The Vietnamese Proclamation of Independence

The compatriots of the entire country,
 

All men are created equal, they are endowed by the Creator with certain inalienable Rights, among these are the right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

The immortal statement was made in the Proclamation of Independence of the United States in 1776. In a broader sense, this statement means: All peoples in the world are born equal, all peoples have the right to live, to be happy and free.

The Declaration of Human Rights and Civil Rights of the French Revolution in 1791 also stated:  All men are born free and equal in rights, and must always remain free and equal in rights.

Those are undeniable truths.

Nevertheless, more than 80 years, the French colonists, abusing the standard of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, have violated our country and oppressed our compatriots. They have acted contrary to the ideals of humanity and justice.

In the field of political, they have absolutely deprived our people of the democratic liberty.                     

They have enforced inhuman laws, they have set up 3 different political regimes in the Central, the South and the North to wreck our national unity and prevent our people from being united.

They have built more prisons than schools. They have mercilessly slaughtered our patriots. They have drowned our uprisings in the bloodbaths.

They have fettered the public opinion, have implemented the obscurantism against our people.

They have used opium and alcohol to weaken our race.

In the field of economics, they have exploited us to the backbone, impoverished our people, devastated our land.

They have robbed our rice fields, mines and raw materials. They have monopolized the issuing of bank notes, the export and import trade.

They have invented numerous unjustifiable taxes and reduced our people, especially peasantries become extreme poverty.

They have hampered the prospering of our nation bourgeoisie, they have mercilessly exploited our workers.

In the autumn of 1940, when the Japanese fascists violated Indochina to establish new bases against the Allies, the French colonialists went down on their bended knees and handed over our country to them. From that date, our people were subjected to the double yoke of the French and the Japanese. Since then, our people were more miserable and poorer. The result was that from the end of last year to the beginning of this year, from Quang Tri province to the North, more than two millions of our compatriots died from starvation.

On March 9th 1945, the French troops were disarmed by the Japanese. The French colonialists either fled or surrounded, showing that not only were they incapable of “protecting” us but in 5 years, they had twice sold our country for the Japanese.

On several occasions before March 9th, Viet Minh urged the French to ally against the Japanese. Instead of agreeing to this proposal, the French colonists intensified their terrorist activities against Viet Minh, even before fleeing they massacred a great number of our political prisoners detained at Yen Bai and Cao Bang.

However, for the French, our compatriots keep still the tolerant and humanitarian attitude. After the Japanese putsch on March 9th, Viet Minh helped many French people to cross the frontier, rescued them from Japanese jails and protected their lives and property.  

From the autumn in 1940, our country had in fact become the Japanese possession, was not the French colony. When the Japanese surrendered to the Allies, our whole people rose to regain our sovereignty and to found the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. 

The truth is that we have regained our dependence from the Japanese and not from the French. The French have fled, the Japanese have surrendered, Emperor Bao Dai has abdicated. Our people have broken the colonial chains for nearly 100 years to build up the independent Vietnam. At the same time, our people have overthrown the monarchic regime that has reigned for dozens of centuries and established the Democratic Republic.

For these reasons above, we, the Provisional Government of Vietnam, representing the whole Vietnamese people declare that we break off all relations with France, repeal all treaties that France has subscribed to on behalf of Vietnam and abolish all the special rights of France in Vietnam.

The whole Vietnamese people animated by a common purpose are determined to fight against any plot of the French colonists.

We believe that the Allied nations have acknowledged the equal nation principles in the Teheran and San Francisco conferences will not refuse to acknowledge the independence of Vietnam.

A nation has courageously opposed the French domination for more than 80 years, a nation has fought side by side with the Allies against the fascists during these last years, this nation must be free and independent.

For these reasons above, we, members of the Provisional Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam solemnly declare to the worth that Vietnam has the rights to be a free and independent country and in fact it has already become a free and independence country. 

The entire Vietnamese people are determined to mobilize all their physical and mental strength, sacrifice their lives and property to safeguard their independence and liberty.
 

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