Vietnam Bids Farewell to Pham Van Dong
by Vu Kim Chung
7-5-2000
Vietnam Pays Final Respects to its Elder Statesman
Vietnam's top leaders paid their respects on May 5, 2000 to elder statesman
and wartime prime minister Pham Van Dong, who died the week before aged 94.
The ruling Communist Party's elite politburo, other senior officials and
revolutionaries filed into an ornate funeral chamber at the back of Military
Hospital 108 in Hanoi where Dong's body lay in state. The following day Dong's
body was laid to rest at the Mai Dich Cemetery.
Pham Van Dong's body lies in state at Military Hospital 108 in
Hanoi |
They paused to look inside a glass panel of Dong's coffin, which was partly
draped with a red and yellow national flag. Six uniformed soldiers holding
rifles formed an honour guard around the coffin as incense burned. Military
hero General Vo Nguyen Giap, who masterminded the communist victories over
France in 1954 and then the US-backed South Vietnam in 1975, doffed his cap
as he gazed at his old friend one last time. Dong's body lay in state all
that day, while funeral and tribute ceremonies were scheduled for the following
day. National flags have been lowered to half mast across the country. |
"Pham Van Dong was representative of the party, the country and the Vietnamese
people," Mr Giap, wearing full military dress, said after paying his respects.
"He had been my close friend since the days of glorious and arduous resistant
wars, a very close friend. [Vietnam's people] feel a great loss and sorrow."
Vietnam's leaders and international dignitaries pay their last
respects |
Mr Dong, an intellectual revered by many ordinary Vietnamese, served as prime
minister for more than 30 years until 1987. He was the public face and voice
of North Vietnam during the Vietnam War, relying on his formidable diplomatic
skill to bolster Hanoi's cause. Ironically, he died the day before the
25th anniversary of the end of that conflict. Dong, who died of
undisclosed illness and old age, was also considered close to the late
revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh. |
Hundreds of Delegations Pay Tribute to Former PM Pham Van Dong
Nearly 700 delegations, including over 60 foreign ones, paid final tributes
to Pham Van Dong, former politburo member of the Communist Party of Vietnam
Central Committee (CPVCC), former prime minister of the Socialist Republic
of Vietnam and former advisor to the CPVCC, at the National Funeral Hall,
No 5 Tran Thanh Tong street, where the coffin of the late leader laid in
state on May 5. His death was mourned among ordinary Vietnamese, who expressed
sadness that Dong did not live through the 25th anniversary of
the country's reunification
The State delegation |
The ceremony began at 7am in an atmosphere of solemnity and great emotion.
General Secretary Le Kha Phieu led a delegation of the CPVCC including former
advisor to the CPVCC Vo Chi Cong, advisors to the CPVCC Do Muoi, Le Duc Anh,
Vo Van Kiet, State President Tran Duc Luong, National Assembly Chairman Nong
Duc Manh, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, Chairman of the Presidium of the
Vietnam Fatherland Front Pham The Duyet and other senior Party and State
officials paid floral tributes to the former prime minister. The party chief
wrote in the funeral book: |
"Great sorrow over the loss of Pham Van Dong, an excellent and close disciple
of President Ho Chi Minh, a staunch Communist, a leader of high credit of
the Party, State and people, a great cultural activist and a talented diplomat.
During his 70 years of tireless revolutionary activity, he set a bright example
of ‘industry and thrift, honesty and righteousness, public spiritedness
and selflessness.’"
The National Assembly delegation |
Next to pay tributes were delegations of the National Assembly led by NA
Chairman Nong Duc Manh; of the State led by President Tran Duc Luong; of
the Government led by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and of the Vietnam Fatherland
Front led by its chairman Pham The Duyet.
Following them were hundreds of delegations from central and local agencies,
committees, branches, organisations, religious groups, and localities nationwide;
family members of the late Party general secretaries Le Duan and Truong Chinh;
close friends of the late leader and overseas Vietnamese paying floral tributes
to Mr Pham Van Dong. |
Vietnam bids farewell to Dong
Tens of thousands of people lined the streets of the Vietnamese capital,
Hanoi, to pay their last respects to the former wartime prime minister, Pham
Van Dong.
Pham Van Dong, the revolutionary hero, begins his final journey to
his resting place. |
Mr Dong, an elder statesman and one of the last surviving comrades of communist
leader Ho Chi Minh, was one of the architects of modern Vietnam.
He served as prime minister for more than 30 years until 1987 and played
a pivotal role in leading the communists to victory in the Vietnam War. He
died in hospital on 29 April aged 94. His death was not announced until the
following Tuesday because officials did not want to mar the 30 April celebrations
of the 25th anniversary of the reunification of Vietnam. |
Funeral
Traffic came to a halt on May 6 as Mr Dong's coffin, draped in the national
flag and mounted on an artillery piece, was hauled through the city to a
cemetery reserved for revolutionary heroes. Tens of thousands of people gathered
along both sides of the streets of Le Thanh Tong, Trang Tien, Trang Thi,
Dien Bien Phu, Tran Phu, Chu Van An, Nguyen Thai Hoc, Kim Ma, Cau Giay...
on the way leading to Dong's last resting place in the Mai Dich Cemetery.
The burial service took place at 9: 40 a.m.
A memorial service for Pham Van Dong began at 8 am, May 6 at the Tran Thanh
Tong Mortuary and the burial ceremony was held at Mai Dich Cemetery, west
of Hanoi on the same day.
On the same day, memorial services to former Prime Minister Pham Van Dong
were held in his native province of Quang Ngai, Ho Chi Minh City and other
localities.
Mr. Dong's coffin passes through the streets of Hanoi to his final
resting place. |
The country's top communist leadership followed in dozens of vehicles, heading
to a cemetery on the outskirts of Hanoi reserved for revolutionary heroes
where Dong was buried.
The ceremony was attended by Vietnam's top leaders, as well as delegations
from Vietnam's closest allies, Laos and Cuba. Vietnam's Communist Party General
Secretary, Le Kha Phieu, described Mr Dong's death as a great loss for the
state and the people of Vietnam. |
He called Mr Dong the "outstanding and intimate" pupil of President Ho Chi
Minh, and a revered party and state leader who devoted his life to national
liberation and people's freedom and happiness. Mr Dong's body lay in state
on May 5, before funeral and tribute ceremonies the following day. The two
days were designated for national mourning, with flags flying at half-mast.
Statesman
Mr Dong, an intellectual respected in Vietnam for his dedication to the country,
was part of a group of leaders which headed Vietnam's fight against France
and later the United States. While Ho Chi Minh was considered the visionary
leader, Mr Dong played a diplomatic role.
A memorial service for Pham Van Dong began at 8am May 6 at the
Tran Thanh Tong Mortuary and burial ceremony was held at Mai Dich Cemetery,
west of Hanoi on the same day. |
Hanoi residents stand along the road leading to the cemetery Mai
Dich to watch the memorial convoy carrying the coffin of former Prime Minister
Pham Van Dong during his memorial service |
Leaders of Party, State, National Assembly and Government in throwing
earth into the gave of former Prime Minister Phan Dong. |
