Ho Chi Minh and his role in the growth of Vietnamese nationalism/communism.

When assessing Ho Chi Minh's role in the growth of Vietnamese communism, it is important to examine his first associations with communism so as to create an awareness of where his communist roots began. From 1917, Ho spent 6 years in Paris which are considered important for numerous reasons. Primarily, this was where Ho was "elected as a delegate to the Eighteenth Congress of the French Socialist Party...(and) joined the walkout that resulted in the foundation of the French Communist Party and thus became the first Vietnamese Communist"1 and also where he presented a document at the Versailles Peace Conference listing the claims of the Vietnamese people for independence. These early stages of Ho Chi Minh's role in communism show that he was an important figure in the communist world, and also that the idea of Vietnamese independence could be achieved through communism, with his representation of their claims for independence at the Peace conference.

Ho's contribution to Vietnamese communism is considered to be quite significant as he worked to establish a Vietnamese Communist organization through setting up a Revolutionary Youth League and also in uniting other communist factions to create the Indochina Communist Party (ICP) in 1930. K. Gortesses maintains that "Ho made a crucial contribution in bringing these groups together to form the Indochina Communist party"2.

Ho believed communism provided the answers to Vietnam's problems as he states that communism "seemed to offer racial equality to subject people"3, whilst in contrary, A.J. Joes argues that "Ho was attracted to Communism, because that ideology seemed to provide the only international support for Vietnamese national aspirations."4 In one of his speeches regarding an Appeal at the Founding of the Indochinese Communist Party, Ho Chi Minh states that "it is the party of the working class. It will help the proletarian class to lead the revolution in order to struggle for all the oppressed and exploited people."5 From this we can conclude that Ho Chi Minh saw communism as an immediate way to free and unify the country.

Ho Chi Minh also endeavored to achieve nationalism as he argued that "it was essential to develop a broad based national front to oppose the enemy (Japanese and French) while ensuring the real leadership of the front remained firmly in the hands of the Communists."6 For this reason, Ho worked tirelessly to create his nationalist movement which resulted with the foundation of the Viet Minh in 1941 (Vietnamese Independence League). The purpose of the Viet Minh was to unite all nationalist groups to fight for the independence of Vietnam from both France and Japan. In a speech by Ho Chi Minh he states that "National salvation is the common cause of our entire people. Every Vietnamese must take part in it."7 Furthermore, Truong Nhu Trang, in a 'Viet Cong Memoir' gives an account on Ho Chi Minh, stating that "Nothing he said 'is more precious than independence and liberty'."8 From these primary sources, it can be assumed that Ho Chi Minh considered nationalism fundamental for Vietnamese independence, thus it can be assumed that he had an essential role in nationalism as he contributed in the founding of the Viet Minh and was a key figure in the nationalist movement.

Conclusively, it can be said that Ho Chi Minh had an essential role in both Vietnamese communism and nationalism. Ho Chi Minh played a key roles in uniting communist factions to create the indo Chinese Communist party and also working to create a nationalist movement resulting in the foundation of the Viet Minh. His devotion to communism is directly linked to nationalism and achieving the ultimate goal of Vietnamese independence and unity. As it can be seen in the following quotation by Ho Ch Minh, his desire for Vietnamese independence is one of great passion. - "Independence must be grasped at all costs, even if you must set the mountains afire."9

Bibliography

Chapter 2- French Indochina (name of book, author and date of publication unknown)

Gortesses. K Decolonisation in Indo-China

Harpar War Without End

Jennings, H Dien Bien Phu - A Study Using Sources (January 1990)

Joes, A.J The War for South Vietnam (2001)

McMahon, R Major Problems in the History of the Vietnam War

Joes, A.J; The War of South Vietnam p.11

2 Gortesses. K De-Colonisation in Indo-China

3 Joes, A.J; op. cit p.11

4 Ibid p.10

5 McMahon, R; Major Problems in the History of the Vietnam War

6 6 Gortesses. K; op. cit

7 Harpar; War Without End (chapter 3)

8 Trang, T.N; A Viet Cong Memoir

9 Statement by Ho Chi Minh in 1944