Dien Bien Phu Victory: A Lesson on Solidarity in the Struggle for Independence

Our army successfully applied the tactic of "sneaking in", digging trenches, secretly approaching deep into the enemy's fort, so much so that the French army felt like our troops were "coming out of the ground" right in the middle of the enemy's fort. (Photo: VNA Document)

On April 23, in Tel Aviv, the Vietnamese Embassy in Israel held a seminar to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory, with the participation of members of the Arab Foreign Affairs Council, a number of local scholars and intellectuals, and officials of Vietnamese representative agencies in Israel.

According to a VNA reporter in Tel Aviv, at the discussion, delegates were shown documentary footage about the Dien Bien Phu victory, which took place exactly 70 years ago but still retains its significance, stature and historical value.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Israel Ly Duc Trung reviewed the history of the Vietnamese people's struggle to build and defend the country; the context of the resistance war against France, culminating in the Dien Bien Phu campaign; and introduced Vietnam's economic and social achievements in the cause of national construction and development at the present time.

After listening to Defense Attaché, Colonel Vu Duc Phuc, detail the developments, results, and reasons for the victory of a young army against a powerful empire, the opinions expressed at the discussion emphasized many factors that led to the Dien Bien Phu victory, "56 days and nights that shook the world."

That is the spirit of "nothing is more precious than independence and freedom," "rather sacrifice everything to gain independence"; the spirit of "all for the front line" with tens of thousands of tons of food and provisions contributed by the people and transported to the army units by human power and rudimentary means; the pinnacle of military art combining both initiative and surprise in attack campaigns; and the adjustment of tactics to suit the reality of the battlefield.

Delegates assessed the Dien Bien Phu campaign as a great victory for the Vietnamese people and oppressed peoples around the world, in which the decisive leadership role of President Ho Chi Minh and General Vo Nguyen Giap must be mentioned.

International law expert, Professor Joni Asi of Nablus University commented: "The Dien Bien Phu victory had a huge impact on the struggle in the Southern Hemisphere against imperialism and colonialism for independence and justice. The Dien Bien Phu victory was created by many factors, from military mobilization to the spirit of unity between leaders and people, as well as the wise management role of the leaders."

Sharing the same opinion, Mr. Khaled Khalafe, Chairman of the Arab Foreign Affairs Council in Israel, said that the Dien Bien Phu victory in 1954 was a great achievement of the Vietnamese people, providing other countries with a lesson in solidarity in the struggle for independence, contributing to the end of colonialism around the world.

"After 1954, the French drew the United States into the war, but in the next 20 years Vietnam continued to defeat the United States. I think the world has learned a lot from Vietnam, from President Ho Chi Minh and General Vo Nguyen Giap. Besides, Vietnam also had another victory which was the achievements in economic development over the past 40 years," Mr. Khaled added.

Mr. Khaled said he has traveled to Vietnam dozens of times with Israeli Arab businessmen and scholars to promote business cooperation and mutual understanding, because Vietnam is one of the most successful economies in Asia.

He himself, as well as the Arab community in Nazareth city in general, hope to continue to contribute to promoting this cooperative relationship in the future.

Also at the seminar, delegates were introduced to a number of television reports on the Dien Bien Phu victory produced by the Vietnam News Agency, especially the 70th anniversary page and online photo exhibition in many languages, which the Vietnam News Agency has just launched to widely convey to the public around the world valuable sources of information about this important event./.

According to vietnamplus.vn

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/chien-thang-dien-bien-phu-bai-hoc-ve-su-doan-ket-trong-dau-tranh-gianh-doc-lap-post941837.vnp

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