Crisis Committee Background Guide
Vietnamese Communist Party- Cambodian Crisis
Chair: Rozzie Kopczynski; Vice-Chairs: Lacy Myrman & Alexis Abuhadba
History of Vietnam:
First Indochina War, or the Anti-French Resistance War
The French colonial occupation starting in the 1840s created much unrest and resentment
in the native Vietnamese population. Talk of independence and fledging resistance movement
started growing in the early to mid-1900s. However, when the French government tried to reassert itself in Vietnam in the aftermath of its fall in WWII, the Vietnamese population was
moved to action. Ho Chi Minh led the effort to create a Vietnamese government, incorporating
Communist, socialist, and nationalist ideology. Elections were held despite British and Chinese
aid to the French troops threatening to re-occupy.
The French army was much better supplied than the Vietnamese troops, receiving aid
from the United States and China. There were massive bombing on Ho Chi Minh’s capitol and
French occupation of almost all major cities. However, the resistance force Viet Minh thrived in
the jungles and were able to launch many cutting attacks against the French. Their final victory
at Dien Bien Phu led to the separation of Vietnam at the 17th parallel, making the northern
territory the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) under Ho Chi Minh, while the southern
territory became the State of Vietnam, later the Republic of Vietnam (RV), with continuing
western influence.
Second Indochina War, or the American War
After a failed election to unify the northern and southern halves of the country, war broke
out between the Viet Cong (or National Liberation Front) of the DRV and the Vietnam People’s
Army of the RV. The People’s Army was aided by many American ‘military advisors’ in the
1950s that were soon reinforced by actual soldiers in the 1960s. The RV and the US engaged in
massive bombings and search-and-destroy tactics against the more guerilla-style Viet Cong.
American involvement sparked even more dissidence in Southern Vietnam, where the
population had been already chafing at President Ngo Dinh Diem’s strict laws. When the CIA
aided in a coup to assassinate Diem, it served to increase unhappy sentiment against the US and
their involvement in Vietnam, and further cemented the idea that Southern Vietnam was just UScontrolled puppet state. The Kennedy and Johnson administrations saw a huge escalation in the
number of troops and amount of firepower and weapons sent from America to Vietnam.
A turning point of the war was the Tet Offensive, which launched a huge attack on US
and Southern Vietnamese troops. While retaliation was huge, Tet more than any other attack
proved and cemented Vietnam’s domestic support of the Viet Cong and of the DRV. The
political ramifications in the US were enormous and drastically lowered Johnson’s approval
ratings. President Nixon, Johnson’s successor, continued actions in Vietnam, but the peace
movement was growing and within few years, the American troops were being withdrawn, and
the ceasefire agreement of the Paris Peace Accords was signed in 1973.
After the Americans withdrew completely in 1975, fighting for reunification continued.
The Ho Chi Minh Campaign was a final North Vietnamese offensive to take Saigon, the capitol
of South Vietnam, and finally reunite the country. On April 30th, 1975, Saigon was taken and the
Second Indochina War was finished, and the country was renamed the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam (SRV).
Current situation: the Cambodian-Vietnamese War
During the previous war, massive political upheaval had been occurring in Cambodia.
While the ruling Prince Sihanouk had declared the country neutral, Cambodian territory had been
used as Viet Cong base. Western powers asked Sihanouk to change his policy of tolerance, and
US President Nixon attacked the region with a massive bombing campaign. But in the same
time, dissent against Sihanouk was rising, and a communist rebellion was growing. The
Communist Party of Kampuchea, also known as the Khmer Rouge, requested aid from the DRV
and the Viet Cong to overthrow the American-influenced government and install a communist
regime.
Sihanouk was ousted by the National Assembly, but as the new Lon Nol administration
was created, there were widespread attacks on those of Vietnamese origin who lived in
Cambodia, on suspicion of being allied with the Viet Cong. Violence sparked between the
Khmer Rouge and the US-back government, lasting from 1967-1975. The Cambodian Civil War
raged in the midst of the Second Indochina War, with devastating effects on the population,
ending with the fall of the Lon Nol government and the rise of Democratic Kampuchea (DK).
1975, however, was the beginning of a new conflict. Despite being allied against Western
powers in the Indochina Wars, the Khmer Rouge suspected the SRV of wanting to expand
throughout the region. Leaders of DK and the SRV staged political exchanges, attempting to
show their strong connection, but fighting continued along the border throughout 1975 and 1976.
Paranoia of expansion in DK sparked a huge offensive across the border, and retaliatory attacks
in 1977. At this point, China stepped into the conflict, in an attempt to mediate between the
countries, but no compromise was reached, and the Vietnamese government was suspicious of
China’s support of the DK. It is at this juncture that our committee begins. It is early 1979 and
Vietnamese forces have succeeded in establishing the capitol of the new People’s Republic of
Kampuchea (PRK). The UN has not recognized the PRK and still sees DK as the legitimate
government of Cambodia. It is unclear how much control China continues to exert on the DK
government.
