25th Anniversary of Liberation
On April 30th of this year, the Vietnamese people festively mark 25th Anniversary of our national liberation and reunification. The 1975 Anniversary was a turning point, ushering in a new stage of development. It marked the end of the 30-year resistance to foreign aggression. It achieved our national liberation and reunification. And it opened the way for the whole of Vietnam for a new period of peaceful development and its rightful part in the world community life.
In the 20th century, the Vietnamese people suffered countless wars waged by old and neo- colonialism. Part of the country was lost in 1861 and the whole of it in 1884 to French colonialism. The August 1945 insurrection of Vietnamese people regained independence for the entire country. On September 2nd 1945 the Declaration of Independence proclaimed to the whole world the birth of a new independent Vietnam - the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
However the August Revolution 1945 was not the end but only the beginning of the victory of the people's democratic revolution in Vietnam. Vietnam had to defend its newly gained independence from the colonialism. Under the leadership of Uncle Ho, Vietnamese people gave its vow " We would rather sacrifice everything than lose country and become slaves".
After nine years of resistance movement, the Geneva Accord was signed and Vietnam was temporarily divided into two zones- South and North with the 17th parallel serving as a provisional military demarcation line. Free elections to reunify the country were supposed to be held two years later.
However, due to the intervention of the United States, the Vietnamese people had to fight on for another 20 or so years before liberating the South in the 1975 Ho Chi Minh Campaign and then completing the cause of national liberation and reunification. The general offensive and uprising started in March 1975. March 10th 1975 Buon Met thuot, March 26th Hue, 29th Da Nang... were liberated. Climax of the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign was the liberation of Sai Gon at 11h30 on April 30, 1975.
Vietnam after 25 years: Healing and Reconstruction
A new chapter in the history of Vietnam has opened with new opportunities and aspiration as well as new difficulties and challenges. The country is united with all its potentials and resources to rebuilt from ruins of the war. The war damage to our country was enormous. Thousands of villages, economic and cultural, educational establishments were in ruins; hundreds of thousands of hectares of land were left uncultivated. Almost all hospitals and medical units were destroyed.
Our greatest casualties were humane losses. More than three millions of our people were killed, 800.000 were left invalids; a million were effected by Agent Orange and 300,000 are still missing. The US war with millions of gallons of defoliant chemicals resulted in poisoning of people an soil. New generation born long after the war are still affected with birth defects and illnesses.
In the face of difficulties, Vietnamese people had to mobilize all its strength to restore the economy and heal the wounds of the war. We set our on renovation process and move forward for building a new prosperous and civilized country with motto" Strong country, rich people and civilized society".
Vietnam still faces many challenges in its economy, its GNP ranks 150 in the world and rank 116 in term of social criteria for human resources development. But, after 25 years, the live of Vietnamese people are much better off in many aspects. Vietnam concentrates on sustainable development with the emphasis on human factors.
More than half of Vietnam
