Khu ủy Tây Nam Bộ lãnh đạo phong trào đấu tranh chính trị từ năm 1965 đến năm 1975.Khu ủy Tây Nam Bộ lãnh đạo phong trào đấu tranh chính trị từ năm 1965 đến năm 1975.Khu ủy Tây Nam Bộ lãnh đạo phong trào đấu tranh chính trị từ năm 1965 đến năm 1975.Khu ủy Tây Nam Bộ lãnh đạo phong trào đấu tranh chính trị từ năm 1965 đến năm 1975.Khu ủy Tây Nam Bộ lãnh đạo phong trào đấu tranh chính trị từ năm 1965 đến năm 1975.Khu ủy Tây Nam Bộ lãnh đạo phong trào đấu tranh chính trị từ năm 1965 đến năm 1975.Khu ủy Tây Nam Bộ lãnh đạo phong trào đấu tranh chính trị từ năm 1965 đến năm 1975.Khu ủy Tây Nam Bộ lãnh đạo phong trào đấu tranh chính trị từ năm 1965 đến năm 1975.Khu ủy Tây Nam Bộ lãnh đạo phong trào đấu tranh chính trị từ năm 1965 đến năm 1975.Khu ủy Tây Nam Bộ lãnh đạo phong trào đấu tranh chính trị từ năm 1965 đến năm 1975.Khu ủy Tây Nam Bộ lãnh đạo phong trào đấu tranh chính trị từ năm 1965 đến năm 1975.Khu ủy Tây Nam Bộ lãnh đạo phong trào đấu tranh chính trị từ năm 1965 đến năm 1975.
The thesis is completed at Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics Supervisors: Assoc Prof., Dr Nguyen Ngoc Ha Dr Duong Minh Hue Reviewer 1: Reviewer 2: Reviewer 3: The thesis shall be defended in front of the Thesis Committee at Academy Level at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics At the time of date month year 20… The thesis can be found at the National Library and The Library of Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics INTRODUCTION The necessity of the thesis The Vietnamese people’s resistance war against America to save the country ended successfully in 1975 On the battlefield in the South, under the leadership of the Party, with the line of people's war, method of using synergy, revolutionary forces were organized into political forces and armed forces With the motto of “two-legged” (military, political), and “three-pronged” (military, political, military operation), the Party led the revolutionary forces to defeat the war strategies of the USA imperialists and the Saigon government in turn During the resistance war, along with military attacks, the political struggle movement of the majority of the people plays a very important role Multiplying the strength of the Vietnamese nation in the condition that small wins big, weak fights strong American strategic researchers in the 90s of the twentieth century have summarized that: “The strategy of revolutionary war comprehensively combines two forms of principled violence - armed conflict and political conflicts are called military struggles by the Vietnamese and political struggle This combination created a war like never before, a war spread out on several fronts, not geographical ones, but well-structured ones” Based on the reality of the Southern battlefield, the Party Central Committee advocated the development of political forces and promote the political struggle movement throughout the resistance war against the USA and save the country In war conditions, besides the system of administrative units, the USA and the Saigon government divided the South into Tactical Zones The Mekong Delta belongs to the 4th Tactical Zone On the revolutionary side, the Mekong Delta in this period was divided into Military Zones: Military Zone (Central South) and Military Zone (Southwest) In particular, the Southwest is one of the important strategic battlefield areas of the national revolution Favored by nature, and abundant human resources, agricultural production in the Southwest region thrives This area is a source of additional human and physical strength that both sides need Therefore, the USA and the Saigon government chose the Southwest region which is a key area for pacification in war strategies In the condition of an important strategic location (near Saigon, bordering Cambodia) and characteristics of multi-ethnicity, multi-religion, and belief, so the movement Political struggles in the Southwest have specific characteristics of participants, form, and content of the struggle; always holds the position as one of the two basic forms of revolutionary struggle Favor to the vibrant political struggle movement, of the masses, guerrilla warfare in the Southwest has a firm foothold to promote its advantages Under the leadership of the Party, directly the Central Department of the South, the Southwest Region Party Committee has led the political struggle movement in a large strategic area, consistent with the reality of the battlefield, contributing to the victory of the resistance war against the USA for national salvation, especially since the USA imperialists escalated the war in the “local war” strategy to the failure in the “Vietnamization of war” strategy Political struggle movement in the Southwest (1965-1975) under the leadership of the Party Committee, he left a lot of experience in building party organizations, mass organizations, mass mobilization work, national unity, religion, have important values to promote national strength in the cause of construction and defend the Fatherland in the current Through the document system, the author found that there is no scientific work that comprehensively studies, and specializes in the process of the Southwest Party Committee leading the political struggle movement from 1965 until 1975 Therefore, to perceive the nation's tradition of patriotic struggle; contribute to the reproduction, summarizing a historical period of struggle of the people of the Southwest region, the PhD candidate chooses the topic: “The Southwest Party Committee leadership the political struggle movement from 1965 until 1975” to a doctoral thesis, majoring in the History of Vietnamese Communist Party Research purpose and research task 2.1 Research purposes Research to clarify the process of the Southwest Party Committee applying guidelines and policies of the Party Central Committee, the Central Department of the South led the political struggle movement (1965-1975), thereby drawing experience in the leadership of the political struggle movement of the Party Committee of the Southwest Region 2.2 Research task Clarifying the policy of the Central Committee of the Party and Central Department of the South on political struggle (1965-1975); Clarifying the factors