Positions
Lê Duẩn: was born in the Southern Quảng Trị province of French Indochina in 1907 into a lowclass family. Through his go-getter attitude he was able to make his way to the top of the
political hierarchy by assisting in the founding of the Indochina Communist Party, which became
the Communist Party of Vietnam (VCP) in 1930. He became the General Secretary of the
Central Committee of the VCP preceding Ho Chi Minh, and therefore becoming the most
influential leaders of the Vietnamese Politburo.
Trường Chinh: born in the Xuan Truong District of Vietnam in 1907, was inspired by the likes
of Chinese communist, Mao Zedong. Chinh was appointed to a committee within the Politburo
in 1930 before becoming a powerful Vietnamese communist leader, ranked second only to Ho
Chi Minh, himself.
Phạm Văn Đồng: was born to a family of civil servants in Đức Tân village before studying the
communist ideology. Upon Ho Chi Minh’s rise to power, Pham joined the VCP and was
appointed as the minister of finance. He became of Ho Chi Minh’s greatest supporters and was
known for being an incredible nationalist. During the Sino-Vietnamese War of 1978, Pham was
the Chairman of the Council of Ministers.
Phạm Hùng: born in 1912 near the Mekong River Delta in Southern Vietnam. He joined the
Communist Party of Vietnam in 1930 before becoming the Deputy Prime Minister in 1958.
Lê Đức Thọ: a Vietnamese general and diplomat who declined his award of a Nobel Peace Prize
in 1973, was born in Ha Nam province in 1911. He was a joint founder of the Indochinese
Communist Party and rose to be the head of the Central Organizing Committee of the
Communist Party of Vietnam in 1976.
Võ Nguyên Giáp: lived a comfortable life growing up in the Quảng Bình Province of French
Indochina which afforded him the opportunity to obtain extensive education at a young age. This
training led him to become an important commander in two major wars in Vietnamese history:
the First Indochina War and the Vietnam War. He became a close minister of Ho Chi Minh and
was therefore and influential member of the Vietnamese Politburo beginning in 1976.
Nguyễn Duy Trinh: born in 1910 in the Nghi Tho commune of Vietnam. He became involved
in political activity while at school and was elected for many positions over the course of
decades before taking the role of the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1965.
Lê Thanh Nghị: born into a large family of politicians in the village of Upper Cups in Vietnam.
Like many other politburo members, he had been arrested by French authorities early on,
triggering his support of the Communist Party of Vietnam. In 1976, Lê was elected as a member
of the politburo.
Trần Quốc Hoàn: born in a South Central commune, joined the Indochinese Communist Party
in 1934 where he was elected into many significant leadership positions. Trần is known for his
work as the Minister of Public Security, which he was elected into 1952.
Văn Tiến Dũng: He was a peasant soldier who was appointed chief of staff in 1953. In 1954, he
was given command of the attack against French forces at Dien Bien Phu. In the 1970s he
became part of the politburo in North Vietnam. He became commanding officer of the campaign
against South Vietnam in 1975. Dung wrote a book called Our Great Spring Victory, which
paints the assault of the South Vietnam government. Dung has held his office since December
20, 1976.
Lê Văn Lương: Has held office since December 20, 1976.
Nguyễn Văn Linh: He assisted in planning the Tet Offensive in 1968. After the end of the
Vietnam War in 1975, Linh was initiated into the Communist Party's Politburo and became party
chief of Saigon. He has held his office since December 20, 1976.
Võ Chí Công: He was a prominent person in the South Vietnamese communist party during the
Vietnam War. After the reunification of Vietnam in 1976, Công was initiated into the national
Politburo. He has held his office since December 20, 1976.
Chu Huy Mân: He was a general of the People's Army of Vietnam and later became a member
of the Politburo. He has held his office since December 20, 1976 to March 31, 1982.
Tố Hữu: He was Vietnam’s most famous revolutionary poet. He was most influential in setting
cultural policy in North Vietnam, and helped decide what was allowed for artists to publish and
perform during this time. He was involved with the communist movement and later held many
important government related jobs. Huu has held his office since December 20, 1976.
Võ Văn Kiệt: He fought in the war against French and then American military forces in South
Vietnam. In 1976, he was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee. Kiet has held his
office since December 20, 1976.
Đỗ Mười: He joined the Communist Party of Indochina in 1939. During the 1950s, Đỗ Mười
served as a political commissar and held different party offices regarding military affairs. At the
4th Congress, Đỗ Mười, was elected an alternate member of the 4th Politburo.
Andrei Gromyko: Soviet statesman, served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for many years.
Was an ambassador to the United States, United Kingdom, and the UNSC. In 1957 he became
the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Soviet Union.
Heng Samrin: Cambodian politician. Had been involved in the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot, but
defected after the government takeover, and fled in 1978 to Vietnam. Helped lead the
Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia, and has become Chairman of the People’s Republic of
Kampuchea.
Kaysone Phomvihane: Laotian politician. Currently serving as the Prime Minister of the Lao
People’s Democratic Republic. Was leader of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party from 1955
until the LPDR was established in 1975. Aided in the fight against French colonialists in
Vietnam, and retained strong ties to the Vietnamese government and people as a leader in Laos.