Elsewhere in the cities, from the North to the South, officials and officers of the royal administration at public offices and services and military commands, abiding by the order of the emperor, voluntarily and readily ceded the authority to the Viet Minh. Some clashes between the Viet Minh and the royal authorities happened here and there, but no serious confrontation took place. Few Viet Minh cadres but a large number of opportunists and hooligans played a role and assumed the responsibility to rule. In the countryside, the seizure of the power took place in chaos. No one knew who the Viet Minh really were, and virtually no resistance to Viet Mnh occupation of public offices and services occurred. The Viet Minh themselves did not even know what they were supposed to do with the administration at hand. Local cadres fumbled their way in the provinces, and so did the central administration in Hanoi. Abductions and killings of opponents activated by either side of the struggle for power occurred almost daily until the resistance war broke out.

RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION

The religions were ever targeted with severe restrictions and elimination. In the first years of the Resistance War (1946-1954) against the French, the Communists in the South under the leadership of Tran Van Giau had carried out plans of execution to eliminate the leaders of the Cao Dai Church and Hoa Hao Buddhism. His Excellency Tran Quang Vinh of Cao Dai was abducted and escaped execution. The Prophet Huynh Phu So, the founder of Hoa Hao Buddhism, was entrapped in an ambush and killed. During the guerrilla war for the liberation of the South Vietnam (1956-1975), the Communists delayed their plans, realizing that it was an ill-time to do this. Nevertheless, as soon as they took over the South Vietnam in April 1975, they resumed their plans. This time, they aggressively dismantled, not only the two indigenous Churches but also all other religions.

To begin with, they confiscated all religious, social, educational, and cultural establishments. Religious activities, and religious practices were subjected to restrictions. Religious intolerance was harsh. Dignitaries, priests, and prominent followers were treated with discrimination, hatred, and detention. On November 11, 1975, only six months after the Communists took control of the South Vietnam, the Venerable Thich Tue Hien and eleven monks and nuns of the Duoc Su Pagoda in Can Tho Province immolated themselves by fire in protest of the government's repressive policy against the religion. The Catholic Archbishop Coadjutor Nguyen Van Thuan of the Saigon prelacy was taken into custody. The Archbishop of Hue Nguyen Kim Diem was placed under surveillance. The Hoa Hao Buddhist dignitary Luong Trong Tuong and his wife were imprisoned for unknown reasons. Fourteen Catholic priests and followers of the St. Vincent Cathedral on Tran Quoc Toan Street, Saigon, were arrested for unfounded charges. The Reverend Nguyen Huu Nghi and two former officers of the Republic of Vietnam, Nguyen Duc Hung and Nguyen Viet Hung were given the death sentence without trial.

Religious persecution escalated and became increasingly rude with the arrest of the Catholic priests and the confiscation of the abbey of the Dong Dong Cong (Order of the Mother Coredemptrix) at Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh City, in 1987. Hundreds of priests were detained and imprisoned because of profession of faith and religious practices or for unfounded reasons. Among them were Mgsr. Nguyen Van Nam, the Reverend Nguyen Van De, the Reverend Le Thanh Que, the Reverend Joseph Nguyen Cong Doan, Pastor Dinh Thien Thu, Pastor Nguyen Ngoc Anh, Pastor R' Mah Boi, Pastor Tran Dinh Ai, Pastor Tran The Thien Phuoc, Pastor Vo Xuan, the Venerable Thich Quang Do, the Venerable Thich Duc Nhuan, the Venerable Thich Thong Buu, the Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, the Venerable Thich Tri Sieu, and the Venerable Thich Tue Sy.

International organizations raised concerns over the violations of the rights of man in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The victims of religious intolerance were honored, their cause was justified, and the intervention for their release was affected. Many priests, pastors, and monks were recognized as the prisoners of conscience by International Amnesty. They faced arbitrary sentences and suffered unjust detention:

The Catholic priest Tran Ba Loc was arrested in 1975 and detained at Nhu Xuan reeducation camp, Thanh Hoa Province, North Vietnam. The Catholic priest Nguyen Thai Sanh was arrested in 1975 and detained at Nhu Xuan reeducation camp, Thanh Hoa Province, North Vietnam. The Catholic priest Nguyen Van Ky was arrested in 1983 and detained at Ba Sao reeducation camp, Ha Nam Ninh Province, North Vietnam. The Catholic lawyer Nguyen Khac Chinh was arrested in 1975 and detained at Xuan Loc, Long Khanh Province, South Vietnam. The Buddhist monk Thich Huyen Quang was placed under house arrest in 1982 at Quang Nghia Village, Nghia Binh Province, Central Vietnam. The Buddhist monk Thich Quang Do was placed under house arrest in 1982 at Vu Thu Village, Thai Binh Province, North Vietnam. The Buddhist monk Thich Duc Nhuan was arrested in 1985, then in 1988 and sentenced to 10 years in prison. The Buddhist monk Thich Tri Sieu was arrested in 1984, sentenced to 20 years in prison, and detained at Xuan Loc reeducation camp, Dong Nai Province, South Vietnam. The Buddhist monk Thich Tue Sy was arrested in 1984, sentenced to 20 years in prison, and detained at Xuan Loc reeducation camp, Phu Khanh Province, Central Vietnam. The Buddhist monk Thich Nguyen Giac was arrested in 1984. The Buddhist monk Thich Thien Tan was arrested in 1978, sentenced to life imprisonment, and detained at Xuan Phuoc reeducation camp, Phu Khanh Province, Central Vietnam. The Buddhist monk Thich Phuc Vien was arrested in 1980, sentenced to 20 years in prison, and detained at Xuan Phuoc reeducation camp, Phu Khanh Province, Central Vietnam. Pastor Vo Xuan was arrested in June 1975 and detained in a reeducation camp until 1987. The Reverend was re-arrested on December 12, 1989, and detained at Thuan Hai Province. Pastor Tran Xuan Tu was arrested in 1985 and sentenced to three years of reeducation, (his term in prison was extended to three other additional years in 1990, and he was detained at an unknown forced labor camp (Amnesty International 1992).

