On October 25 in Hanoi, the Ministry of National Defense chaired and organized a scientific conference with the theme: "Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and military experts help the Lao revolution - Historical significance and lessons learned".
Attending the workshop were Senior Lieutenant General, Dr. Le Huy Vinh, member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Minister of National Defense; Lieutenant General Truong Thien To, Deputy Director of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army; Senior Lieutenant General Thongloi Silivong, member of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee, Deputy Minister of National Defense, Director of the General Department of Politics of the Lao People's Army; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Lao People's Democratic Republic to Vietnam Khamphao Ernthavanh, along with many leaders of the Vietnamese and Lao armies, experts, scientists and historical witnesses.
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| Deputy Minister of National Defense Le Huy Vinh speaks at the conference. (Photo: People's Police Newspaper) |
In his opening speech, Senior Lieutenant General, Dr. Le Huy Vinh stated: 75 years ago, on October 30, 1949, the Central Committee of the Indochinese Communist Party decided: The Vietnamese military forces fighting and working to help Laos were organized into a separate system and named Volunteer Army, with the spirit of "Helping the people of a friendly country means helping ourselves".
Upholding the tradition of the revolutionary army, true patriotism and pure proletarian internationalism, Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and military experts have stood shoulder to shoulder, worked together, and together with the entire Party, army and people of Laos, fought bravely, winning glorious victories in the cause of national liberation, building and firmly defending the Lao People's Democratic Republic.
The great contributions and sacrifices of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and military experts directly consolidated and built the special tradition of fighting solidarity between Vietnam and Laos, Laos and Vietnam - a symbol of international proletarian solidarity, a unique model in the history of international relations.
“With all the modesty of a revolutionary soldier, the officers and soldiers of the Vietnamese Volunteer Army and Military Experts have every right to be proud of having successfully fulfilled their noble international duty in Laos and made great contributions to building and fostering the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos,” Senior Lieutenant General Le Huy Vinh emphasized.
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| Scientific workshop "Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and military experts help Lao revolution - Historical significance and lessons learned". (Photo: VNA) |
At the conference, Lieutenant General Truong Thien To shared about the contributions of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and military experts to the Lao revolution in each period. He said that since 1954, the Party Central Committee sent a military advisory group (Group 100) to help the Lao revolution. In the following years, Vietnam sent military expert groups 959, 463 and 565; Volunteer Army groups 335, 316, 763, 766, 866, 968 to help the Lao revolution in combat, building revolutionary bases and developing forces.
The assistance of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and military experts helped the Lao revolution win the campaigns: Nam Tha (1962), 128 and 74A (1964), Nam Bac (1968), Muong Sui (1969), Canh Dong Chum - Xieng Khouang (1969 - 1970), Route 9 - Southern Laos (1971), Canh Dong Chum - Xieng Khouang (rainy season 1972)..., forcing the US and the Lao rightists to sign the Vientiane Agreement (February 21, 1973), creating favorable conditions for the Lao army and people to fight for power, establishing the Lao People's Democratic Republic (December 2, 1975).
Speaking at the conference, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Lao People's Democratic Republic to Vietnam Khamphao Ernthavanh affirmed that the Vietnam-Laos relationship is a great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation, unique in the world. During the 30 years of revolutionary war (1945 - 1975) and the first 10 years of building and defending the people's democratic regime (1976 - 1989), the Vietnam People's Army fought side by side, "biting a grain of salt in half, breaking a stalk of vegetable in half" with the Lao army and people to win many great victories.
“In Laos, there is no place without the footprints of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers, no victory without the sacrifices and contributions of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers,” she shared. The Lao people trust and consider Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and military experts as their relatives and family members.
The conference heard many opinions and reports from experts, scientists, and historical witnesses, clearly affirming the proletarian internationalist line of the Communist Party of Vietnam in its relationship with the Lao revolution, the solidarity between Vietnam and Laos in the fight against the common enemy for peace, national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and happiness of the people of the two countries. The presentations also clarified the leadership and direction of the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission of Vietnam towards the Vietnamese volunteer army in Laos, while emphasizing the contributions and outstanding achievements of this force throughout the process of national liberation and defense of the Lao Fatherland.
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| Vietnamese volunteer soldiers bid farewell to their Lao friends before returning home. (Source: Photobook of Vietnam - Laos Special Relations/Thong Tan Publishing House). |
In his closing speech, Senior Lieutenant General Le Huy Vinh said that the conference continued to affirm that organizing Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and military experts to help the Lao revolution was a correct and wise policy of the Communist Party of Vietnam in carrying out international missions for the Lao revolution. At the same time, it helped everyone understand more deeply and fully and honor the great contributions and sacrifices of generations of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and military experts in carrying out international missions to help the Lao revolution; and expressed gratitude for the attention, support and facilitation of the Lao Party, State, Army and people for Vietnamese soldiers. He hoped that agencies, organizations and veterans would continue to collect and supplement documents about this historical period to serve research and education for future generations.
Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/dau-chan-quan-tinh-nguyen-viet-nam-tren-dat-lao-tinh-huu-nghi-tham-duom-mau-va-hoa-206499.html
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