The imperialists tried to cover up their ugly features by a screen of lies. Though the French colonies were nearly twenty times as large as France in area, the famous statesman Clemenceau, then Minister of War, had still done his best to prove to the world that France was not an imperialist country. President Poincare himself had declared that France was the first colonialist power to know how to colonize. When the colonialists spoke of their humane mission to bring civilization to the backward nations, this meant draining them dry, poisoning them by means of alcohol and opium and keeping them in ignorance.
The colonialists and administrators in the colonies were like ostriches(1) greedily swallowing all the resources of the colonized peoples and directly committing numerous crimes. They would even cheat their own compatriots and the metropolitan government. Uncle Ho had become well aware of this during his stay abroad. It was understandable that the French people in France were quite ignorant of what their representatives were doing in remote countries, but even those who were in the government often had only a vague idea about what was happening. Uncle Ho noticed that “the proletariats of the two countries do not know each other and that is why they are prejudiced against each other, and imperialism and colonialism have always used this mutual suspicion to hinder their propaganda work and sow division among these forces which should be united.” For him imperialism was a “leech with two suckers” of which one sucked the blood of the colonies and the other that of the metropolitan country. Both of them must be cut off before imperialism could be exterminated.
It was because he was resolved to tear to pieces this veil of imperialist deception that the revolutionary Nguyen Ai Quoc had first taken up his pen as a journalist, lecturer and even a writer of satirical plays. His journalistic career, in particular, was prolific and original. His biting articles, written in French, formed a pitiless exposure of colonialism. But the small clique who controlled the government possessed many modern means of propaganda and would resort to any underhand trick to spread lies and deception.
After the Second World War, the French imperialists alleged that the French had returned to Indochina to liberate the people there from the yoke of Japanese fascism. Moreover the colonialists claimed that the Viet Minh was an organization of rebels in the pay of the Japanese fascists. Our National Assembly delegation which had just returned from France informed us that not only did many Frenchmen not know who we were but even our own compatriots in France had only a vague idea of the situation in our country.
Uncle Ho continuously reminded us that in revolutionary activities it was necessary to rely on our own forces but at the same time he also attached importance to winning the sympathy and support of our friends. His boundless confidence in our people was matched by a strong belief in the working people of other countries. From the moment of the victory of the August Revolution, he often reminded us of the need to make other peoples know the Vietnamese revolution and support our just struggle. He himself received almost all the foreign journalists who came to Hanoi. All those who had met him felt great admiration for him and through him they got to know our country better.
Uncle Ho saw the signing of the Preliminary Agreement as a good opportunity to intensify our propaganda abroad. The March 9 directive of the Standing Bureau of the Party Central Committee declared that “Contact with the French Communist Party should be established without delay with a view to common action between us and the French comrades.” During the German occupation the French communists had acted as the vanguard of the people’s national liberation movement against the German fascists. The French Communist party enjoyed high prestige among the masses. In spite of the strong counter attacks of the reactionary forces, the struggle for democracy and progress in France had recorded many successes. Uncle Ho was well aware of the close ties between the French people’s struggle and our own national liberation struggle.
For all these reasons, the Standing Bureau demanded that France should open the official negotiations in Paris. These would certainly benefit by the sympathy and support of progressive French opinion and would avoid being harassed by the colonialists and administrators, whose interests were inseparable from those of the colonial regime. Even if the negotiations did not lead to any favourable result, this would also be an opportunity for many French people to gain an understanding of the Vietnamese revolution which would prove advantageous for our long-term struggle in the future. However, the choice of Paris as the seat of the negotiations would also involve us in a number of difficulties. Many of our leaders would be engaged at the same time in negotiations which might be prolonged, far from the country; meanwhile the situation at home might undergo sudden changes. Uncle Ho held discussions with leading comrades on the judiciousness of his own journey to France on the occasion of these negotiations. It should be remembered that the French reactionaries had once condemned him to death. Therefore if the negotiations met with difficulties and the French made a volte-face the worst might happen. After weighing the pros and cons he and the comrades nevertheless decided that he should go with the delegation.
Comrade Pham Van Dong led the delegation which was composed of Hoang Minh Giam, Phan Anh, Ta Quang Buu, Nguyen Van Huyen, Trinh Van Binh and others. Nguyen Tuong Tam’s name figured on the list but at the last minute claiming to have fallen sick, he refused to leave. Some days later the Nationalist Party explained that by his refusal to participate in the delegation Tam wanted to express his disapproval of the negotiations between us and the French.
Uncle Ho accompanied the delegation but did not take part in it. He went to France as an honoured guest of the French government.
The date of departure came.