affecting the leadership of the Southwest Region Party Committee towards the political struggle movement (1965-1975); Analyzing the process of the Southwest Party Committee leading the political struggle movement to defeat the “Local War” strategy and the “Vietnamization of war” strategy of the USA imperialists and the Saigon government (1965-1975); The comment on results and limitations, specify causes and draw experiences through the process of the Southwest Party Committee leading the political struggle movement (1965-1975) Research subject and research scope 3.1 Research subject Thesis research the process of the Southwestern Party Committee leadership in the political struggle movement (1965-1975) in the southwestern provinces during the resistance war against the USA to save the country 3.2 Research scope About space: The thesis research the leadership process of the political struggle movement of the Southwest Party Committee in the resistance war against the USA for national salvation in the area of Military Zone (military code T3) including the provinces: Vinh Long, Tra Vinh, Can Tho (including present-day Hau Giang province), Rach Gia, Ha Tien (now in Kien Giang province), Soc Trang, Ca Mau (at this time Bac Lieu divided into two: half are imported into Soc Trang, half are imported into Ca Mau November 1973, re-established Bac Lieu province), (thesis does not study political struggle movements in prisons and prisons) About time: Research thesis from March 1965 (when the USA imperialists began to implement the strategy of “Local war”) until May 1975 (when the southwestern provinces were liberated) However, for the presentation of the content to be historical and logical, the thesis outlines the political struggle movement in the Southwest region before 1965 About the content: Research the leadership process of the political struggle movement of the Southwest Party Committee (1965-1975) Specifically: clarifying the plots and tricks of the USA imperialists and the regular Saigon government in the “local war” strategy and “Vietnamization of war”; policy and direction of the Southwestern Region Party Committee; political struggle movements of all classes of people for the people's rights to life and democracy; the movement to fight against the capture of soldiers, in coordination with the military force; the movement to demand the implementation of the Paris Agreement; coordinated with the military struggle against the pacification program of the USA and the Saigon government Theoretical basis and research methods 4.1 Theoretical basis To carry out the thesis, the PhD candidate relies on the views of Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh's ideology thoughts, the Central Committee of the Party, the Central Department of the South on the role of the masses, revolutionary war, people's war, and revolutionary method 4.2 Research methods During the course of this thesis, the PhD candidate mainly uses historical methods and logical methods In addition, the author uses a number of methods such as: Methods of analysis, synthesis, statistics and comparisons to solve specific problems of the thesis New scientific contributions of the thesis The thesis contributes to supplementing scientific documents summarizing the leadership of the Party for the political struggle movement on the southern battlefield in the war of resistance against the USA and saving the country Summarize the experiences that can be applied to the practice of mass mobilization, building a block of the great unity of the whole people, serving the cause of national construction and defense in the Southwest region today The research results of the thesis are used as references and teaching materials for lecturers of political schools, universities, and colleges The thesis is used as propaganda and educational material for the revolutionary tradition in the locality Structure of the thesis In addition to the introduction and conclusion, bibliography and appendices, the thesis content consists of chapters and periods Chapter OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH WORKS TO THE THESIS 1.1 RESEARCH OVERVIEW 1.1.1 Domestic research projects 1.1.1.1 Research project on political struggle movement in the South during the resistance war against the USA to save the country (1954-1975) Typical are works such as: “Summing up the resistance war against the USA, saving the country: Victory and lessons” and “Vietnam Revolutionary War (1945-1975) Victory and Lessons” by the Steering Committee to summarize the war, under the Politburo, “The movement against rural pacification in the South during the resistance war against the USA for national salvation (1969-1975)” by Ha Minh Hong; the work “History of the Southern Resistance (1954 - 1975)”, Volume 2, the Steering Committee for compiling the History of the Southern Resistance; the project “History of the resistance war against the USA, saving the country”, including Volumes of the Vietnam Military History Institute - Ministry of National Defense, the work “History of the movement to fight against pacification in the resistance war against the USA and save the country (1954-1975)” of the Vietnam Military History Institute, etc These works have different approaches to political strategy, in many areas, covering, comprehensively in terms of time and space the political struggle spanning 21 years of the war against the USA, but all focused on clarifying the close and continuous direction, step by step, timely and correct by the Party Central Committee, local Party committees, leading to victory in the spring of 1975, liberating the South 1.1.1.2 Research project on political struggle movement in the Southwest during the resistance war against the USA, to save the country (1954-1975) Typical projects are: “Military zone - 30 years of resistance (1945 1975)” of the Command of Military Region 9; “History of the Southwestern Resistance” of the Compilation Board of the History of the Southwest of the Resistance; “Hau Giang 21 years of resistance against the USA”; “A Brief History of the Party Committee of Soc Trang Province”; “History of the Party Committee of Bac Lieu Province”; “History of the Party Committee of Ca Mau Province (1930 - 