By Manal Abdel Fattah
Vietnam’s Foreign Minister, Bui Thanh Son, spoke in an article about the Geneva Conventions of 1954, saying: 70 years ago, the Geneva Conventions were signed, opening a new chapter in our people’s struggle for national liberation and reunification.
Seven decades later, the lessons learned during the process of negotiating, signing and implementing the agreements still fully retain their values in building, developing and protecting our nation today.
In late 1953, amid massive transformations on the battlefield in Indochina, our Party and President Ho Chi Minh decided to launch a battle on the diplomatic front in conjunction with the 1953-1954 Winter and Spring Offensive to put an end to the war and restore peace in the country.
In his interview with a Swedish correspondent on November 26, 1953, President Ho Chi Minh said: If the French government has learned a lesson from this war, which has lasted for many years, and wishes to stop hostilities in Vietnam through negotiations and settle the Vietnam issue in Vietnam in a peaceful manner, then The people and government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam are ready to welcome this intention and “the basis for the cessation of hostilities in Vietnam is the sincere respect of the French Government for the true independence of Vietnam.”
On May 8, 1954, exactly one day after the victory of Dien Bien Phu, which “echoed across five continents and shook the entire world,” the Geneva Conference began discussing the restoration of peace in Indochina.
After 75 days of complex and intense negotiations in 31 sessions, the Geneva Conventions were signed on July 21, 1954.
This, together with the Final Declaration on the Restoration of Peace in Indochina, affirmed the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Vietnam, prohibited the deployment of military officers and personnel in Vietnam, determined the temporary nature of military borders as well as the need for eventual free general elections, among other things.
At his rally following the successful Geneva Conference on July 22, 1954, President Ho Chi Minh declared that the Geneva Conference had been concluded, and Vietnam’s diplomacy had achieved a great victory.
In fact, while France did not recognize Vietnam as a free state within the French Union in the Preliminary Agreement of 1946, with the Geneva Conventions, for the first time in our country’s history, Vietnam’s fundamental rights as a nation, including independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity were formally affirmed in An international treaty, recognized by countries at the Geneva Conference.
This formed an important political and legal basis for our people to continue the struggle on political and diplomatic fronts, to later liberate the South and reunite the country.
Along with the victory of Dien Bien Phu, the signing of the Geneva Conventions led to the successful conclusion of the war of resistance waged by the Vietnamese people against the French colonial empire, bringing a decisive end to colonial rule in Vietnam for nearly 100 years.
Thus, the agreements paved the way for a new strategic phase of the Vietnamese revolution – building socialism in the north, and continuing the national and popular democratic revolution in the south, with the goal of achieving national independence and real reunification.
The victory at the Geneva Conference established the correct path of the revolution, as well as the able guidance and leadership of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh.
The said victory is also largely due to the intense aspiration for peace, patriotism, courage and wisdom of the Vietnamese nation tempered over thousands of years of nation building and protection.
The Geneva Accords were the culmination of the tireless and steadfast struggle of the Vietnamese army and its people, from the Vietnam Autumn and Winter Campaign of 1947 to the Autumn and Winter Frontier Campaign of 1950 and the Winter and Spring Offensive of 1953-1954, which witnessed the largest number of attacks.
The important event is the victory of Dien Bien Phu Along with the Preliminary Agreement of 1946 and the Paris Agreements of 1973, the Geneva Accords of 1954 represent a milestone in the history of Vietnam’s revolutionary diplomacy, showcasing the ideology, style and art of Ho Chi Minh diplomacy.
The Geneva Conference helped create many distinguished leaders and diplomats during the Ho Chi Minh era, such as Pham Van Dung, Ta Quang Po, Ha Van Lao, and other prominent diplomatic officials.
Looking back at the signing of the Geneva Conventions 70 years ago, we are very grateful to President Ho Chi Minh and the generations of our revolutionary forefathers, as well as to our army and people for their tremendous sacrifices during the war of resistance against French colonialism.
We must always remember the sincere solidarity and invaluable support extended by the people of Laos, Cambodia and other socialist countries.
