Foreign Relations of the United States, 1951, Asia and the Pacific, Volume VI, Part 1

751G.001/3–2451: Telegram

The Minister at Saigon (Heath) to the Secretary of State

confidential

Saigon, March 24, 1951—5 p. m.

1704. Long awaited merger Lien Viet and Viet Minh occurred at 5-day National Congress of Unification held somewhere Vietnam at beginning of March, according to series VM broadcasts which started March 19. New entity natl union front of Vietnam or Mat Tran Lien Viet Quoc Dan Vietnam, which will be popularly known as the Lien Viet Front (LVF) will also include former DMH revolutionary league or Cach Man Dong Minh Hoi, as new people’s front on East European model.¹

Unification Congress was chairmanned by Ho Chi Minh, “founder of Viet Minh and Lien Viet”. Congress was opened by Father Pham Ba Tru, self-styled leader Catholic progressives, who spoke from dais surmounted by portraits Stalin, Mao, Kim Il Sen [Sung],² Thorez,³ and Ho. Ho made principal address saying in part: “I am at height of happiness today that national union for which we have worked for so many years is bearing fruit. I am all the more happy that our people have been joined by the two brother people, Cambodia and Laos. We are going to realize soon great union of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. This union will be able to overwhelm not only one but ten enemies of stature of Fr colonialists and of Amer interventionists if by chance they dare to appear against us. So shall we bring our stone to the building of the defense of peace and democracy in world.”

Opening resolution was voted to: (1) Acclaim spirit of union which animates LV and VM; (2) realize unification single unified national front called Lien Viet Front; (3) assist LVF carry out its program for union of masses, cohesion of workers and peasants, assistance in bringing Laotian and Cambodian resistance movements nearer to that of Vietnam and integrating them world movement for defense of peace; (4) establish status of LVF by inspiring it with spirit union, doctrined democracy, respect for independence various parties, acceptance collective criticism and use of self-criticism to move from progress to progress; (5) form bloc of alliance among Vietnamese, Laotian and Cambodian people based on mutual equality and reciprocal aid in struggle against common enemy and in establishment of three independent and prosperous states. Another resolution established directives for general counter-offensive which cited manifesto WPV for union working classes and whole people to overwhelm enemy invader and complete preparation for general counter-offensive. Directive itself unpublished but apparently concluded “our people have at their disposal three precious arms, the workers army, the peoples armed revolution, and then the national union. Behind us we have the great, immense block of 800 million Democrats, led by USSR and on other hand our forces are tightly linked with those [garbled] people. Under leadership closely united WPV our people will counter-attack victoriously”.

LVF “profession of faith” also broadcast: (1) The LVF is for peace, with USSR leading campaign and USA preparing third world war to repair damage suffered from second, to save economy in crisis. Democratic and pacifist Vietnams sided immediately and definitively with camp of democracies; (2) LVF is for independence. Vietnam was free and independent for thousands of years but in 1862 colonialists invaded our country, et cetera; (3) LVF is for union. Our principal enemies are colonialists, Amer interventionists, and treacherous puppets. Our mission is their emasculation and consolidation, extension our people’s demo regime.

Officers new LVF are: Hon president, Ho Chi Minh; pres, Ton Due Thang; 7 vice presidents, M. LeThi Xuyen, Rev Father Nguyen Ba True, Le Dinh Than, Cao Trieu Phat, Hoang Quoc Viet, Duong Due Hien, and Hoan Minh Cian; and a perm commission of the natl committee composed of pres, VP’s and 9 other of whom 7 named: Truong Sinh [Chinh], Tran Danh Tuyen, Ho Viet Thanh, Hoang Minh Chinh, Xuan Thuy, Hoai Thanh, and Phan Anh, Natl committee will have 54 reps from all strata of people and all social classes (foregoing plus 37 unnamed others. Commie front character LVF indicated not only by ideological content platform and program but by inclusion as officers of 4 of 5 most powerful Indochinese Commies: Ho Chi Minh as hon pres: Ton Due Thang (president), Hoang Quoc Viet (VP) and Truong Sinh (probably Chinh, on natl committee). All are Politburo members CPIC. Other well-known Communist or established fellow-travelers among new LVF executives are Father Nguyen Ba True (of League of Catholic Progressives), Can Trieu Phat (leader of dissident pro-VM Cao Dai group). Duong Due Hien (leader so-called Democratic Party and member Ho Govt since its inception), Hoang Minh Gian (previously foreign minister), Phan Anh (successively Min Youth, Min Natl Def, Min Natl Econ in Ho govts), possibly Hoang Minh Chinh (perhaps same as Wang Ming Shan, Ho rep in Canton), Tran Danh Tuyen (leader VM labor organization), Xuan Thuy (editor VM–LV organ Cu Quoc).

On other hand, of interest to note only 5 of original 27 founders 1946 Lien Viet are announced as holding executive position new LVF. And of 15 official named perhaps 5 are unknown, if aliases are not employed, who have risen to revolutionary prominence recently. Further appraisal follows next tel.⁴

Sent Dept 1704, rptd info Paris 733, Hanoi unnumbered.

Heath

1. Two significant organizational events occurred in the Viet Minh movement in early 1951. At a founding congress held from February 11 to February 19, the Indochinese Communist Party was reconstituted as the “Viet-Nam Lao Dong Dang” or “Viet-Nam Workers Party.” For the Manifesto and Program of the Viet-Nam Lao Dong Party, see Allan W. Cameron, ed., Viet-Nam Crisis: A Documentary History, vol. i: 1940–1956 (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1971), pp. 160–175. For extracts from the Manifesto and Program, see Denise Folliot, ed., Documents on International Affairs, 1951 (London: Oxford University Press, 1954), pp. 663–670.

   The “Congress to Merge the Viet Minh and Lien Viet Fronts” convened on March 3. For the text of the Program of the Lien Viet Front adopted at the congress, see Cameron, Viet-Nam Crisis, vol. i, pp. 175–182.

2. Prime Minister of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
3. Secretary-General of the French Communist Party.

4. Telegram 1705 from Saigon, March 24, not printed, reported on recent Viet Minh radio broadcasts concerning the founding congress of the Workers Party of Viet-Nam. Heath stated that it seemed obvious that the Communist Party of Indochina had been revived as the WPV (751G.001/3–2451). Telegram 1706, also March 24, not printed, in which Heath analyzed the establishment of the WPC and the Viet Lien Front, read in part as follows:

   “Formation Workers Party Vietnam (WPV) my tel 1705 new Lien Viet Front (LVF) mytel 1704, and liquidation Viet Minh by merger with the new front represent decisive turning points in Commie strategy IC. They mark transition from generalized popular front anti-colonial movement of immed postwar period to Stalinized instrument of aggression and org.

   “Together with formation Burmese workers and peasants party, revival Thai CP, and inauguration Burma and Thai natl union fronts, this IC organizational change has an area significance denoting imposition of forms of people’s democracies as elaborated in East Europe on previously bread-mass liberation movements of SEA. As such these developments are indicative of: (1) rigorous assertion of Soviet and Chinese Commie direction; (2) organizational and ideological price that is being exacted for internatl Commie support; (3) willingness to sacrifice some degree of popular nationalist support for development hardcore Commie movement responsive to last November’s Far East Buro call for armed struggle.” (751G.001/3–2451)