1975)”; “History of Tra Vinh Province”; “History of the Party Committee of Can Tho Province (1954-1975)”; “Kien Giang resistance war against the USA (1954-1975)”; the word “Patriot movement of Khmer people in Tra Vinh province (1930-2010)”; “History of the Party Committee of Vinh Long Province (1930-2010)” etc These works have relatively comprehensively reflected the resistance war against the USA for the national salvation of the people of the southwestern provinces under the leadership of the Party Central Committee, the Central Department of the South, and the Southwest Region Committee mentioned many important issues such as the policy of the USA and the Saigon government towards each locality, the process of military struggle, political struggle, and military mobilization of the people in each locality These works are important documents providing historical documents for the thesis author 1.1.2 Research works of foreign scholars The Vietnamese people's resistance to war against the USA and national salvation has attracted the attention of many foreign scholars Several authors have been involved in this war Research works of foreign scholars related to the thesis topic such as David Palmer's “Trump Call for Troops”; “Vietnam - the ten thousand day war” by Michael Maclear; “Anatomy of a War” by Gabriel Kolko; “Looking Back - The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam” by Robert S.McNamara These works reflect the judgments, views and assessments of foreign scholars about the war waged by the USA in Vietnam Some authors try to find the cause of Vietnam's strengthing, which mentioned the strength of the people, patriotism, and Vietnamese cultural traditions 1.2 EVALUATE RESEARCH RESULTS OF RESEARCH WORKS RELATED TO THE THESIS AND ISSUES THE THESIS FOCUSES ON CLARIFYING 1.2.1 Evaluate research results of works related to the thesis Based on the results of a review of research papers of related works, the thesis can inherit the following issues: Firstly, on the research methodology of the leadership issue of a particular Party organization, literature review and comparison with other Party organizations Secondly, theoretical issues about Party building, people's war, promoting the strength of the great national unity bloc, building a united national front, organization, and promotion of political-spiritual strength, on the Party's comprehensive leadership role in the resistance war against America for national salvation, on the observance of Party building principles and actual requirements of the battlefield, the process of organizational development and leading the all-round revolution of the Party Committee for the resistance war against the USA for national salvation in the Southwestern battlefield Thirdly, the research results, initial references on the Southwestern battlefield, and the Southwest Region Party Committee, especially in the field of political struggle The results of the research works have been reviewed with important significance, helping the author to have a comprehensive view, and overview of the political struggle movement in the resistance war against the USA for national salvation, especially in terms of approach, research methods, and providing the thesis with valuable references The above studies are quite diverse and rich and have mentioned several aspects of the organization and activities of the Southwestern Region Party Committee is a reference source for the author when researching this thesis topic However, up to now, there have been no in-depth, systematic studies, comprehensively about the leadership of the political struggle movement of the Southwest Party Committee, highlighting the creativity of local party committees in the process of leading the resistance when thoroughly implementing the general policy of the Party Central Committee, Central Department for the South in a specific area like the Southwest Summary request on the Party's leadership role in the resistance war against the USA for national salvation in general, the role of Party committees at all levels in localities in thoroughly grasping the implementation of the revolutionary violence method of the masses in particular, requires monographic, in-depth, systematic studies 1.2.2 The issues the thesis focuses on clarifying Firstly, the factors affecting the process of the Southwest Party Committee leading the political struggle movement (1965-1975) Specifically, the thesis clarifies the historical context set for the Southwest Party Committee to continue to lead the political struggle movement in the years 1965-1975: about natural conditions, population, and what are the characteristics of the tradition of revolutionary struggle in the Southwest region compared to other battlefield areas, influence the political movement The results of the political struggle movement before 1965 created the basis for the step of stepping up the political struggle to the next stage Secondly, the policy and direction of the Southwest Region Party Committee for the political struggle movement (1965-1975) Specifically: The American Empire deployed the strategy of “local war” in the Southwest In the new circumstances, and new tasks, the war escalated to the highest level, the political struggle movement played its role and position in the process of continuing the resistance war against the USA to save the country Policy and direction of the Southwest Region Party Committee for the political struggle movement: the policy of building political forces; launching mass struggle; specific guidelines for each urban and rural area The Southwest Region Party Committee determines the correlation and combination of political struggle with other aspects of the struggle in each period The results of political struggle movements in each locality show the unified leadership, throughout through the resolutions, directives, etc of the Southwest Party Committee When the USA imperialists deployed the strategy of “Vietnamization of war” in 1969, in the Southwest, the battlefield situation set new requirements for the Party Committee in leading political struggle movements In particular, the period 1969-1975 was divided into two milestones: before the signing of the Paris Agreement and