A list of 10 pastors of the Vietnamese Evangelical Christian Churches recognized the cases of arrest and detention:

The Reverend Vo Xuan was arrested in June 1975 and detained in camp until April 1987. The Reverend Tran Xuan Tu was arrested in 1985 and sentenced to 3 years of reeducation. His prison term was extended to three other additional years. In 1990, he was detained at Vo Dat forced labor camp in Ham Tan District, Thuan Hai Province. The Reverend Vo Minh Hung was arrested in December 1989 and detained at Camp A20, Dong Xuan District, Phu Yen Province. The Reverend Tran The Thien Phuoc was arrested in November 1989 and detained at Camp Tong Le Chan, Song Be Province. The Reverend had never received a trial. The Reverend Dinh Thien Tu was arrested on February 22, 1991 and detained at Chi Hoa prison, Ho Chi Minh City. The Reverend Tran Dinh Ai was arrested on February 27, 1991 and detained at Chi Hoa prison, Ho Chi Minh City. The Reverend Tran Mai was arrested in October 1991 and detained at Phan Dang Luu prison, Ho Chi Minh City. The Reverend R'Man Boi was arrested in August 1989 and detained at Camp A20, Dong Xuan District, Phu Yen Province. The Reverend Ya Tiem was arrested in August 1990 and detained at Dalat, Lam Dong Province, Central Highlands. The Reverend R'Mah Loan was arrested in June 1991 and detained in Ban Me Thuot, Dac Lac Province, Central Highlands (Indochina Journal, January 1992).

Asia Watch was among the first Western human rights groups to visit Vietnam (mid-March 1993). A Vietnamese official, who requested anonymity, said that the U. S. - based human rights organization checked the civil rights in Vietnam. However, it did not put out a number of political prisoners in the camps it visited. Western diplomats estimated between 100 and 300 political prisoners. News that reached Vietnam Human Rights Watch in February 1993 said that, at the Thu Duc Camp near Saigon only, there were at least 1,000 political prisoners. They were all subjected to strict discipline measures.

Sources from the Office of the Propagation of the Buddhist Faith in Exile in Paris announced in March 1994 that approximately 2,000 political prisoners, be convicted or not, were under detention in various labor camps or prisons in South Vietnam. From 400 to 500 hundred political prisoners were detained at Camp A20 in Xuan Phuoc, Phu Yen Province. About 600 political prisoners were detained at Camp Z30 D & C in Gia Trung, Central Highlands. About 400 political prisoners at Camp Z30 A in Gia Rai, Pleiku Province. Nearly 400 political prisoners were detained at Camp C3 Suoi Mau in Dong Nai Province. Sources also specified with proofs that among the political prisoners at Camp K3 Suoi Mau were the Buddhist Monks Thich Tri Sieu Le Manh That (20 years in prison), Thich Tam Tri Huynh Van Ba (20 years in prison), Thich Tam Can Nguyen Van Tinh (20 years in prison), Thich Hue Dang Nguyen Ngoc Dai (20 years in prison), Thich Nguyen Giac Nguyen Dung (20 years in prison), Thich Thanh Tinh Hoang Van Giang (not convicted), the citizen Nguyen Van Tho (not convicted), citizen Tran Van Tu (not convicted), the citizen Nguyen Van Hoang (not convicted), and the citizen Nguyen Van Trung (not convicted).

