President joins 65th anniversary of Quang Ngai Province revolt

President Nguyen Minh Triet presents the title "Hero of the Armed Forces" to the successors of the Ba To guerillas. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Long

QUANG NGAI — The local authorities and people of the central province of Quang Ngai needed to maintain their traditional revolutionary spirit and apply it to the province's socio-economic development, President Nguyen Minh Triet said yesterday.

He made the statement at a meeting to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Ba To Uprising in the province's Ba To District.

The Ba To guerilla group – the first armed force of the Communist Party of Viet Nam in the south-central region – was established on March 11, 1945, under the leadership of the Quang Ngai Provincial Party Committee.

With only 17 guerillas at the beginning, the group overran the heavily armed French barracks in Ba To, ensuring the victory of the uprising and the establishment of a revolutionary administration in the district.

The uprising was of great importance to the cause of national liberation, Triet said.

He praised Quang Ngai's outstanding achievements over the past 35 years and called on the province to uphold its heroic tradition by contributing to its drive for prosperity.

Triet presented the Labour Order, first class, to officials and people of Ba To District in recognition of their contribution to national development over the past five years.

Quang Ngai provincial Party Committee secretary Pham Dinh Khoi said the Ba To guerillas had risen up against the far better-armed Japanese and French forces.

He called on everyone in the province to work towards the set goals.

Former guerilla Pham Huong said he and his comrades were happy to witness the province's development.

"The life of people has changed much: there is no more poverty, no more dilapidated houses. We are so proud that we contributed to those changes," he said.

On the same day, the province turned the first sod on the erection of the Ba To Uprising statue in Ba To Township.

The statue, estimated to cost VND12 billion (US$631,000), is located on an area of 11,500sq m. It is expected to be finished by February next year. — VNS