after the signing of the Paris Agreement, the thesis clarifies the policy and direction of the Southwest Party Committee as well as the results of the struggle movements of this period Thirdly, the thesis comments on the results, and limitations, and points out the causes of the results, causes of limitations from the process of the Party Committee's leadership of the political struggle movement (1965-1975) Fourthly, the thesis draws experiences from the process of the Party Committee leading the political struggle movement (1965-1975) meaningful in the present era 11 the USA imperialists implemented the strategy of “local war” with two pincers of “finding and destroying” and “pacifying” in South Vietnam In the Southwest region, the American advisor and the Saigon army stepped up to sweep and pacify the surrounding areas, establish more bases at strategic points to divide the battlefield, suppress and sabotage the revolutionary movement, and isolate and attack resistance bases On the other hand, besides the main military activities, with the policy of neo-colonialism, The American imperialists and the Saigon government used political tricks such as upholding the slogan of the nation, independence, and democracy The Saigon government made economic bribes to win back, and sell goods, hit the boring psychology, fear of war, fear of bombs, and death to shake the spirit, weaken the people's will to fight, and at the same time, take advantage of religion to reduce the fighting spirit of the masses 2.1.4 The policy of the Party Central Committee, Central Department of the South on the political struggle against the strategy of “Local war” Dealing with the USA imperialist strategy of escalating the war to the highest level, the Resolution of the 12th Conference of the Central Committee, dated December 27, 1965, on the new situation and tasks determined: with a new war strategy, relying on American troops, American allies, the Saigon government, and the army, using violence to terrorize and oppress the people, just used demagogue policies to deceive and bribe the masses The reality has proved very clearly that the more the USA sends in expeditionary troops, the more acute the conflict between the people and the USA imperialists will be The conflict between the USA and the government, the more Saigon's army develops, the more the political struggle movement has the opportunity to promote Thoroughly grasping the policy of the Party Central Committee, in March 1966, the Central Committee of the Southern Department issued the Resolution of the 4th Conference on Assessment of the revolutionary situation in the South in 1965, directions, upcoming tasks, and several tasks of the southern revolution The Central Department for the South commented: “In the current period, the military struggle has a direct decisive effect and holds an increasingly important position, but military struggle only obtains the greatest results if it is closely combined with political struggle 12 2.2 THE SOUTHWEST PARTY COMMITTEE LEADERSHIP OF THE POLITICAL STRUGGLE MOVEMENT FROM (1965-1968) 2.2.1 Political struggle policy of the Southwestern Region Party Committee (1965-1968) Before the change of war strategy of the USA and the Saigon government, the Zone Committee commented: The U.S army jumping into the war deepened the conflict between the Vietnamese people and the invading USA imperialists and created more and more contradictions within the USA and the Saigon government, it is necessary to take advantage of the contradiction and continue to step up the offensive in both political, military and military terms; the main force cooperates with the local army and militia and guerrillas penetrated deep into the area behind the Saigon army, the expansion of the people's war made the USA and the Saigon government often unstable On April 5, 1965, the Standing Committee of the Zone Party Committee issued a Resolution of the Conference of cadres in charge of guerrillas and soldiers in the Southwest region, which emphasizes: Party committees at all levels should pay attention to leading the political struggle movement, building and strengthen the standing political struggle team throughout the communes in the liberated and disputed areas, strengthen cadres leading the movement of direct political struggle and regularly learn from experience to make the movement stronger Attention, mass leaders in the political struggle must combine military and military attacks and, depending on the specific case, closely coordinate with armed activities In Notice No 35/TV-66 dated March 28, 1966, of the Standing Board of the Party Committee of the Zone: The non-face-to-face political struggle of the masses in the form of building and strengthening the liberated rural areas in all aspects The military service served to break the nippers to expand the liberated area, to serve the anti-corruption, build military mobilization bases among the subjects, mobilizing the masses to military mobilization work The Party Committee implemented the Resolution of the Second Conference on Party work and political work of the Regional Military Commission (August 1966) determined: Cadres, party members, and 13 grassroots organizations of the Party persistently follow the people, organize and lead the construction and consolidation and develop communes and hamlets to fight, propagate, mobilize the people to implement the slogan “one inch does not go, one cup does not move”, hold on to the area to fight against sweeping, pacifying and shoveling people Taking care of the people's strength to build up the political force, the Standing Committee of the Zone Committee issued Directive No 24/TV67 dated April 15, 1967, on promoting the cultural education movement at the grassroots level: Paying attention to promoting the education movement of Khmer and religious people, closely combine the educational movement with other aspects of mass mobilization to serve the interests of the masses and launch the movement, build the base Then, the Standing Board of the Party Committee of the Zone issued Resolution No 76/TV-67 dated April 15, 1967, on counter-reactionary espionage work in the Southwest region to launch a mass movement to protect against