Hanoi (VNA) -ℱ A scientific conference entitled "Ho Chi Minh’s testament: Historical value and significance of orientation for Vietnamese revolution" took place in Hanoi on May 22.The event was organized by the Editorial Department of Communist Review in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to celebrate the 129th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birthday (May 19, 1890-19 May 5, 2019) and 50 years of implementing the late President’s testament (1969-2019).

The event was co-chaired by Associate Professor and Doctor Doan Minh Huan (Alternate Member of the Party Central Committee, Editor-in-Chief of the Communist Review) and Le Quang Tung (Alternate Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism). The conference also saw the attendance of about 150 delegates (leaders of agencies, departments, centrally-run branches, scientists and researchers in history and culture areas) with nearly 50 presentations. Presentations at the event covered many issues, including: clarifying the circumstances of the birth and the process President Ho Chi Minh wrote his testament and the process of publishing the document; analyzing the basic contents of President Ho Chi Minh's testament and making insightful evaluation on the historical values and its significance for the country’s revolutionary cause; the implementation of President Ho Chi Minh’s testament over the last 50 years and future direction.

Invaluable document

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Le Quang Tung affirmed that President Ho Chi Minh's testament is a priceless historical document, exuding the spirit and revolutionary optimism of a "great man and great hero.” It crystalized the quintessence of thought, morality and the noble soul of a great man, who strived and sacrificed his whole life for the independence, freedom of the nation and peace of mankind. “The President’s last words before passing away contain rich and profound content. They were the President’s wish, affection, will, responsibility for the Fatherland, people and the Vietnamese revolutionary cause and the world revolutionary movement,” Le Quang Tung emphasized. Sharing the same point of view, Professor-Doctor Hoang Chi Bao (former member of the Central Theoretical Council, senior expert of the Ho Chi Minh National Political Academy) said that with only about 1,000 words but the testament of President Ho Chi Minh summarized the theory and practice of the Vietnamese revolution, showing the pathway for the nation.   The President personally typed the first testament, dating May 15, 1965. In the 1968 edited version, the late President rewrote the opening paragraph and another paragraph about "private matters" he wrote in the 1965 version and added a few more paragraphs. Those are paragraphs about things which need to do after the Vietnam won the resistance war against the US: reorganizing the Party, caring for the lives of  people of all strata, exempting agricultural taxes for cooperatives a year, rebuilding cities and villages, restoring and developing the economy, culture, strengthening national defense and preparing to unify the country. Particularly, in the paragraph about regulating the Party and caring for wounded soldiers, President Ho Chi Minh wrote and then crossed out; the paragraph talks about rebuilding the country, developing economy, culture, preparing to unify the country, the President marked a vertical line on the left margin. On  May 10, 1969, President Ho Chi Minh rewrote the entire opening of the testament, including a handwritten page. On September 9, 1969, during the memorial service for President Ho Chi Minh, on behalf of the Party, the State and all Vietnamese people, General Secretary Le Duan read the eulogy of the Party Central Committee before the President coffin. The testament was officially published mainly based on the Uncle Ho's writing in 1965, in which some sections were supplemented or replaced with corresponding sections written in 1968 and 1969 by President Ho Chi Minh. The Politburo of the Party Central Committee (VI tenure) affirmed that the testament which was made public ensured its loyalty to the original of President Ho Chi Minh’s. It is right to choose the version of Uncle Ho's testament written in 1965 for official publication, because this is the only one that has been completely written, signed by Uncle Ho and witnessed and signed by comrade Le Duan, First Secretary of the Party Central Committee at that time.

Pathway ahead

2019 marks the half-century journey of the entire Party, army and people implementing his testament. In particular, the Central resolutions on building and regulating the Party were directed to implement drastically and aggressively, achieved concrete and clear results in recent years, contributing to strengthening people’s trust to the leadership of the Party, continuing to affirm the ideological stature and vision of President Ho Chi Minh. Doan Minh Huan as well as many delegates attending the conference said that the 50th anniversary of Uncle Ho's death and the 50th anniversary of his will were also an opportunity for each cadre, Party member and Party organization to enlighten himself, striving to build an increasingly pure and strong Party, leading the great bloc of unity to build a peaceful, unified, independent, democratic and prosperous Vietnam as Uncle Ho’s will./.