The political prisoner Pham Van Thanh (1992) requested the United Nations Commission on Human Rights: To investigate into the deaths of the religious dignitaries, specifically the cases with the Venerable Thich Thien Minh, Buddhist monk, who died at Camp 20; the Most Venerable Thich Tri Thu, Buddhist monk, who died at Thong Nhat Hospital; the Reverend Nguyen Van Vang, Catholic priest who died while under solitary confinement in 1986; and the Reverend Minh, Catholic priest of the St. Vincent Cathedral, who died under solitary confinement in 1986

In a communication dated August 10, 1993, addressed to the Government of Vietnam, the Special Rapporteur of the U.N. Commission on the Implementation of the Declaration of the Elimination of all Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion of Belief brought to the attention of the delegation of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the United Nations the following information (E/CN, 4/1993, para. 68):

"According to the information received, the practice of religions is subjected to severe restrictions. It has been reported that no one can openly practice religion as a priest or minister without the Government's approval of candidates for ordination and enrollment in seminaries. Restrictions in the exercise of religious freedoms are said to have affected the holding of religious services, gatherings and retreats, religious education and the publication of materials. It has also been reported that sermons are subjected to Government approval and that any type of proselytizing is prohibited.

The Government has already made attempts to unify religious groups by establishing State-sponsored religious associations such as the Committee for the Solidarity of Patriotic Vietnamese Catholics, the Union of Patriotic Priests, the Protestant Association, and the Vietnam Buddhist Church, the only officially recognized Buddhist organization. It has been alleged that growing numbers of clergy as well as religious activists have been imprisoned since 1989 because of their religious beliefs. It has also been reported that the Government had launched a particularly intensive campaign against religious leaders between April and September 1990.

A new decree on the regulation of religious activities passed in May 1991 reportedly stipulates that any nominations to religious office, travel abroad by members of the Vietnamese clergy and visits to Vietnam by representatives of foreign religious organizations, religious meetings such as regional and national conferences, and the opening of religious schools and seminaries must be approved by the Government. Catholic priests, nuns, and lay Catholics are reportedly assigned by the authorities to religious functions and duties at the local level without prior consultation with the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy.

In addition, the Special Rapporteur has been informed that numerous members of the clergy belonging to various religious denominations have been imprisoned since 1975. This is said to particularly be the case with Roman Catholic priests and Buddhist monks as well as Protestant pastors, who have been executed systematically and placed in arbitrary detention for prolonged periods as political prisoners in reeducation and labor camps. Military chaplains allegedly were also sent to such camps after 1975, at a time when all foreign missionaries were expelled from the country, numerous places of worship and religions presses closed and religious property confiscated. Large numbers of religious schools, seminaries, hospitals, and orphanages were reportedly also closed and nationalized, as was the case with the Evangelical Nha Trang Seminary."

The undisputed violations of human rights by the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam were substantially raised in the report submitted by Mr. Abdelfattah, Special Rapporteur in accordance with the Commission on Human Rights resolution 1993/25, specified that at least 40 reeducation and labor camps were in existence and that at least 60 prisoners of conscience were detained in Vietnam on account of their religious beliefs.

The living conditions prevailing in reeducation camps, in particular, were described as extremely harsh. The prisoners suffered illness, hard labor, torture, and inhuman treatment. Lack of food resulted in malnutrition. Lengthy indoctrination sessions were common practices. The Buddhist monk Yoshida, as a case in point, is said to have lost the use of his legs after 13 years of incarceration in a reeducation camp where he was subjected to electric shock torture. Worse still, prisoners who were ill and unable to work were not allowed to eat normal poor food rations since their working capacity was diminished. Handicapped prisoners who worked less were forced to eat less. For instance, they were allowed only 12 kilograms of rice that most prisoners were allowed to receive. It had also been said that many prisoners were not allowed to receive packages of food sent to them by their families.

The Puebla Institute, a human rights group in the United States that defends religion worldwide, reported that repression against all of Vietnam's religions continued. Vietnam, it noted, is one of Asia's most religious societies, with nearly 90 per cent of the population identifying with one of several religions. The Institute's report (1994) examined the situation of Vietnamese Buddhists, Roman Catholics, Evangelical Christians, the Cao Dai, and the Hoa Hao. The organization demonstrated that the repressive apparatus of the regime against all religious groups remained widespread and resilient, despite some free market reforms. It listed as evidences the cases of 22 Catholic Priests and lay persons, 12 pastors, preachers, and lay persons, and 75 Buddhist monks and lay persons who were detained or under police surveillance and house arrest.

Serious problems arise as repression against the religion and dissidence increases. Personal security is one among the most serious problems at camp. According to various sources inside Vietnam, until this day, prisoners of conscience are mixed with both common criminals and horrendous hooligans of the underworld whom the camp supervisors often use as spies to control the political prisoner. Concerns over the problem are always ignored. Health care and medical treatment present another serious problem. In many instances, no doctors or medicine are available. The prisoners, in many instances, are forced to resort to the use of traditional medicines such as herbs and roots when they are available. As a result of such an ill-treatment, the inmates are said to die at the rate of 10 to 15 percent a year.

In the civil society, religious intolerance is pervasive as white regions --where religions are supplanted-- grow. People who are said to have been critical of the State Church hierarchy and the Government are arrested, tried, and given prison terms. The religious and dissidents of all walks of life are targeted with suspicion, discrimination, hatred, and violence because of their profession of belief or faith in their just cause. Many of them are harassed, incarcerated, or placed under surveillance. Quite a few believers of all legitimate Churches face unjust sentences and are drained in prisons and camps.