fraud, maintaining security and order in hamlets, thereby forming a broad front of the whole party, army, and people Realizing the particularly important role of urban areas, the Standing Committee of the Zone Committee issued Resolution No 24/TV-67, dated April 26, 1967, on the situation, tasks, and working directions of the western towns and townships in 1967 The resolution clearly states: The armed forces still basically decide all cases and act as a blow for all other tasks to advance However, political forces directly divided and disintegrated and weakened the Saigon government and army in terms of spirit and organization creating contradictions and loopholes within the USA and the Saigon government These two movements and two forces must work together to create many new advantages for revolutionary forces to attack the USA and the government and army of Saigon By the end of 1967, Politburo decided to bring our revolutionary war to the highest stage of development, using the methods of total offensive and total uprising to win a decisive victory The Central Standing Department of the Southern Department and the Regional Military Commission issued Directives on the preparation and conduct of a general offensive and a general uprising in cities and towns Thoroughly grasping the determination 14 of the Politburo and the direction of the Central Department of the Southern Department, the Southwest Party Committee has led urgently to the preparation of the general offensive and uprising in the area Then, on May 15, 1968, the Standing Committee of the Zone Committee issued Resolution No 18/CT-68 On attacking the town's insurrection, the town summarized the first wave and lead the next attacks in 1968 2.2.2 The direction of the Party Committee of the Southwest region for political struggle movements (1965-1968) 2.2.2.1 The anti-population movement, establish a hamlet, claim the rights of the people, live and democracy To carry out the direction of the Party Committee, political struggle movement against the gathering of people, the establishment of hamlets, terrorism, and demanding people's rights, democracy flourished in many localities In the direct political struggles, the people of the Southwest have applied many forms The Party Committee has directed to mobilize the united struggles of 28,000 women in Vinh Long, 15,000 women in Tra Vinh, and 7,000 women in Ca Mau, moved to towns and towns 2.2.2.2 The movement to fight against the capture of soldiers, coordination with the nose of the military Implementing the strategy of “local war” in the Southwest, to quickly deploy the pincer of pacification, Saigon authorities aggressively arrested soldiers, mobilized troops, and militarized schools to create resources for the army The main force of the Saigon army alone, from the end of 1964 was 350,000 troops, which increased to 520,000 troops by the end of 1967 The district committee directs the local party committees at all levels to launch a movement to fight against the capture of soldiers, chemical militarization, and coordination of struggles with military mobilization The local party committees in the Southwest region strengthened the Provincial Military Mobilization Committee and mobilized experienced cadres to take charge of this work Military mobilization at all levels has created many forms of mobilizing soldiers and officers of the Saigon army through family relationships, relatives, and friends, arousing patriotism, and showing them the crimes of the invading USA imperialists, thereby gradually emboldening them 15 2.2.2.3 Coordinate with the military struggle to oppose the pacification program of the USA and the Saigon government In the Southwest region, the “local war” strategy of the USA and the Saigon government focused throughout on the "pacification” pincer To achieve the goal, the USA and the Saigon government applied many combined measures, mainly “find and destroy”, followed by “search and destroy and pacify”, increasing the intensity of the war to destroy the revolutionary forces in the shortest time To fight against the American pacification program and the Saigon government, the Party Committee of the Southwest region to thoroughly understand the Provincial Party Committees must realize that the forward direction of the revolution is to bring two movements, two forces parallel to advance, neither side should be taken lightly, the direction must be realistically flexible, recognizing that both sides of the struggle are fundamental, all have important properties, in particular, have the ability to attack, neither side is dependent on the other, the two political and armed movements both have the effect of supporting each other and together promote each other, complete the task of the revolution in the South Thoroughly grasping the policy of the Party Committee, from 19651968, the movement against the pacification program with a close combination of military struggle with political struggle in the Southwest region strongly developed, especially during the Tet Offensive and Uprising in 1968 16 Chapter THE SOUTHWEST PARTY COMMITTEE LEADERSHIP THE POLITICAL STRUGGLE MOVEMENT AGAINST THE “VIETNAMIZATION OF WAR” STRATEGY (1969-1975) 3.1 SITUATION AND POLICY OF PROMOTING POLITICAL STRATEGY MOVEMENT OF THE SOUTHWESTERN REGION PARTY COMMITTEE (1969-1975) 3.1.1 Situation in the Southwest in the strategy of “Vietnamization of war” of the USA imperialists The victory of the Vietnamese army and people in the General Offensive and Uprising of the Spring Mau Than (1968) shook the will of the American imperialists to invade The “Local War” strategy was bankrupt, the USA switched to the “Vietnamization of war” strategy The essence of the strategy “Vietnamization of the war” is “using the Vietnamese to fight the Vietnamese” and “Changing the skin color of the corpse” The two vital stages of “Vietnamization of war” are pacification and building a strong Saigon army The USA and the Saigon government used all sorts of tricks to deceive, bribe, soliciting cadres, and people's families strongly influencing the mass forces in the Southwest The fierceness of the war had a severe impact on the liberated area, continuously stretching the boundaries and disturbing daily life 