namese Army (ARVN) tried to flee the city throwing grenades at the aircraft, crushing women and children, clinging to the undercarriages of planes. This episode, widely reported in the capitalist press. (PRG) provided two scenes which strikingly summarise The second, willch has received no coverage, occurred only hours later when the liberation forces entered the city to be grected by thousands of cheering people with flowers, PRG flags and refreshment, while key areas of the city, such as the port and bridges, were guarded by armed workers and peasants to prevent sabotage.
To understand how the PRG Have achieved such spectacular victones in the last few weeks, it is necessary to go back a little further in time.
PARIS ACCORDS
In the spring of 1972, the National Liberation Front (NIF) succeeded in Liberating nearly half of South Vietnam. Two factors stood in the way of complete liberation then: the treachery of the burcaucratic regimes of China and the USS. which doled out aid with an eyedropper, and the massive US aid given to the Heu regime, including the mass saturation bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong. As a resull of this, the PRG were forced to negotiate and sign the Paris Accords in January 1973 However, despite the conditions under which they were signed, the Paris Accords represenled a great victory. They formalised the stuation in South Vietnam as one of dual power between the PRO-controlled zones and those controlled by Thieu, raising the revolutionary strugele for the cities to the centre of the stage. Implicit in the Accords, and the witbdrawal of US forces tram Indochina, was the admission by the USA that it could no lon ger guarantee the existence of any pro-imperialist puppet state in Indochina.
The ceascfire was followed by a short period during which Thieu s army and repressive apparatus were rapidly strengthened and re-quipped by the USA. His prisons wert filed with hundreds of political prisoners and newly liberated areas were nibbled away by the ARVN. But at the same time, thousands of people were delIberately moving into the liberated zones. The PRO used this breathing space to refresh their cadre, resortle refugees, and begin to reconstruct the war shattered countryside.
The next phase was the boginning of activity by local NEF units to rep ulse ARVN encroachments on the bbcrated areas, and the sending of cadres into the puppet-controlled zones to begin the crucial task of building a firm political foothold.
In October 1973, the PRC warned crated zones would be severely puni shed, and then proceeded to carry out their threats. Isolated ARVN bases were mopped up one after another, while in the Mekong Deita guerilla the present situation in Vietnam.
Throughout all this, an infrastruc that in future operations against the lih- ture was being built up to link all the liberated areas in a comprehensive system of roads so that the PRO zones were rapidly consolidated. The unpor tant example of the liberated areas should not be underestimated. AlLAOS CAMBODIA and the exploitation uf the poor peasants in at an end. This revolutionary transformation of the liberated zones provides a very powertul magict for those forced to live under the puppet It is certainly a contrast with the situation in the puppet-controlled areas, where inflation has been running at 85% alongside mass unemploy ment, ill health and starvacion (even though there is probably a rice surplus -but most of it is boarded to raise profits, export, and prevent the loss of ES subsidies, while the rest is sold on *********** IETNAM NLF are aiso mounting offensive south of X2227 **** URBAN CRISIS The economy is in a deep depres currents sion, and attempts to change this through massive taxation have failed (not Least of all, because of mass resistance).
Furthermore, becuuse of the international recession, it has become more and more difficult for Thica's imperia Ist masters to bale him out. Kepeamultinational commitments to proregane and the Pathet Law insurganis For from this halting the class wriggle ar some fasced, it has recently began to declup. new denensions with the Pathet Lao delegates assuming ever groater mutio sity in the administration urchetmons in uneas formerty controlled by the puppet regime and stil under their noiiinal cod trol chore have heen mass dersonstrations and strikes raising far-neaching political These new developmenis, which are body supported by the Pathet Lao, den onstrate the development of class struccle on the urban arena and the start of a new pliase of the Laotian revolution.
leave Hanoi by invading French Prolonged guerilla war as Vietmi of land to peasants. French estat as head of state. Laos and Caml French union' Vietminh commence offensive.
Free Laotian Government' (Pat! apposition to neutralist regime On 7 May 10,003 French troop: armed French resistanice ceases. country. Ngo Dinh Diem forms areas. At Gerieve peace talle Vie Chinese to allow partition of co elections to unity the country w States prevents holding of electi admit, Vietiinh would win. our Diem becomes head of state in E Guerilla struggle restarts in Sout of National Unity including th as right seizes opportunity to mi attempts meet s milar fate.
North Vietnam begins support t Front (NLF) founded.
vide investment have all hopped.
This deepgoing crisis has resulted in massive corruptien on the pne hand and the slow growth of an urban opp asition on the other. Thiew has thus found linself in a steadily closing trap. His response to the crisis las been to increase the represssion, jail militants, and ban newspapers. How ever, far from halting the opposition this has simply accelerated its develop ment, even forcing Thieu to make important concessions (such as the freeing of some political prisoners and the abolition of VAT)
Ever since the signing of the Paris Accords, there has been a stady gro wth of trade union activity in which the working class has won some signilicant cconomic struggles. More impor tantly, trade union committees have developed which put forward politica. demands and back them up with action. This step has increased the militancy of the working class, fusing
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THE LIBERATION OF DA NANG by the forces of the Provisional Revolutionary Government The first was the riots at the airport and harbour as thousands of troops from the South Viet- vividly showed how deep»s the crisis of Thieu's army and his whole regime.