Ho Chi Minh is always remembered in Vietnam as a great leader of his time. He worked hard during his time to make sure that his state could be free from the colonial influence. He also gave a speech on 2 September 1946 that is remembered even today.
In Minh’s speech, he demanded independence to be granted to the people of Vietnam as payment for services that had been rendered during the World War II (Gmu.edu, 2016). During the World War II, the Japanese and the French heavily fought for the territory of Vietnam and the only people who paid for that price were the Vietnamese. When the Japanese Fascist’s defeated the French, they took control of Vietnam. These Japanese did not give the Vietnamese room to live in peace; they subjected them to more suffering and miseries. The French saw all these but did not take any effort to ensure that the Vietnamese were protected. They even forgot that the Vetnaminh League once helped Frenchmen to escape from Japanese jails and protected their lives and property. Minh explained that if Vietnam could be made independent, all that would be paid.
Also in the speech, Minh suggested that the independence of Vietnam should be granted based on the principles that the Allies had claimed were very critical during World War II (Page & Sonnenburg, 2003). The principles of equality and self-determination are what Minh was referring to in his speech. Minh thought that because the principle of self-determination enabled the Americans to enter World War II, it could also be applied in bringing freedom to the people of Vietnam.
In conclusion, Minh wanted the Vietnamese to be helped in gaining their independence. The citizens in Vietnam had suffered a lot because of World War II, and this could be paid by giving them freedom. The principles that motivated the conflict had to be applied in making Vietnam independent.
References
Gmu.edu. (2016). Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Historymatters.gmu.edu. Retrieved 6 April 2016, from http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5139/Top of Form
Page, M. E., & Sonnenburg, P. M. (2003). Colonialism: An international social, cultural, and political encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
