'Steel Rose' Nguyen Thi Binh and Uncle Ho's advice before the Paris negotiations

As soon as she saw the three female journalists from VietNamNet enter the room, she immediately asked about their names and jobs. When she learned that all three sisters worked in the political field, she said: "That's very good. Women must do many important things." Then she said she wanted to read VietNamNet newspaper to see if there was any news.

We turned on the computer. Former Vice President Nguyen Thi Binh's fingers slowly moved the mouse, opening the Politics section, then the International section of the VietNamNet electronic newspaper, her gaze stopping at the news about the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

She spoke softly, as if talking to herself but loud enough for us to hear: “The two countries need to end the conflict because it is so wasteful and damaging. How can we not let the people of both countries be affected?”

A woman who has entered a rare age, having faced fierce intellectual battles at the international negotiation table, is still straightforward and perceptive about current events.

Reading domestic and international newspapers is a daily habit of "Madame Binh" even though she is 98 years old.

She said her eyesight was bad, her back hurt, and her joints hurt. “It’s the law, it’s irresistible. Luckily, this year, on April 30 and September 2, I was still able to participate in some activities,” she said in a warm, strong voice, each word distinct.

Although her health was getting weaker, she still tried to exercise every day. That habit was like a red thread running through her life of perseverance, endurance, and not giving up in the face of difficulties.

Like her late husband, she loved sports , she loved basketball, and participated in inter-school competitions. As for swimming, she was “super good”, as her daughter-in-law shared: “She swam beautifully in backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle…. At 85 years old, she still swam in the sea.”

A lifetime of political activity, but these everyday details make up a very "worldly" Nguyen Thi Binh, both soft and tough.

The first time Phan Chau Trinh's granddaughter met Uncle Ho

Born into a family with a tradition of patriotism, Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh grew up with stories about her grandfather - patriot Phan Chau Trinh.

Patriotism was nurtured from childhood, from my mother's stories about my grandfather, about the Duy Tan movement, and about his years in prison.

According to her, the personality of constantly striving, constantly striving, not easily defeated, open-minded, sensitive to new things was inherited from her grandfather - Phan Chau Trinh and the people of Quang Nam.

In 1954, after a few months in the North, Dr. Pham Ngoc Thach, whom she had known since he was Chairman of the Administrative Resistance Committee of the Saigon - Cho Lon Special Zone, came to see her and said: "Uncle Ho wants to see you."

She nervously went to the Presidential Palace. Uncle Ho looked at her and said right away that he had known his grandfather since he was in France and considered him an older brother who had helped him a lot.

Former Vice President Nguyen Thi Binh and her memoir "Family, Friends and Country". Photo: Hoang Ha

In her memoir Family, Friends and Country, she wrote that later, she met Uncle Ho many times, and each time he showed her concern and encouragement.

That was the opportunity for her to later become one of the historical figures at the Paris negotiations.

Stepping out onto the diplomatic front "remaining constant, responding to all changes"

In mid-July 1968, Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh, along with Mr. Duong Dinh Thao, Ly Van Sau, Ngoc Dung, etc., were informed by the leaders of the Unification Committee about the Party's policy of "fighting and negotiating". This was the time when the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam deployed a new form of struggle, taking advantage of international public opinion, isolating the belligerent elements, and providing effective support to the battlefield.

President Ho Chi Minh and the delegation of diplomatic staff of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam in March 1966. Photo archive

She said she did not think she would be chosen for such a heavy and important task: the historic negotiations in Paris to end the war and restore peace in Vietnam.

“This was probably the longest negotiation in world history, starting in November 1968 and ending on January 27, 1973. When I left Hanoi at the end of October 1968, I did not expect it to last this long,” she recalled.

In her memoir, she said that in addition to the Front's Platform and fighting plans, she also brought with her a valuable instruction from President Ho Chi Minh, conveyed by the Unification Committee: "In the struggle, we must always maintain a principled stance: to be unchanging, to respond to all changes." The two negotiating delegations - the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam - carried out that instruction correctly.