3.1.2 The policy of the Party Central Committee, Central Department of the South, and the Party Committee of the Southwest region on promoting political struggle movement (1969-1975) Faced with new challenges caused by the USA imperialist's strategy of "Vietnamization of war", the Central Committee of the Party determined that the Southwest had a very important position in the war situation because this is one of the key areas that the US and the Saigon government are trying to pacify On October 24, 1969, the Secretariat sent Telegram No 00 to the Central Department of Southern Vietnam and the Party Committees on launching a large political struggle movement in the South In July 1969, the Central Committee of the Southern Department issued a Resolution at the Ninth Conference, proposed the policy of continuing to promote the “twolegged” and “three-pronged” struggle on the southern battlefield 17 Thoroughly grasping the Resolution of the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Southern Department, dated August 15, 1969, District Committee issued Resolution No 48/CT-T69 on the work of breaking down and pacifying rural areas Resolution of the Conference (expanded) of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee in December 1969 advocating to promote the political movement and political force building, identifying the favorable possibilities and locations of the political movement, and military operations, especially in urban areas and temporarily occupied areas On September 15, 1970, the Party Committee held a conference to pass a resolution to encourage the efforts of the entire Party, the entire army, and the people to defeat the special program and were ready to defeat the dry season plan of the A and the Saigon army However, before the signing of the Paris Agreement, in the Southwest, the Saigon government implemented the plan of “Overwhelming territory”, planting flags, occupying land, gaining people to create “fast accompanies”, and establishing a favorable position after signing the Agreement On February 2, 1973, the Standing Committee of the Zone Party Committee convened an expansion conference and affirmed: The Saigon government did not implement the Agreement, the revolutionary forces mt continue to fight to maintain the achievements, mt resolutely punish the government and army of the Republic of Vietnam for violating the Agreement Entering 1974, the Standing Committee of the Zone issued Directive No 08/CT-T.74 on tasks and requirements and directed activities from here to the end of 1974 and the direction for the first months of 1975 On April 26, 1975, in the face of rapid changes in the situation, the Party Committee and Military Region made the determination: “Take advantage of the common opportunity, create an opportunity on the spot to “finally” liberate the Southwest at the same time that the army and people liberate Saigon” 3.2 THE DIRECTIONS OF THE SOUTHWESTERN REGIONAL COMMITTEE FOR THE POLITICAL STRUGGLE MOVEMENT (1969-1975) 3.2.1 Movement to fight for people's rights and democracy Although some military results were achieved, political and diplomatic, but the loss of revolutionary forces after the 1968 Tet Offensive and Uprising was very serious Much of the rural area is 18 located in areas controlled by the USA and the Saigon government and disputed areas Therefore, the Party Committee directs the provincial Party committees in the Southwest region to emphasize the following tasks: In any situation, the motto must be followed: “The party clings to the people, the people cling to the ground, the army clings to the enemy” and “An inch won't go, an inch won't leave” to lead the masses to revolt Therefore, the movement to fight for the people's rights to life and democracy took place with great vigor 3.2.2 The movement to fight against the capture of soldiers, in coordination with the nose of the army To implement the strategy of “Vietnamization of war”, in the Southwest region, the USA and the Saigon government gradually withdrew American troops, increased troop capture, mobilized troops to develop the army of the Republic of Vietnam, and set up dozens of “recruiting” points, issued an order to mobilize general “militarization of schools”, increasing the military service age from 17 to 45 years old The number of Saigon's army increased rapidly The district committee directs local party committees at all levels to intensify the launching of movements to fight against conscription, and coordinate political struggle movements with military mobilization to divide and isolate the Saigon government and army 3.2.3 Movement for the implementation of the Paris Agreement Under the direction of the District Committee, the movement for the implementation of the Paris Agreement, for peace, and an end to the war took place everywhere in the Southwest region Typically, the large-scale struggles and demonstrations of tens of thousands of people, participating monks, the content denouncing the Republic of Vietnam government's violation of the Agreement, demanding a coalition government, demanding peace 3.2.4 Coordinate with the military struggle against the USA pacification program and the Saigon government With the strategy of “Vietnamization of war”, the American imperialists and the Saigon government proposed measures to concentrate their energy on implementing the program to pacify South Vietnam, in which the focus is on the Southwest region Along with the sweeping operations to recapture the lost 19 areas, the USA and the Saigon government expanded the area of rural pacification Thoroughly grasping the policy of the Party Committee on stepping up the fight to defeat the pacification programs of the USA and the Saigon government, since 1969, revolutionary forces have attacked on a large scale in the provinces in the Southwest region Especially, when the Saigon government violated the Paris Agreement (1973), the Party Committee of the district resolutely directed against plots and tricks of “overwhelming territory” to occupy land and people The Southwestern army and people defeated 75 rounds of battalions of the Republic of Vietnam army at Chuong Thien in 1973 Coordinating with the military offensive, the political forces carried