May 30. Under torrential rain fifty thousand Hanoi inhabitants went to the grounds of the University students’ hostels in perfect order for a farewell meeting. They brandished posters which read: “Fully Sovereign Viet Nam”, “Nam Bo is Vietnamese land”. “Territorial integrity for Viet Nam”, “Support President Ho Chi Minh”, “Support our delegation”, “Greetings to the French people”.
This was the first time our compatriots had come to pay respect to Uncle Ho before a great journey.
At 7.30 a.m. President Ho and the delegation arrived at the meeting place. Also present at the meeting was Salan, appointed by the French High Commissioner to accompany the President during his tour. Uncle Ho said:
“As instructed by the Government and in conformity with the people’s will, we, the delegation and I, are going to Paris to enter into official negotiations... In all my life I have been pursuing only one aim: to serve the interests of my fatherland and the happiness of my people. If I have had to take refuge in the mountains, suffer prison terms, or brave danger, it is because of this aim. And, since power was won by the force of our national union and the people entrusted the care of public affairs to me, I have worked day and night to achieve this aim. At all times and in all places I have pursued only one aim: to work for the benefit of the country and people. This time I promise you, dear compatriots, that the delegates and I will do our utmost to be worthy of the confidence that the nation has put in us...”
To help win victory for the struggle in the diplomatic front, he gave four recommendations:
— To unite closely, avoid all division.
— To practise thrift as much as possible in order to escape shortage and famine.
— To strive to keep order, and strictly obey Government orders.
— As regards foreign residents, it is necessary to treat them well and with moderation.
During the afternoon and late into the night, from all directions cars followed one another to enter the capital. These brought delegates from the provinces who came to see the President and the governmental delegation off. The cars carried portraits of Uncle Ho and were covered with slogans.
Early on the morning of the 31st, Uncle Ho wrote a message to the people of Nam Bo:
“...You in Nam Bo are citizens of Viet Nam. Rivers may dry up, mountain may erode; but this truth can never change.
“I advise you to unite closely and broadly. The five fingers are of unequal length but they are united in the hand.
“The millions of our fellow-countrymen are not all alike; but they are descended from the same ancestors. We must therefore be generous and broad-minded and admit the fact that the descendants of the Lac and the Hong are all more or less patriotic. With regard to those who have gone astray, we must use friendly persuasion. Only in this way can we achieve unity, and broad unity will bring us a bright future.”
The members of the delegation, all dressed in formal suits, arrived at the Bac Bo Palace. Uncle Ho came out from his room, still in his everyday khaki suit the only change being that on that day he had put on a pair of black leather shoes.
From daybreak the people were heading for Gia Lam, waving his portraits and flags. The Long Bien bridge was reddened under the fluttering flags. The weather was bad and the sky was covered by cloud as if it were sharing the general grief of the people who had come to say good-bye to Uncle Ho before his long journey.
The airport was thronged with people. The President made a tour to greet all the delegates and compatriots who waved their flags, clapped their hands and burst into cheering, pushing forward so as to see his face more clearly.
Before climbing the steps into the aeroplane, he squeezed old Huynh Thuc Khang’s hand, saying: “To fulfil the mission assigned me by the people I must be absent for some time. I expect you and the comrades to solve the difficulties that will crop up in the country. I hope that you will ‘remain unchanging in face of many thousand changes’.”
Greatly moved, Old Huynh grasped Uncle Ho’s hands for a long time. Uncle had entrusted him with the post of acting president during his absence.
Unexpectedly he called the members of the delegation. They gathered around him: After a minute’s solemn silence Uncle said:
“We who have been assigned an important mission are going to leave. Before the people present here, let us pledge to remain united and be of one mind whatever the circumstances so as to fulfil our task toward the motherland.”
All raised their hands shouting: “We swear”. As for our people, in seeing him off, they showed him that they had full confidence in him.
Two military aircraft with the delegation on board took off one after the other and disappeared in the cloudy sky.
On that day we were haunted by an anxiety that none of us dared mention. At that time plane crashes often occurred. The ex-king, Duy Tan, whom the French were bringing home by air, had been killed in an accident on the way back.
As though he had foreseen the worry felt by us and our fellow countrymen, at each stop he sent us a new telegram. In the first telegram, dated June 2, 1946 on his arrival in India, he wrote: “We have arrived safely in Calcutta after spending one night in Rangoon. We shall resume our journey tomorrow. We ask the government to convey our thanks to our fellow-countrymen and the French friends who came to see us off in Gia Lam. Many kisses to the little children...”
(1) President Ho used this simile to castigate the boundless greed of the colonialists. The French expression estomac d’autruche designates a stomach that will digest anything.