The most significant legacy of the Vietnamese victories was that they taught the oppressed that when they are determined and united, they can defeat any power in the world. So, when the US, as the most powerful country on earth, decided to re-impose colonialism and deny the Vietnamese independence as a united and sovereign nation, they went back to the trenches. Three decades later, they emerged victorious over the Americans in what became known as the Vietnam War.
The world has, in the last three months, witnessed 80th anniversary victory parades, military displays, and street, garden, town hall, club and pub parties. They began in several European countries on 5 May and ended in Vietnam this Tuesday, 2 September. The victories, 80 years ago, are separate, but interrelated. One gave birth to the other but the celebrants are quite different.
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The celebrations in Europe were, theoretically, to mark the end of the Second World War. But in reality, they were celebrations to mark the defeat of Nazi Germany. So, in truth, that 1940-45 international conflagration was not a World War, but primarily an all-European war to control the universe, hold on to colonies and exploit the rest of humanity. Only the old Soviet Union and its allies fought for the ideals of freedom, not just for Europeans, but all human beings.
This is why when after the war, the big European powers like Britain, Belgium, France, Spain and Portugal returned to their colonisation and exploitation of most humans, the Soviets helped the colonised to break the chains of slavery. This came at huge human costs, with France alone killing about two million Algerians just to keep Algeria as a colony.
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We Africans, until 1994, paid huge costs to be free, having to fight in Mozambique and Angola, Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde, Zimbabwe and Namibia, and finally in Apartheid South Africa, where the racists were fully backed by ‘Leaders of the Free World’ like Britain and the United States (US).
In those wars of liberation, our most trusted ally was the Kalashnikov rifle, especially its 1947 version called the Kalashnikov ‘47 or AK-47. They were plentifully supplied by the defunct Soviet Union, and now inherited by Russia.
In contrast to the majority Europeans, the victory celebrated by Vietnam was to mark the military defeat of France and its allies, which had tried to reimpose colonialism. It marked the 1945 triumph of the August Revolution in which the poorly equipped but highly motivated Vietnamese militarily threw out Imperial Japan and France from their country on 19 August, 1945. They followed this up 14 days later, by declaring their independence on 2 September, 1945.
The most significant legacy of the Vietnamese victories was that they taught the oppressed that when they are determined and united, they can defeat any power in the world. So, when the US, as the most powerful country on earth, decided to re-impose colonialism and deny the Vietnamese independence as a united and sovereign nation, they went back to the trenches. Three decades later, they emerged victorious over the Americans in what became known as the Vietnam War. Even after the Vietnamese victory in 1975, disgraced US imposed sanctions, just as it is doing today on countries like Iran and Venezuela. In fact, the unilateral and illegal US sanctions imposed on Cuba, despite repeated United Nations resolutions, have gone on now for over six decades! Secondly, the Vietnamese victories opened the floodgates of de-colonisation across the world, including in the Philippines, Syria, Lebanon and India.
This fundamental difference between the greedy and the exploited is the reason why nearly all those who celebrated the end of the so-called Second World War were the Europeans, with the rest of the world as onlookers. In fact, the Europeans called their victory feasts “Victory in Europe Day” or V-E-Day, not World Freedom Day.
In contrast, the Vietnamese celebration drew leaders of the under-developed world with Europeans as onlookers.
Britain, one of the countries that kicked off the celebration, partied for four straight days, with the royal family joining from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Its Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, tried to sell the dummy that V-E-Day was universal: “A victory not just for Britain. But for good against the assembled forces of hatred, tyranny and evil…For the light of our values – in a world that tried to put them out.”
Some European countries like Poland, Czech, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania held their victory parties on 8 May, while some, such as Belarus, Bosnia Herzegovina and Bosnia, held theirs on 9 May.
While the Europeans and their North American first cousins celebrated their victories, the rest of the world identified with Vietnam.
President of Cuba Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, who led dignitaries to the Hanoi celebrations, had bilateral discussions with Vietnamese Party General Secretary, To Lam; State President, Luong Cuong; Prime Minister, Pham Minh Chinh; and National Assembly Chairman, Tran Thanh Man. Both sides agreed to further develop their comradeship forged 65 years ago by two of the greatest revolutionaries of the 20th Century: Ho Chi Minh and Fidel Castro.
The Vietnamese poured into the streets to celebrate their freedom and development.
In Nigeria, their embassy had a hall packed full with diplomats and guests, who turned out to rejoice with them. They included Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, director general of the Nigerian Presidential Economic Advisory Council; His Excellency Salaheddine Abbas Ibrahima, dean of the Diplomatic Corps, and Vietnamese residents in Nigeria.
Ambassador Bui Quoc Hung told the gathering: “Back home in Vietnam, our cities and villages are in full red colour of the national flags and flowers.”
He said that for over the last thousand years, the Vietnamese have had to fight one battle or another, noting: “Only in the last few decades we had our peace to strive for national construction and international integration, contributing to peace, friendship, cooperation and development.”
Noting that the 100 million Vietnamese people had a GDP of $470 billion and economic growth of seven per cent in 2024, Ambassador Hung added: “From a war-torn country after so many wars, Vietnam is now among the most dynamic economies and favourite destinations in Asia for investment and tourism. From a country with severe hunger and food shortages, Vietnam has now not only ensured its own food security, but also has become a leading exporter of rice and many other agricultural products in the world. Currently, we are number two in rice and coffee export.”
He said his country looks forward to marking the 50th anniversary of its diplomatic ties with Nigeria in 2026, and vastly growing its trade volume with his host country which in 2024 reached $1 billion.
In analysing Vietnam, I found that despite its unapologetically socialist orientation, it tries to balance its policies, obviously based on its national interests. Its largest trade volumes are with the two biggest economies in the world: US with 27.5 per cent, and China plus Hong Kung with 19.9 per cent.
The lesson in this for Africa is to follow the teachings of our Pan-Africanist ancestor, Kwame Nkrumah, who said: “Africa faces neither East nor West; we face forward.”
Owei Lakemfa, a former secretary general of African workers, is a human rights activist, journalist and author.
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