  Calls for peace prevail in Asia since Vietnam was liberatedAkahata editorial On April 30, 1975, the Vietnamese liberation forces liberated Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). The U.S. war of aggression against Vietnam was totally defeated with the puppet regime of South Vietnam surrendering, and with televised images of a U.S. military helicopter with the last group of personnel fleeing the country. That was precisely 30 years ago. Hard-won independence In 1940 the Japanese imperial army invaded and occupied Indochina, which had been colonized by France, up till the outbreak of World War II. Ho Chi Minh led an anti-Japanese national liberation struggle, and in September 1945, he declared the independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Refusing to recognize Vietnam to be independent, France again invaded Vietnam. Vietnam defeated France, and its independence was recognized by the 1954 Geneva Agreement which arranged for a unified election in North Vietnam and South Vietnam to be held in 1956. However, the United States, in defiance of the Geneva Agreement, began assisting a puppet regime it created in South Vietnam and increased military attacks against the liberation forces that was calling for the treaty to be put into practice for Vietnam's independence and unification. In 1964, the United States fabricated a lie, claiming that a U.S. vessel was attacked by North Vietnam (the Gulf of Tonking incident). In supposed retaliation, the United States in early 1965 started a large scale bombing of North Vietnam, thus extending the invasion to the whole of North Vietnam. The number of U.S. troops topped 500,000, and they killed innocent citizens, burnt down villages, and sprayed chemical defoliants throughout the south. The Vietnamese people, who believed that nothing is more precious than independence and freedom, struggled together and finally won independence and unity at the cost of millions of lives. The anti-Vietnam War movement that spread throughout the world helped to achieve the peace and independence of Vietnam. Following the end of the Vietnam War, the current for peace and progress increased, particularly in Southeast Asia. The Southeast Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO) was an anti-communist military alliance established by the U.S. with Thailand and the Philippines, but it was dissolved in 1977 because it ceased to function. Movements developed in both countries in opposition to participation in the Vietnam War and to militarily dictatorial regimes, and finally succeeded in having U.S. military bases withdrawn and democracy restored. Now, only a tiny number of Asian governments have a military alliance with the U.S., while the majority have become non-aligned. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which had been taking the path toward regional peace, liberty, and neutrality, concluded the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) in 1976. Later, the TAC accepted Vietnam and some other new member states and continued growing to become a major current for non-alignment by breaking away from military alliances and adopting a policy of peace and cooperation instead of continuing with hostilities and divisions. Today, there is an increasing momentum for resolving regional differences and confrontations through peaceful talks and increased cooperation. Rejection of intervention or aggression by any big powers and the defense of the right of every nation to decide on its own affairs represents the world's majority opinion. Maintaining a military alliance loyal to the U.S. military by regarding some countries as hostile just goes against the current for peace in the world. Don't allow Japan to again become a war-fighting nation During the Vietnam War, Japan was used as a major stepping-stone for the U.S. war there, specifically as a supply base. From 1965, Okinawa was used as a launching pad for U.S. air-strikes against Vietnam. The Japanese government supported these U.S. activities by adversely interpreting regional restrictions on the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty. The Japanese LDP-Komei government is now attempting to revise the treaty to enable Japan to take part in U.S. wars of aggression. To this end, the government is pushing for an adverse revision of the Constitution. At the 60th year since the end of WWII, Japan should choose to establish peaceful and cooperative relations with the peoples and governments in Asia based on its constitutional principles of peace and by blocking all these dangerous plans. - Akahata, April 30, 2005 |