Political struggle movement of youth, students and pupils in Da Lat city 1969

(LĐ online) - In 1971, the Southern government was preparing hard for the election of the President of the Republic of Vietnam. Nguyen Van Thieu tried every way to eliminate all opponents so that no candidate had the qualifications and conditions to run for election, leaving only one candidate, Nguyen Van Thieu - Tran Van Huong, using the name of the "Democratic" candidate. The Southern people and the press called it "Nguyen Van Thieu's one-man farce".

At that time, the Executive Committee of the Dalat Buddhist Student Union included Ngo The Ly, President; Nguyen Trong Hoang, Vice President of Internal Affairs; Nguyen Thi Nho, Vice President of External Affairs; Truong Tro, General Secretary; Nguyen Hoa, Head of the Science Branch; Thai Van Hung, Head of the Political and Business Branch; Le Thi An, then Tran Thi Hue, Treasurer... Taking the Buddhist Student Union as the core, they connected with the Representative Boards of the schools (faculties) of Dalat University, the Friendship Groups, high schools, Buddhists from the Provincial Association to the Associations. With the active support of the five public fronts that had just been established before, namely the National Cultural Protection Front; the People's Front for Peace; the Famine Relief Front, the Committee for Demanding Improvement of Prison Regime; the Women's Movement for the Right to Live and the mothers and small traders of Dalat market to prepare forces and material conditions for the anti-election struggle on October 3, 1971.

Invitation letter from Dalat Buddhist Student Union - a public organization run by underground students in Dalat city - to attend a conference to launch the fight against the one-man election on October 3, 1971. Photo: Document

While everything was in progress, at the end of July 1971, President Ngo The Ly left Da Lat without handing over, disappeared and could not be contacted. The Office of the Buddhist Student Union was locked, without a key, and the whereabouts of the Union's seal were unknown. The remaining Executive Committee met and elected Nguyen Trong Hoang as Acting President of the Da Lat Buddhist Student Union to officially launch the struggle. It took many direct meetings to convince Master Thich Minh Tue, Chief Representative of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of the province, to agree to support the Da Lat Buddhist Student Union to organize the struggle against the election of President Nguyen Van Thieu. To succeed in this persuasion, we had to persuade Ms. Nguyen Thuc Hien to join us in persuading him. Thuc Hien was a student of the School of Political Science and Business, a member of the Da Lat Buddhist Student Union. She was beautiful, elegant, and the daughter of the La Faro family - a famous bourgeois family in Da Lat. She had a very important voice for Master Minh Tue! With the consent of Master Minh Tue, the brothers broke into the office of the Union and found the seal, typewriter, mimeograph machine and other office equipment that Mr. Ly had hidden.

In mid-September 1971, the Dalat Buddhist Student Union issued invitations to the seminars “Students and the current situation of the country”, “Comments on the upcoming presidential election”. Ms. Thuc Hien drove the La Dalat car to take the students to meet many organizations and individuals in the town who directly invited them to attend the seminars. From September 20, 1971, at the Dalat Buddhist Student Union Office, seminars were held continuously, with few on the first day but gradually increasing in number. On September 22, 1971, Mr. Truong Tro - General Secretary was sent to Saigon to meet with the General Department of Youth and the Saigon Buddhist Student Force to coordinate actions.

On the morning of September 28, 1971, at the Linh Son Pagoda Lecture Hall, the large hall next to the Dalat Buddhist Student Union Office, a conference took place with over 200 young people, students, and pupils attending, including the Chief Representative of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of Tuyen Duc Province, Thich Minh Tue, monks from several pagodas in the city, Professor Tran Tuan Nham, Chairman of the Saigon People's Front for Peace - a famous activist in Saigon also attended, with representatives of fronts, public movements in the city, a number of dignitaries, intellectuals, writers, journalists, professors (a term used to refer to high school and university teachers at that time) ... also participating.

After presenting the reason for the conference, introducing the delegates and participants, the MC introduced Mr. Truong Tro, General Secretary of the Dalat Buddhist Student Union, to read a speech prepared by the Secretariat analyzing the situation, condemning the farce and calling for the burning of Voter Cards to boycott the election. As soon as Mr. Truong Tro finished, Venerable Thich Minh Tue, Professor Tran Tuan Nham and Mr. Nguyen Thuc Bieu - Chairman of the Dalat People's Front for Peace were the first to step forward to burn the Voter Cards, then everyone stepped forward to pull out their Voter Cards and light them on fire, an unprecedented scene, truly magnificent and emotional.

