Tran Gia Phung * Translated by VNCH-Ngoc Truong (Danlambao) - Recently, people discussed the Vietnam War documentary debut and some have questioned who violated the Geneva agreement then brought Vietnam to war?
The Geneva Accords of July 20, 1954, divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) in the north, commonly referred to as North Vietnam (NVN). The National government of Vietnam, changed to the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) on October 26, 1955, in the south, commonly known as South Vietnam (SVN).
1. The Geneva Accords do not mention the unification of the country
The full official name of the Geneva Accords on Vietnam is the Agreement on Ceasefire in Vietnam, written in both French and Vietnamese, of equal validity. In addition to France and the DRV (AKA Viet Minh), other signatories of the Geneva Accords also have the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Laos and Cambodia. The two governments of Vietnam and the U.S. do not sign this agreement.
The Ceasefire agreement in Vietnam consists of six chapters, 47 articles, only a purely military agreement, the two sides stopped fighting, withdrawing to the position indicated in the agreement, the withdrawal schedule of troops ... The agreement does not offer a political solution for the future of Vietnam, i.e. not to mention the general election of the country.
Nearly a year later, PM Ngo Dinh Diem declared on Saigon radio on July 6, 1955 that the Vietnamese government did not sign the Geneva Declaration so it was not obliged to implement the agreement. The government does not oppose the principle of general election, but there is no evidence that the DRV has placed national interests above the interests of the International Communist movement. (John S. Bowman, The Vietnam War, Day by Day, New York: The Maillard Press, 1989, p. 17.)
On July 19, 1955, the DRV PM Pham Van Dong sent a letter to Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem asking for an ad hoc conference, which began on July 20, 1955, as stipulated in the Geneva Accords of July 20, 1954, to discuss the general election to unify the country. On August 10, 1955, Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem rejected Pham Van Dong's proposal, and reaffirmed the policy of the Vietnamese government that was issued on July 6, 1955. The Vietnamese national was renamed the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) on October 26, 1955.
Although the government repeatedly refused, the PM Pham Van Dong repeated the request annually on May 11, 1956, July 18, 1957, and March 7, 1958, in order to demonstrate the DRV's interest about the unification of the country, and propagate to countries around the world. Last time, the President of RVN Ngo Dinh Diem, rejected the proposal of Pham Van Dong on April 26, 1958.
The Geneva Accords do not mention the general election of the reunification of the country, so the DRV's argument that the Republic of Vietnam does not consult for the general election, violates the Geneva agreement, is blatantly slanderous allegations. This slanderous allegation has been repeated many times by the communists, to this day in the country still exists this slanderous allegation.
2. The general election is mentioned in the unsigned statement
After the ceasefire agreement in Vietnam and the ceasefire agreements in Laos and Cambodia were signed, the delegations attending the Geneva conference held on July 21, 1954, to discuss the "The Final Declaration of the 1954 Geneva Conference on Indochina Peace "
The Declaration contains 13 articles; most importantly, Article 7 states: "The Conference stated that for Vietnam, the settlement of political issues carried out on the basis of respect for the principle of independence, unity and territorial integrity would to make the Vietnamese people enjoy basic freedoms guaranteed by democratic institutions established after free and secret ballot. For the people of Vietnam to freely express their will, the General Election will be held in July, 1956 under the control of an International Committee composed of delegates from the National Committee for Supervision and Control as of July 20, 1955, the competent authorities in the two regions would have Meetings to negotiate on that matter." (The Nguyen, Diem Chau, Tuong Tuong, Indochina 1945-1973, Saigon: 1973, p. 53). French: google.com.fr., Key words: Déclaration finale de la Conférence de Genève en 1954.)
The chairman of the meeting, Anthony Eden (British Foreign Secretary), asked each of seven delegations, including Britain, France, the Soviet Union, China, the DRV, Laos and Cambodia, responded by saying "yes". All of them responded, no delegation signed the statement, meaning the declaration had no signatures.
This is just a declaration of the delegations, which is expected of the future of Vietnam. An unconfirmed international document can not be a treaty, since no one sign the pledge to implement what has been agreed upon (hence the treaty). Signature notices are only suggestive, as a guide only. Moreover, agreements signed with full signature, but also blatant violations of Vietnam, what is a agreement without signature? (Here is a simple example: a man and a woman who declared married without a marriage contract are legal?)
The mission of Republic of Vietnam and the US delegation did not sign the ceasefire agreement in Vietnam on 20 July, 1954 and also disagreed with the "Final Declaration of the 1954 Geneva Conference on the Restoration of Peace in Vietnam. Indochina "on July 21, 1954. Delegations of Republic of Vietnam and the United States issued a separate statement from each delegation to clarify their positions.
The Vietnamese national government under Bao Dai as Chief of State and Ngo Dinh Diem as Prime minister successfully implemented the Geneva Accords on July 20, 1954, focussing and withdrawing all of the RVN forces down to south of 17th parallel in a timely and accurate manner. Accordingly to the Geneva Accords. Not only was the press at the time, so far, there is no document to show that the RVN violated the Geneva agreement.
The "Final Declaration of the Geneva Conference ..." on July 21, 1954, without signature, was signed by no one to enforce. Therefore, it is impossible to falsely claim that the Republic of Vietnam and President Ngo Dinh Diem did not implement the Geneva Accords, as an excuse for another war to start.