out a siege of the post on the Southwest battlefield during the General Offensive and revolted in 1975, contributing to the liberation of the South and reunification of the country 20 Chapter REVIEWS AND EXPERIENCES 4.1 REVIEWS ON THE LEADERSHIP OF THE SOUTHWEST REGION COMMITTEE FOR THE POLITICAL STRUGGLE MOVEMENT(1965 - 1975) 4.1.1 Result 4.1.1.1 The Southwestern Party Committee has set out a policy on political struggle based on applying the guidelines of the Party Central Committee, the Central Department of the South is suitable for the local situation 4.1.1.2 The Southwestern Party Committee has directed political struggle movements throughout strategic areas with the content and rich form 4.1.1.3 Political struggle movements under the leadership of the Southwest Region Party Committee mobilized a large number of people from all walks of life, people of all ethnicities and religions to participate 4.1.2 Limited and causes 4.1.2.1 Limit Firstly, about awareness and planning of political struggle: In the process of leading the political struggle movement, some of the work of the Party Committee of the Zone is not timely and suitable for each locality, each segment, and each ethnic group During difficult and fierce times, a part of the cadres and party members showed signs of ideological withdrawal, discouragement, political-ideological stance is unstable, fluctuating, unstable, bored for a long time, afraid to sacrifice hardships, low sense of organization and discipline, partiality, one-sidedness, causing difficulties for the leadership of the political struggle movement of the people Secondly, on directing force building and launching struggle movements: In general, political forces in the Southwest region developed in the right direction, but there were times when the construction and reinforce the quality is not good The organization and activities of the unions are also loose and fragmentary, which does not guarantee an organized assault team in the political struggle movement and the army, not an active force in the guerrilla war movement, joining the army and serving on the front lines 21 Thirdly, about the results achieved by political struggle movements: basic movements took place with the content and form of struggle as planned, however, have not properly taken advantage of the internal contradictions between the USA and the Saigon government, and the army not paid much attention to the study and application of strategies to expand the battlefront 4.1.2.2 Reason Objective reasons: The Vietnamese people's resistance war against the USA to save the country, including the people of the Southwest region, had to deal with neo-colonialism, and the Saigon government constantly changed the type and method and tricks from “Americanization” to “deAmericanization” of the war should cause many difficulties, complex for the leadership of the Southwest Region Party Committee Because the Southwest region is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious region, the USA imperialists and the Saigon government thoroughly implemented the division of the great national unity bloc religious solidarity, causing ethnic and religious conflicts, causing many difficulties for the Party Committee in leading the political struggle Especially, in the areas of Catholic emigrants, the USA and the Saigon government took advantage of or suppressed them, set up outposts, cornered people, captured soldiers, building military bases such as Tra Long, My Phuoc, Xuan Hoa, Bai Gia, To Ma, has caused many difficulties for cadres and party members to campaign and build political foundations On the other hand, the attitude of religious compatriots is sometimes, in many places, still afraid, afraid of not daring to fight thoroughly This causes great difficulties for the Party Committee in the process of launching a political struggle Subjective reasons: As a regional lead agency of the Party, operating under the direct leadership of the Central Department of the South, in conditions of war that escalated to the maximum, the leadership team of the Party Committee at times is not sufficient in quantity and at the same time, the capacity of some officials is still limited, causing difficulties and obstacles in organizational implementation, directing the political struggle movement 22 4.2 EXPERIENCES FROM THE PROCESS OF THE SOUTHWEST PARTY COMMITTEE LEADERSHIP IN THE POLITICAL STRUGGLE MOVEMENT (1965 - 1975) 4.2.1 Focus on building and developing the Party organization and mass organizations appropriate to the local situation 4.2.2 In every stage of the revolution, always attach great importance to the work of mass mobilization 4.2.3 Promoting the role of officials, ethnic minorities, and religious dignitaries to gather forces, and realize national unity, and religious solidarity to accomplish revolutionary goals 23 CONCLUSION With its geographical location, natural conditions, and population, the Southwest region becomes an important strategic area for both sides The USA and the Saigon government during the period 1965-1975 continuously implemented the strategy of “local war” and the strategy of “Vietnamization of the war” both set the goal of pacifying the Southwest at any cost to plunder talents, material to serve the prolongation and expansion of the war From March 1965, when the USA imperialists escalated the war with the strategy of “local war’, the resistance war entered the fiercest stage since 1954 There have been many opinions that at this time the possibility to wage a political struggle is no longer available However, by implementing the policy of the Central Party Central Committee and the Central Department of the South, in the Southwestern battlefield, the Party Committee has led the harmonious settlement, creating a relationship between stepping up the military struggle and intensifying the launching of political struggle movements During the period 1965-1975, the political struggle movements of the compatriots with the main contents such as: claiming the rights of the people and democracy; fighting against the capture of soldiers; fighting for the implementation of the 1973 Paris Agreement; coordinating with military struggle and military campaign in