Scene in front of Linh Son Pagoda Lecture Hall on September 28, 1971. Banners stretched in front of the lecture hall: “As long as America and Thieu rule, the war will continue” and “If you want to do politics, you must be stubborn. If you want to build democracy, don’t go and vote.” A reporter from Doc Lap newspaper is interviewing a member of the anti-monopoly struggle organization… Photo: Document

From the hall below, Master Thich Minh An and a few dozen students were ready to shout loudly in agitated voices, "Take to the streets... Take to the streets...". Mr. Nguyen Huu Cau, a professor at Bui Thi Xuan High School for Girls, and a student holding a banner reading "Down with the farce of the election" ran ahead, hundreds of students holding banners followed. The protest group went down to Linh Son Pagoda's yard, to Ham Nghi Street (Nguyen Van Troi) and encountered a police checkpoint with barbed wire fences at the Ham Nghi - Phan Dinh Phung gas station. Hundreds of young students and pupils stepped on the barbed wire fences and rushed down to Phan Dinh Phung. About a squad of police used machetes to fiercely attack but could not stop them. The protest group reached Ngoc Hiep Theater and was attacked by about a company of field police and masked military police, who threw tear gas grenades, fired rockets, fired guns overhead, and attacked with machetes. The protesters turned back to the alley of the Mimosa Hotel, went up to the Protestant church on Ham Nghi Street, then went to the Hoa Binh area to sing fighting songs, distributed leaflets calling for absenteeism, strikes, and market protests, then marched back to Linh Son Pagoda, through the gate at the intersection of Ham Nghi and Vo Tanh (today's Bui Thi Xuan). This group had more than 10 students arrested, some students were torn from the formation and had to jump into Phan Dinh Phung stream or open sewers, escaping and returning with their clothes soaked and stinking from the sewer water!

Meanwhile, another group of hundreds of students and many pupils from Bo De School marched out of the school gate towards the Hoa Binh area in the city center, reaching the intersection of Vo Tanh - Ham Nghi (now Bui Thi Xuan - Nguyen Van Troi) and were suppressed by a large force of all kinds of police with full weapons and tools, while pulling many layers of barbed wire across the road. Students tried to climb over the barbed wire fence but were fiercely suppressed by the police, students used homemade petrol bombs to fight back. A large number of people came, some joined the protest, some stood by curiously watching or clapped and shouted, causing a commotion in the whole area. Unable to get past this police checkpoint, students used loudspeakers to broadcast propaganda on the spot, mainly condemning the farce of the illegal one-man election, calling on people to strike, boycott the sham election, and calling on the police not to suppress students! Then the students clapped their hands and sang fighting songs... These street struggles took place every day until the voting day of October 3, 1971.

Every night, the action group led by Mr. Nguyen Thuc Soan, a student of the Chemistry Department, and Mr. Nguyen Tan, a 12th grade student of the Literature School, about 10 young students raided and robbed the election campaign posters of the Democratic coalition with pictures of Nguyen Van Thieu and Tran Van Huong hanging along the street, brought them back, crossed out the two faces, and changed the word DEMOCRACY to DAN CHUI, then raided and hung them back on the street.

A Field Police battalion surrounded the entire area of Linh Son Pagoda - Linh Son Lecture Hall and Bo De High School, including 3 main roads, Phan Dinh Phung - Ham Nghi (Nguyen Van Troi) - Vo Tanh (Bui Thi Xuan). Photo: Document

The authorities of Da Lat - Tuyen Duc have dispatched a Battalion of Field Police and both undercover and surface police to surround Linh Son Pagoda and Bo De School. Inside, thousands of students and people held many direct dialogues with the police through the barbed wire fence. At the same time, small groups were organized to escape through the tea garden behind to Mai Hoa Thon Street to My Loc Hamlet and then go to other places to carry out the plan "Tell my people and listen to my people speak". Many times, the people fighting inside, rushed out onto the street to push the police away, then were suppressed by the police and retreated to the headquarters. One morning, the police rushed into the tea garden in front of the pagoda, where there was a group of female students from Bui Thi Xuan School led by a girl named Tho. Some of them had black belts in karate and fought fiercely with the police in the tea garden. It is said that Tho was beaten by a baton and lost her watch in the tea garden. I wonder if she has found it! The police attacked in order to arrest some of the core members of the movement. Master Minh Tue rang the temple bell repeatedly to sound the alarm, and at the same time turned on the loudspeaker to condemn the Dalat authorities for violating the sacred place and called on Buddhists to come and save the temple. More and more people came, and the police had to retreat...

From the roof of the lecture hall on the high hill overlooking the street, students hung a banner reading “As long as America and Thieu are here, the war will continue” in front of the first floor, a banner with the sentence “If you want to do politics, you must be stubborn (this sentence was by Nguyen Van Thieu), if you want to build democracy, don’t go and vote (this sentence was added by students to mock Thieu)”. On the front of the ground floor, they stole the election campaign poster of the DAN CHU coalition, crossed out the faces of the two candidates Thieu - Huong and changed it to the DAN CHU coalition. The organizers of the struggle installed high-power iron loudspeakers to continuously broadcast articles by teachers Mai Thai Linh, Nguyen Huu Cau, writer Thai Lang, student Le Thi Quyen… and a number of students, commenting on the situation of the country, analyzing the wrongdoings of this undemocratic election, calling for a boycott of the election by not going to vote. Articles praising national sentiment, reciting patriotic poems, calling on the police not to use American guns to shoot at our compatriots... and broadcasting the fighting songs of the singing for my compatriots movement sung by Mr. Co, Mr. Nhan and some students. On the other side, the Chieu Hoi Information Department also set up a large loudspeaker on the roof of the Youth Inn, pointing it over here, continuously broadcasting inciting music to drown out the voices of the protesters. In the yard of the Youth Inn, people also saw an armored vehicle parked looming throughout the boiling days.

