Meeting of Swiss friends supporting peace for Vietnam

On May 3, the Vietnamese Embassy in Bern organized a meeting with Swiss friends, including three special guests Bernard Bachelard, Olivier Parriaux and Noé Graff.

Photo caption — Ambassador Phung The Long speaks at the meeting. Photo: Nguyen Tuan/VNA reporter in Switzerland

According to the VNA correspondent in Switzerland, on the occasion of the 48th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2023), the Vietnamese Embassy in Bern on May 3 organized a meeting with Swiss friends, including three special guests Bernard Bachelard, Olivier Parriaux and Noé Graff, who had participated in the journey from Switzerland to Paris to hang the flag of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam on the top of the Notre Dame Cathedral to protest the war and support peace for the Vietnamese people. 54 years ago, three young Swiss men, Bernard Bachelard, Olivier Parriaux and Noé Graff, bravely expressed their anti-war stance and supported the just struggle for national independence and national reunification of the Vietnamese people by hanging the flag of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam on the top of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

On January 19, 1969, the time the Four-Party Conference on Vietnam officially began in Paris, the half-red, half-blue flag with a bright yellow star of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam fluttered in the blue sky, under the admiring eyes of the people and tourists. For the first time in history, the Paris fire brigade had to use a helicopter to remove the flag from the top of the tower. That image was recorded by journalists, photographers, and film crews from all angles. The event became a hot topic for the international press to exploit. Many days later, major newspapers in France, the US and many other countries published pictures of the flag flying on the top of the tower. "We are very pleased with the resonance this event has created. The message of this action has been known to the world without us having to say that we did it," Mr. Olivier Parriaux proudly shared with the agreement of his two friends, Noé Graff and Bernard Bachelard.

They collected and preserved those articles and photos very carefully. Mr. Olivier Parriaux hopes to find more official Vietnamese newspapers that published this important news at that memorable time. Speaking on this occasion, Vietnamese Ambassador to the Swiss Confederation Phung The Long said that 2023 is the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Paris Agreement on ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam (January 27, 1973 - January 27, 2023). The Ambassador believes that the guests present here will always keep vivid memories of the days of selflessly joining peace-loving people around the world in participating in activities to protest the unjust war of the US government, supporting the just struggle for independence and national reunification of the Vietnamese people. It can be said that the support and assistance in many forms from the people of the world, including the Swiss people, through each historical period has contributed to the strength of the Vietnamese people, together with their own internal strength, to gain glorious victory in the struggle for national independence and national unification.

In October 1971, the Swiss Confederation established diplomatic relations with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, immediately after the Paris Agreement on Vietnam was signed. In February 1973, Switzerland was one of the first Western countries to open an embassy in Hanoi. The friendship and cooperation between the two countries have been developing well in many fields, from politics , economics, development cooperation to education and training and people-to-people exchange. The Swiss people, through their Government and friendly and non-governmental organizations, have provided more than 500 million USD in development aid to Vietnam over the past 30 years, helping Vietnam overcome the consequences of war, reduce poverty, and develop its socio-economy.

Vietnam has carried out Doi Moi since 1986, and since then, Vietnam has achieved impressive development achievements with outstanding results such as Vietnam's economic scale increasing 12 times, per capita income increasing 8.3 times, import-export turnover increasing 30 times, foreign direct investment (FDI) increasing 22 times, the national poverty rate from 58% in 1993 to only 2.23% in 2021.

From a poor, backward and undernourished country, Vietnam, with nearly 100 million people, has risen to become a middle-income country with a GDP per capita of over 4,100 USD by 2022 and is one of the major agricultural exporters in the world. The scale and potential of Vietnam's economy have increased rapidly. The socio-political situation is stable. National defense and security are maintained. Foreign relations and international integration are increasingly deepened. The United Nations has recognized Vietnam as one of the leading countries in realizing the Millennium Goals, especially in poverty reduction, gender equality, health care and education. Vietnam's development aspiration is to become a developing country with modern industry and high average income by 2030 and a developed, high-income country by 2045.

On this occasion, President of the Swiss-Vietnamese Friendship Association (ASV) Anjuska Weil also reviewed the activities of the Association. ASV was founded on November 27, 1982, the first President of the Association was Ms. Margrit Schlosser. Even before its establishment, since the 1960s, many members of the Association participated in the movement against the Vietnam War. Over the years, the Association has organized the Vietnam Solidarity Day every year to mobilize and raise funds for humanitarian charity activities, support the poor, leprosy patients; and actively support victims of Agent Orange-dioxin in Vietnam. The Association will continue to accompany the Vietnamese people in the struggle for peace, friendship and social progress in each country and around the world.