The Mission of the Vietnamese Constitutional Monarchist League The Vietnamese Constitutional Monarchist League seeks to work with all other groups with the basic goal of seeing democracy and personal freedom returned to the people of Vietnam. We also work with other nations who are also suffering under communist tyranny in Indo-China. The League is in full partnership with the Southeast Asia Imperial and Royal League and The British Committee For Free Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia & Burma. Our goal is to work with the traditions of Vietnamese culture to achieve a democratic, tolerant and free government in true representation for the people of Vietnam and to support such efforts in other countries across Southeast Asia. It is a simple fact that the people of Vietnam have never been given the choice of how they are to be governed. Ho Chi Minh took power by military force in 1945 and the people of the north were indoctrinated to believe that Communism was the only solution to the problems Vietnam faced. The south of the country never accepted Ho Chi Minh, nor did they accept the loss of the monarchy. Ho Chi Minh first abolished the monarchy in 1945 without giving the nation an opportunity to vote on the issue. Emperor Bao Dai was brought out of exile as the last legitimate ruler of Vietnam (since Ho took power by force) and Vietnam was supposed to choose in nation-wide elections how their country was to be administered. This never happened. The treasonous Ngo Dinh Diem held a referendum which was openly rigged in his favor to abolish the monarchy and neither Ngo Dinh Diem or Ho Chi Minh were willing to trust the will of the people throughout all of Vietnam to choose the government best for them. There was also certainly no consideration given to popular opinion when the Communist forces invaded and conquered the Republic of Vietnam after the evacuation of all U.S. armed forces. The Republic of Vietnam itself existed only because the United States wanted the "new" Vietnam to be built in their image rather than traditional Vietnam, which had always been a monarchy. The north was likewise built on foreign models, becoming more like Soviet Russia or Red China than ancient Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh was known to idolize the Russian communist leader Vladimir Lenin. In Communist government offices pictures of Vladimir Lenin and Karl Marx decorate the walls rather than traditional Vietnamese heroes such as Le Loi, Gia Long or Minh Mang. Certainly, if given the choice the Vietnamese people would rather have a government built on the preservation of Vietnamese culture and traditions, that can truly reflect their national identity. The Vietnamese Constitutional Monarchist League is content to work as hard as it can to unite those who wish to restore the nation to freedom and give the people the choice of deciding how they are to be governed, confident that those who have done the most to help them and fight for what Vietnam truly stands for will not be forgotten in the end. If we have learned anything from the years of conflict it is that the words of His Majesty the Emperor Bao Dai hold true, unity means life and division means death. If we are to see the end of tyranny in Vietnam, all groups who favor freedom and democracy must join together, putting aside differences, and work for the common good of the people and nation of Vietnam. It is to this end, as well as the restoration of cultural pride and the dignity of the Nguyen Dynasty that the Vietnamese Constitutional Monarchist League is dedicated. |