On the morning of October 2, 1971, some street youths discovered two secret agents infiltrating the protest and pretending to throw rocks at the police, so they called everyone to tie them up. Some even punched and kicked them hard. A student ran in and reported that the protesters had captured two undercover policemen. I ran out in time to stop them from beating and tying them up. I took them to the Youth Union Office for questioning. They confessed that they had been assigned to find a way to remove the tail of the iron loudspeaker to stop the broadcasts of the protest force. The street youths had many grudges against the police, so they knew quite a few police and secret agents. They had participated in the struggle from the beginning. Later, through some City Councilors, the government agreed to exchange "prisoners", at this time the police had arrested 17 students. That same afternoon, they led all the arrested people to Linh Son Pagoda intersection. The fighting force led two secret agents down to the intersection and successfully returned them. Everyone cheered with joy.

Soldiers and police patrolled strictly, but at around 9pm on September 30, 1971, the action team raided the Hoa Binh area, poured gasoline and burned the tires of trucks in the middle of the square. On the morning of October 1, a group raided the market floor, threw two petrol bombs to attract attention, then distributed leaflets calling for a strike and boycott of the market. They hung a bandroll to boycott the election on the front of the market floor overlooking the Hoa Binh area. Many female traders helped students distribute leaflets, hung banners and urged, "Run quickly, the police are coming from behind!". The authorities increased their control, barbed wire, military vehicles, soldiers and guns were everywhere, like a battle in the heart of the city. The city was deserted, there were no schools, no markets. Election day took place in a boring way, few people voted, only soldiers and regime officials were forced to vote.

It can be said that the leading force in action, directly rushing into action, is the force of young students, but besides that, there is the help and support of experienced elders, professors, patriotic intellectuals, and the material support such as vehicles, machinery... of uncles, brothers and sisters in the Buddhist Family who have the conditions, the protection of the Venerable Monks at Linh Son Pagoda with a strong Buddhist force behind as a base of the struggle movement. Especially the logistics force of the mothers, the small traders at Da Lat market is very effective and touching, every night the mothers and sisters sneak into the tea garden behind Linh Son Lecture Hall to supply food, provisions, lemons, plastic bags, towels... to fight against tear gas grenades, vomit grenades, including some common medicines. The mothers and sisters take care of and worry about the students and pupils as if they were their own children. In short, the success of the movement is thanks to gaining the consensus and support of many elements in society, which can turn it into a powerful force.

The struggle made the election day of the President of the Republic of Vietnam in Da Lat deserted and boring, surrounded by barbed wire and strict patrols and guards of the army and police. Photo: Document

After a fierce struggle with a strong spirit, many new elements appeared and were brought into the secret organization. In the summer of 1972, we fought a big battle in Quang Tri, which the press at that time called the fiery summer! The Nguyen Van Thieu government lowered the age of military service, some of us were old enough to go to the military school, the Da Lat City Party Committee summoned us to escape to the forest. One summer night, we followed the line of Ms. Le Thi Quyen to the springboard, which was the garden of Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhung's mother's house in Dat Moi, Hiep Thanh. Late at night, Mr. Duong (Thai Kim Dang), the Captain of the Youth and Student Affairs Team, and two armed brothers sneaked in, approached the springboard and welcomed us to the base. After more than a month of studying, each of us was admitted into the Vietnam People's Revolutionary Youth Union. The spirit of the brothers was determined to stay and fight with guns, but Uncle Ba Du (Le Van Phan, Secretary of the City Party Committee) said: "There are already many people holding guns out here, we don't need you anymore, the battlefield that needs you is in the heart of the city, go back to university, study and build a revolutionary movement there". The Youth and Student Union of the inner city was established. The Da Lat City Party Committee issued each person a deferment certificate for family reasons (issued to people who are no longer eligible for deferment for educational reasons) signed and stamped by the Director of the Mobilization Department of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. This was a fake paper, the City Party Committee's clerk had to type very carefully, filling in each person's personal information in the correct English font as in the real deferment certificate.

The Task Force took turns taking the brothers out of the forest on dark nights, each going in a different direction and then choosing a convenient time to return to school. As for me, I was taken to the City Party Committee for further training on urban operations and how to identify and deal with enemy secret agents. A month later, the brothers in the Task Force took me to the springboard. After leaving the forest, I took a bus back to my hometown to visit my mother for a week or so, then returned to school and began my new mission.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

Source: http://baolamdong.vn/chinh-tri/202503/phong-trao-dau-tranh-chinh-tri-cua-thanh-nien-hoc-sinh-sinh-vien-noi-thanh-da-lat-1969-1975-bai-2-497616e/