Party Secretariat Directive No. 219-CT/TW

Policy Toward Puppet Army Soldiers and Puppet Government Officials and Policy on Combating Counter-Revolutionaries and Maintaining Security and Order in Newly Liberated Areas

The strength of the powerful military attacks and uprisings conducted by our soldiers and civilians has liberated many cities and provinces. Many enemy personnel who were not able to escape in time have been forced to remain behind inside our liberated zone. Among these enemy personnel are many leaders of the puppet army, the puppet government, policemen, intelligence personnel, psychological warfare personnel, chieu hoi personnel, pacification personnel, members of reactionary political parties and factions, etc. So far a number of these individuals have turned themselves in as has been reported. However, there are also a large number of these personnel, especially from the police, enemy intelligence, psychological warfare, and reactionary political parties, and especially members of the enemy’s secret stay-behind organizations, who have so far refused to come forward and turn themselves, who have refused to turn in weapons, radios, and military equipment, and who continue to either try to hide from us or to escape back to enemy-controlled areas. A number of enemy personnel continue to use radios to communicate with one another and with enemy forces in those areas we have not yet liberated. A number of these people have joined together to work with one another to try to oppose and sabotage us.

Some reactionaries hiding behind the banners of religions or of national reconciliation forces have openly conducted political activities and have stepped forward to form local governmental organizations, to collect weapons from puppet soldiers, to issue travel permits, etc. Some reactionaries have openly displayed the puppet flag or the flag of the VNQDD [Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang, a political party sometimes called the Vietnamese Kuomintang]. They have written reactionary banners and have fabricated false stamps, seals, and papers supposedly issued by revolutionary people’s committees giving them permission to travel around to conduct their counter-revolutionary activities. Some of them have committed acts of sabotage, setting fire to fuel storage facilities and ammunition warehouses or sniping at and killing our cadre and troops. In addition, criminals and gangsters have also committed acts that violate public order. They have stolen public property, looted gold and jewelry shops whose owners have fled, committed murders, burned and looted private dwellings, extorted money, etc. This situation has had some negative effects. The civilian population does not truly feel secure enough to enthusiastically go back to work or to participate in building and consolidating the newly liberated zones.

In order to quickly establish stability, order, and security so that life in the newly liberated areas can quickly return to normal, we must carry out the following policies and measures:

1. First of all, as soon as we liberate and occupy an area we must quickly completely sweep up all leaders of the puppet military apparatus, the puppet governmental apparatus, police leaders, psychological warfare, chieu hoi, and pacifications leaders, and leaders of reactionary political parties. We must confiscate all their weapons and all implements that could be used for sabotage, and we must not allow them to join together to oppose the revolution. When we liberate enemy prisons we must continue to imprison reactionaries, gangsters, and common criminals.

2. After the above measures are accomplished, we must issue and implement public announcements regarding “maintaining order and security” and regarding “taking control over and administering public offices, agencies, barracks, and storage warehouses of the puppet government” in order to incite the masses to stand up to participate in the effort to maintain order and security, to participate in the fight against sabotage and opposition by counter-revolutionaries and common criminals to protect public offices, warehouses, and public property, to protect our revolutionary governmental institutions, and to protect the lives and property of the civilian population.

3. When making and implementing public announcements about “turning in weapons and explosives” and “reporting and registering various types of target individuals,” we must appeal to all the different categories of target individuals asking them to strictly carry out all orders issued by the revolutionary government. In addition, we must also encourage the civilian population to denounce anyone who is still hiding weapons, explosive, or other military equipment, to denounce enemy personnel who are in hiding and have failed to come forward to register with our government officials, and to report all such cases to the revolutionary governmental authorities.

If some individuals continue to hide out after the time limit for turning oneself in has expired, using our campaign to incite the masses to denounce violators as the basis for our actions, the local revolutionary governmental authorities should launch searches to hunt down and deal with violators.

