Dien Bien Phu victory – lesson to win peace

The victory shows that Vietnamese people’s love of peace helps the nation defeat the French colonists. Through its history, the nation fought in continuous wars to protect its legitimate sovereignty. Therefore, its desire for peace had unceasingly been sought.

It was proved that peace is the target and war is just a temporary mean to regain the rights of living in peace. This is manifested in thoughts and actions of President Ho Chi Minh and his students, even when they are supreme military commanders.

President Ho Chi Minh once said our nation was full of mercy. This nurtured the culture for peace. A peace-loving nation did not wage a war, even though when it came to war waged by others it won in such illustrious victories as Bach Dang, Chi Lang, Rach Gam-Xoai Mut, Ngoc Hoi-Dong Da and Dien Bien Phu.

When receiving a group of priests in Paris in 1946 summer, President Ho Chi Minh said that the Government of Viet Nam fought for the independence and happiness of its people and the saying was quoted in a priest’s memoirs. Several months after the meeting, President Ho Chi Minh reaffirmed Viet Nam’s amicable stance in his appeal for national resistance: “As we desire peace we have made concessions. But the more concessions we make, the more the French colonialist, press on, for they are bent on reconquering our country”.

General Vo Nguyen Giap is an outstanding student of President Ho Chi Minh, and a genius general who played a significant role in the country's resistance war against the French colonists. Renowned for his bravery, creativity, assertiveness and consistency to military solutions for general victories, as well as his incessant wish for peace and independence for the nation, he signed himself as ‘General for Peace’ and repeated for many times “I am a general fighting for peace. If there had been no wars, I would have been a teacher”.

Dien Bien Phu victory will be deservingly remembered forever for the value of peace it brought to the nation and the world.

In the current national construction and protection cause, the lesson of preserving peace should be studied, reviewed and taught to help people understand about the nation’s bravery and love for peace, the basis making a heroic nation.

Many opportunities, accompanied by challenges, have opened up in a changeable world, requiring everyone to work together to protect peace for the common cause to advance steadily and smoothly.

Applying and promoting precious experience and lessons learned from the past wars in the national construction and protection should be encouraged.

                                                                                                            By Ngoc Van