Robert Helvey (Danlambao) - For over a thousand years the Vietnamese people fought foreign invaders seeking to enslave them and to confiscate the natural resources belonging to them. In all of these struggles, the Vietnamese people endured, opposed and broke the chains used against them. China, France, Japan, all have failed to break the will of the people to survive as a nation.
This unique and miraculous feat of sustained resistance to enslavement must not now succumb to the tyranny imposed by a political party that has waged war against its own citizens. And there is clear evidence that the Vietnamese people have exhausted their patience with the Vietnamese Communist Party. By refusing to acknowledge and correct its abuse of authority, this party has committed treason by attempting to enslave its own people. The Party seems to have forgotten the lesson of the thousand-year struggle: The Vietnamese people do not adjust to being enslaved—they are relentless rebels!
The Declaration of Free Citizens is the Voice of the People saying clearly that dictatorships will not stand in Vietnam anymore. Enough is enough!
The Vietnamese Communist Party occupies a position of political power only because the people have permitted it. It can only rule because “we, the people” have not withdrawn its permission to rule. These recent outrageous insults against the people now cause them to put the regime on notice that they no longer can give their obedience to a party that denies their natural rights of freedom. In short, the Vietnamese Communist Party is being informed that the people intend to exercise their natural right and authority to withdraw consent to be ruled by a corrupt, incompetent, illegitimate regime.
The Declaration of Free Citizens implies that the collective vision of tomorrow held by the Vietnamese people for a free society and rule of law leaves no room for the current regime.
At the moment, the Party and Government may be able to compel obedience by many, but willing obedience is no longer forthcoming. As the knowledge and skills of waging a nonviolent struggle for democratic change becomes more widespread, every day will see fewer instances of compliance and, instead, resistance and disobedience will become commonplace.
The path to democracy will be difficult. Given Vietnam’s history of struggle, however, only a fool would doubt that the people, committed to political change, will be denied victory.
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Robert Helvey is an expert in systematic strategy of resistance and political defiance.
From 1992 to 1998, he trained members of the National Council Union of Burma methods of building confidence, identifying the dictatorship's major weaknesses, and forming pressure groups.
From the beginning of the OTPOR movement, Helvey undertook the training of OTPOR original core group of 12 people. These people became the leaders of the OTPOR movement that brought down the Serbian dictator Slobodan Milošević. We all call him "the master".
Vietnam is always in Robert Helvey's heart. He follows the democratic movement and progress in Vietnam closely.
This article is writen by Mr. Helvey for Danlambao and its readers.
