AAPA OCTOBER 1969 VOLUME NO.1, ISSUE NO. 6
“The history of mankind is one of continuous development from the realm of necessity to the realm of freedom.” MAO TSE-TUNG
The Asian American Political Alliance supports all oppressed peoples and their struggles for liberation. A simple glance at the Viet Nam situation clearly defines our stand. The Vietnamese people have been oppressed for thousands of years—first by the Chinese, then the French, the Japanese, and finally by the United States. This oppression has progressed from merely paying tribute to being bombed daily. The entire Vietnamese people are determined to mobilize all their physical and mental strength, to sacrifice their lives and property in order to safeguard their independence and liberty.
In 1945, the Vietminh forces, many who had given their lives working with the Allies through the Office of Special Services, made the mistake of believing U.S. rhetoric. As in 1919, when the U.S. promised China territorial integrity and preached self-determination for all peoples, so it was in Viet Nam in 1945. Viet Nam was officially split in the Geneva Agreement of 1954 to be unified before July 20, 1956. Ngo Dinh Diem, U.S. puppet and head of the South Vietnamese government, at that time refused to hold the 1956 referendum on reunification. The Vietnamese and Chinese people have now learned to watch the man’s hands and not his mouth.
The Vietnamese people not only watch but feel the “peace moves” of the U.S. Even though U.S. troops are slowly being withdrawn from Viet Nam proper, the tempo of the war is increasing. The Paris Peace talks are just a maneuver by the U.S. government to give the proper facade for its senseless war. Monthly U.S. bombings in Viet Nam have increased since Nixon took office. Nixon wants to “win” his war, even if through annihilation of the Vietnamese. Without people there can be no liberation struggle. One third of the rural population of. South Viet Nam has been driven to the cities and six percent of the land has been defoliated. The killing, bombing, starvation and disease exceed that caused by the Germans in World War II. The war is a struggle of survival for the Vietnamese. It is a necessity.
America is conducting a war of technological genocide in Viet Nam. Any human being, who agrees to participate in this senseless, inhuman war to defend the “free world” (domino theory), deserves to bear the suffering of the Vietnamese people. America must prove her superiority over Viet Nam; prove that a nuclear power can mobilize the kind of force required to contain guerilla warfare; prove her position as the protector of “certain inalienable rights”, such as life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
The Vietnamese people, struggling for independence; democracy, peace, and neutrality, are resolved to drive out any imperialist forces from Viet Nam. Theirs is a war of human bonds and enduring spirit. They see their comrades, men, women, and children of all ages, die; they see a senseless destruction of the land. In their struggle for survival, ideoogy and organization has become almost meaningless; human relationships deepen and become the source of strength for the people.
The Asian American Political Alliance supports the ten demands of the National Liberation Front and recognizes the Vietnamese as people.