anti-pacification, especially the landmark General Offensive and uprising of the resistance war (1968 and 1975) Under the leadership of the Party Committee, the political struggle movement in the Southwest took place in many forms and with rich contents The slogan of the struggle is suitable for the close interests of the compatriots, so it attracts all classes of people to participate, the nature of the movement was very drastic, which failed the pacification policies of the USA and the Saigon government This proves the effectiveness of the mass mobilization work because the front with associations, unions, and Khmer campaign committees is active Wise and bold decisions of the Party Committee after the 1968 Tet Offensive and Uprising, when the Saigon government violated the Paris Agreement (1973) or the activism, actively led the people of the Southwest to self-liberate during the General Offensive and Uprising in 1975, proving that the Party Committee of the Zone correctly determined its position, the role of political struggle in violent revolutionary methods The Southwestern Party Committee fulfilled 24 the role of revolutionary leadership in the areas assigned by the Central Committee of the Party and Central Department of the South, which closed after 15 years of establishment (1961-1975) The political struggle movement in the Southwest from 1965 to 1975 had both common characteristics of the struggle movement throughout the South, have local characteristics Compared with the struggle movements in the period 1954-1964, the political struggle movement (1965-1975) under the leadership of the Southwest Party Committee took place more drastically and effectively The movement has attracted a large number of people from all walks of life to participate in various forms and methods of struggle The political struggle movement in the Southwest has specific characteristics because it takes place in the large river delta area have abundant human and material resources, the people have a tradition of patriotic struggle; is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and multi-faith region, far from the direction of the Party Central Committee and the Central Department of the South In the Southwest region, the main forces involved in the war were the government and the Saigon army; there are only a handful of American combat units here; few major military campaigns were supported Political struggle movements in big cities on the southern battlefield such as Saigon - Gia Dinh, Hue, and Da Nang often have a quick and strong impact on USA policy and the Saigon government The resonance of these movements is enormous, even through the mass media, these movements also have an international impact, to make the people of the world better understand the nature of the war that the US waged in Vietnam, strengthen the strength of the international rear for the Vietnamese people's resistance to war Meanwhile, the political struggle movement in the Southwest region mainly influenced and affected the Saigon government and army in the area, contributing to the bankruptcy of the American conspiracy and measures to implement neo-colonialism However, the unique feature of the struggle movements in the Southwest region is to attract a large number of ethnic minorities to participate, especially the Khmer people have exerted a strong effect on propaganda and public enlightenment, raising patriotism, rallying and organizing the masses, and strengthening the great national unity bloc 25 LIST OF PUBLISHED WORKS OF THE AUTHOR RELATED TO THE THESIS Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy (2014), “Vitality of a resolution - seen from reality”, Front Journal, No 124-125 Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy (2015), “Nguyen Thi Dinh - portrait of a legend, Book “Nguyen Thi Dinh - Heroic General”, National Political Publishing house, Ha Noi Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy (2018), “Can Tho Provincial Party Committee leadership the logistical preparations for the Tet Offensive 1968 Tet Offensive at Lo Vong Cung Ring of Fire”, Today's Teaching & Learning Magazine, June issue Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy (2018), “The Southwest Party Committee is proactive and creative in leading and directing the General Offensive and the 1968 Tet Offensive”, Political Science Information Journal, No (12) Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy (2019), “Women's political struggle movement in the Southwest region against the strategy “Vietnamization of war” of the A imperialists (1969-1975)”, Today's Teaching & Learning Magazine, September issue Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy (2021), “The political struggle movement of women in the Southwest region against the strategy “Local war” of the USA imperialists (1965-1968)”, Party History of Journal, No 367 Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy (2021), “Some factors affecting the political struggle movement in the Southwest during the war against the USA (19541975)”, Vietnam Teachers of Journal, No 171 Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy (2022), “Mass mobilization in the South, contributing to promoting synergy in the resistance war against the USA, saving the country (1954-1975)”, Political Theory Journal, No 530 Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy (2022), “Some experiences from the process of the Southwest Party Committee's leadership in building political forces during the resistance war against the USA for national salvation”, Today's Teaching & Learning Magazine, July issue ... THESIS 1. 1 RESEARCH OVERVIEW 1. 1 .1 Domestic research projects 1. 1 .1. 1 Research project on political struggle movement in the South during the resistance war against the USA to save the country (19 54 -19 75)... Chapter REVIEWS AND EXPERIENCES 4 .1 REVIEWS ON THE LEADERSHIP OF THE SOUTHWEST REGION COMMITTEE FOR THE POLITICAL STRUGGLE MOVEMENT (19 65 - 19 75) 4 .1. 1 Result 4 .1. 1 .1 The Southwestern Party Committee... STRUGGLE MOVEMENT AGAINST THE “LOCAL WAR” STRATEGY (19 65 -19 68) 2 .1 FACTORS AFFECTING THE POLITICAL STRUGGLE MOVEMENT IN THE SOUTHWEST (19 65 -19 68) 2 .1. 1 Features of the Southwest region The Southwest