3. Who violated the Geneva Accords?
Let’s return to the Geneva conference. The opening session of May 8, 1954, lasted until July 21, 1954, can be divided into two stages: the first stage from May 8 to June 20, 1954; The second period is from July 10, 1954 to July 21, 1954.
Between the two periods is a 20-day recess for delegations to refer and rest. During this time, three important events occurred:
A) In France, Mendès France was appointed prime minister on June 17, 1954. He promised the French people to solve the Indochinese problem within four weeks, and would sign the armistice on July 20, 1954, meaning that France had decided to leave Vietnam.
B) In Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem was nominated by Chief of State Bao Dai as Prime minister of Vietnam. Diem took office on July 7, 1954, commonly known as "Double seven day".
C) The PM and alose Head of the Chinese delegation at the Geneva conference, Zhou Enlai went back China during the recess, and invited Ho Chi Minh (HCM), Chairman of the DRV, secretly met in Liuzhou, Guangxi (China), from the 3rd to the 5th of July 1954. At that time, the whole world was completely ignorant of this important conference.
The Liuzhou conference between China and Vietnam took place between 3 and 5 July 1954, before the signing of the Geneva Accord. Besides HCM, there are Vo Nguyen Giap and Hoang Van Hoan. At the meeting, Zhou Enlai informed the Viet Minh delegation that there are three ways to deal with the new situation:
a) The good choice is peace.
b) The alternate choice is fighting then peace.
c) The worst choice is keep fighting.
Zhou Enlai strongly recommended that Ho Chi Minh and Viet Minh accept the peace treaty to avoid widening the war, because if the war was widened, the United States could have intervened. According to Zhou Enlai, the Viet Minh should deal exclusively with Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, and at the same time divide two Vietnams at about the 16th parallel.
Zhou Enlai with the Chinese experience through the Korean War, told Ho chi Minh should not be too greedy. France will be in the position to ask the United States to intervene. According to Zhou Enlai, in the case of the United States intervening in the Vietnam War, with powerful forces, the United States could overturn the situation like in the Korean War. It is like the Viet Minh would chase the weak enemy (France), but pick up a stronger enemy (USA). Moreover, according to Zhou Enlai, the Viet Minh should help Mendez-France to keep him out of the French parliament. If Mendès France fails, the Mendes France government will be overthrown, which could be detrimental to the communists. (Beijing: Chinese Communist Party History Publishing House, 2005, translated by Duong Danh Dy, titled "The Role of At Geneva in 1954, chapter 27 "The Key Liuzhou Conference." Source: Internet).
Zhou Enlai further discussed that after the division of Vietnam, the Viet Minh withdrew to the north of Vietnam (NVN), but did not mean that the Viet Minh removed their weapons, but should hide weaponry at small numbers at different places to avoid detection. Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh delegation concurred the plan of Zhou Enlai.
At this conference, Vo Nguyen Giap plans to withdraw only those involved in political affairs; the rest stayed underground. The number of underground troops can be up to 10,000 people. Viet Minh communists bury their weapons, save 10,000 cadres and party members in South Vietnam (SVN), but also keep the senior leaders from NVN such as Le Duan, Vo Van Kiet, Mai Chi Tho, Cao Dang Chiem in South Vietnam as well... (Huy Duc, The Winning side, Volume I: Liberation, New York: Osinbook, 2012, pp. 271-273).
After the Liuzhou conference, in Ho Chi Minh's report at the Central Executive Committee of the Labor Party on July 15, 1954, HCM only mentioned briefly that meeting and discussion with Zhou Enlai. The Viet Minh did not publicly announce the plans of Zhou Enlai as well as the plan of Vo Nguyen Giap to ambush officials in the south to wait for an opportunity to revolt. If publicly disclosed, it will reveal the conspiracy to violate the Geneva agreement. Later, when publishing this report in Ho Chi Minh, the 7th edition of the National Political Publishing House, the editorial staff briefly discussed the meeting at the bottom of page 315.
After the Geneva conference ended on July 21, 1954, the Chinese only published the "Statement on the Sino-Vietnamese Conference of the Chinese government, on the People's Daily in Beijing on August 8, 1954.
Translation:
"The Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China and the President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam Ho Chi Minh held talks on the Sino-Vietnamese border from 3 to 5 July 1954. Prime Minister Zhou Enlai and President Ho Chi Minh exchanged views on Indochinese peace issues and related issues. Participants included Hoang Van Hoan, ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to China and Wei Guoqing, adviser to the delegation of the People's Republic of China at the Geneva summit. "
It only confirmed that there was a meeting between China and North Vietnam but no details.
FOR CONCLUSION
Obviously while the National government of South Vietnam then the Republic of Vietnam respected and complied with the Geneva Accords, the DRV has planned to break the treaty even before the Agreement was signed and after it was signed as well. DRV did it accordingly to China’s plan. In 1973, the Paris peace accords, once again the similar plot repeated.
Therefore, like President Nguyen van Thieu said:
“Believe not what the communists say" .
But also believe neither what the communists write, nor what the communists commit, regardless it is on black and white.
October 19, 2017
