We were saddened to learn of the death of Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, on July 19. On this occasion, the Communist Party of Canada wishes to convey its most sincere condolences to the Communist Party and the people of Vietnam, and to salute the contribution of this valiant fighter who devoted his life to building a sovereign and socialist Vietnam.
Even under particularly difficult conditions marked by the victory of the counter-revolution in Eastern Europe and the USSR, Comrade Nguyen, like the Communist Party as a whole, never questioned the need or the relevance of fighting to build socialism where others had capitulated to the siren song of capitalism and imperialism. For this reason alone, communists the world over owe a great deal to this late comrade.
We would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the never-ending struggle of the Vietnamese people, first against French colonialism, then against US imperialism, which today remains the worst enemy of the youth and peoples of the whole world. This struggle has never ceased to inspire the struggles of communists, progressives and all people of goodwill throughout the world. In Canada, our Party has been at one with the Vietnamese people in their struggle for independence, often going it alone. We can, however, highlight the key role we played in 1968 in organising the Hemispheric Conference for Peace in Vietnam held in Montreal, which brought together more than 2000 delegates under the auspices of the Conseil québécois de la paix.
Comrades,
The imperialist offensive is intensifying on all fronts – social, economic, political and ideological. Today more than ever we are being prepared for wars of robbery. All the countries that refuse the yoke of Western imperialism are in its sights. At the same time, the heroic struggles of the Palestinian people against Zionism made in the USA and the Cuban people against the blockade from the Florida coast remind us of the importance of proletarian internationalism.
These inveterate predators have their sights set on the Asia-Pacific region, which accounts for around 60% of world production and generates over 48% of its economy. It is in this context that the Canadian government is embarking on a ‘new’ Indo-Pacific strategy, the sole purpose of which is to pave the way for Western imperialism in the region and for war.
As Canadian Communists, we embrace the struggle of Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong and pledge to the Vietnamese people and the peoples of the region that we will never allow our country’s ruling class to prepare a war of plunder in the Asia-Pacific with impunity.
This is the internationalist spirit of Comrade Nguyen, which we must keep alive and strengthen.
Long live the struggle of the Vietnamese people!
Long live international solidarity!
Long live socialism!
Central Executive Committee, Communist Party of Canada