In April 1969, she returned to Hanoi to receive new instructions. On this visit, Uncle Ho invited her to have dinner with him.

He asked her about the negotiations in Paris, the overseas Vietnamese movement in France, in England... He told her to pay close attention to mobilizing the people of all countries, because they are people who love peace and justice. She did not expect that would be the last time she would see him.

Ms. Binh recalled President Ho Chi Minh's prediction in the 1960s that the US would use B-52s to threaten Vietnam and our army prepared to respond, leading to victory in the Dien Bien Phu in the air battle in 1972. "Uncle Ho was truly far-sighted and our army is truly heroic and intelligent," Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh shared.

She wrote in her memoir that after 40 years, many political activists around the world are still amazed by the victory of the Vietnamese people. To understand the reason, we must start with the history of thousands of years of founding and defending the country.

“President Ho Chi Minh was the father and soul of the heroic fight against the US to save the country. His great thoughts on national unity and international unity were thoroughly imbued in the Party’s policies and guidelines. Alongside President Ho, there was an outstanding combat staff that steered the country in the most fierce period,” she emphasized.

The life-saving letter - Mr. Phan's "blessing"

The first time she met Uncle Ho, she was "Mr. Phan's granddaughter", and because she was "Mr. Phan's granddaughter", she said she received "blessings" from him.

When she was only 24 years old (in 1951), Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh was arrested by the French Gendarmerie on charges of violating national security. According to the report of the South Vietnamese secret service submitted to the Indochina secret service, she could be sentenced to death or life imprisonment. Lawyer Nguyen Huu Tho was the person who followed the case and defended her.

She heard that someone in France who knew her grandfather tried to intervene, but she did not know who. In 2001, her cousin, Le Thi Kinh, went to France to collect more documents about Mr. Phan and found documents related to this case at the Aix-en-Provence Archives.

Accordingly, Mr. Marius Moutet, former French Colonial Minister, who signed the Provisional Agreement with President Ho Chi Minh on September 14, 1946, wrote a letter on May 15, 1952 to Mr. M. Letourneau, Secretary of State of the French Government in charge of the associated countries in Indochina. In the letter, he mentioned "a young woman, 23 years old, named SA or SAN, detained at Chi Hoa prison (Saigon), about to be brought to trial and possibly sentenced to death".

Mr. Moutet noted that the woman was the niece of Phan Chau Trinh, a patriot and national hero. Although it is not clear what crime she committed, “I would like to warn you that morally and politically, this could lead to serious consequences. Even if it is tried by a Vietnamese court and a Vietnamese judge, people will say that it is under the direction of France. I hope you will pay close attention.”

In addition to this letter, there are also a number of official dispatches from the Office of the Secretary of State sent to the French Governor-General in Indochina and the secret police agency of South Vietnam. There is no document confirming the extent of the intervention. But Mrs. Nguyen Thi Binh believes that "the deceased is sacred, bless your descendants with peace". Mr. Phan's strong patriotism and indomitable will moved the progressive French, thanks to which he may have freed his granddaughter from the death penalty.

Former Vice President Nguyen Thi Binh shares with VietNamNet journalists

In the book “In the Heart of the World”, Swedish writer Sara Lidman once wrote: “Wherever Mrs. Binh is, people no longer see anyone else…, when listening to Mrs. Binh speak, people no longer want to listen to anyone else…, she is mysterious…, delicate…”. Those words, until now, still seem to touch the image of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Binh - a Vietnamese woman who has engraved her name in the history of world diplomatic struggles.

At 98, she still exercises regularly, reads newspapers, and follows international news. It is not only a habit but also a spirit of never-ending concern for peace and for the country.

She has kept the lesson of “remaining constant and adapting to all changes” that Uncle Ho taught her before the Paris negotiations. Now, amidst the turmoil of the world, she still firmly maintains a message: peace, solidarity, responsibility to the people and the Fatherland.

Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/bong-hong-thep-nguyen-thi-binh-va-loi-dan-cua-bac-ho-truoc-dam-phan-paris-2454342.html