4. With regards to those who stubbornly continue to carry out counter-revolutionary actions or who disrupt public order and security, we must quickly and resolutely arrest them and present them to a military court for a stern prosecution and trial.

5. To ensure public order and security, we must strengthen our patrols and controls to make them constant, regular, and strict, especially in those areas where there are important political, military, economic, cultural, or scientific offices or facilities.

If necessary, martial law may be imposed in order to rapidly suppress counter-revolutionary activities.

6. Security measures must be strengthened at public offices, governmental agencies, barracks and bases, supply warehouses, etc.

-We must organize strict armed guard details, especially at headquarters and nerve centers of the Party, of the local revolutionary people’s committee, and of military and security units. We need to develop careful, meticulous plans for air defense and defense against enemy ground attacks, and we must strictly implement all internal regulations regarding security and protection of headquarters agencies.

-Other important installations, such as banks, treasury buildings, weapons storage facilities, fuel and petroleum storage facilities, food warehouses, electrical power plants, water-works, radio stations, television stations, communications facilities (both radio and telephone), (public) printing facilities, and scientific and technical centers (such as the Nuclear Institute, the Germ Institute, the Seed Institute, meteorological stations, etc.) also will require armed guards and tight implementation of internal security regulations.

-Internally, within agencies and offices, we must select some of our good cadre and personnel to carry out security and protective duties under the guidance of our security agencies, and we must implement internal security regulations on the following subject areas:

+Carefully protect files and documents the enemy has left behind, especially basic documentation, and prevent these files and documents from being disrupted, stolen, or destroyed.

+Protect property and machinery, especially scientific and technical equipment. Counter all efforts to sabotage, damage, or misuse this property and machinery.

+Provide tight internal security, especially for vital, important elements.

All former employees of the puppet regiment must be screened in order to categorize and sort them out so that we can use those people we need and that we are able to use, but we must not use them in secret, important jobs. We must constantly strengthen education to elevate the vigilance of our cadre, personnel, and soldiers and to block and counter all enemy plots to infiltrate or sabotage our installations or to assassinate or bribe our personnel.

7. In order to maintain basic public order and security over the long term, in parallel with the implementation of the above policies and measures, we must quickly analyze and categorize different target groups within the puppet army, the puppet government, the police, enemy intelligence, psychological warfare agencies, chieu hoi agencies, pacification agencies, and reactionary political parties and we must implement education and reeducation measures designed specifically for each type of target individual in order to cause the enemy’s ranks to collapse organizationally, politically, and ideologically.

-The work of sorting out the different categories of target individuals in order to decide on policies and measures to deal with each category must be based on the following points:

a) The former rank and position of the target individual within the enemy’s organizations.

b) The previous crimes and level of opposition to the revolution of the target individual.

c) The target individual’s attitude toward the revolution since the area was liberated.

-With regard to the various categories of puppet soldiers: A separate directive has been issued on this subject.

-With regard to the various categories of puppet governmental personnel, you must study and apply the following policies:

a) Long-term detention and reeducation for the following categories:

+Within the puppet government, puppet governmental officials from the rank of district chief and deputy district chief and up.

+Within the police special branch and interrogators, from the rank of cell chief [to truong] or deputy cell chief and up.

-Within the Police Field Force [Combat Police], from the rank of sub-lieutenant (aspirant) [chuan uy] and up.

-Within prison police guard forces, from the rank of warden or deputy warden and up.

-Within other police units, from office chief or deputy office chief and up.

-For policemen detailed to local assignments, from those in charge of village police or sub-ward [khom] police and up.

+Within the psychological warfare, chieu hoi, pacification, and other similar services, from team leader, deputy team leader, office chief, or deputy office chief and up.

+Within the intelligence services, from network chief, unit chief, or team chief and up.

+Within reactionary political parties and political organizations, from precinct captains and up.

b) Short-term confinement and retraining (a few months) and then release, with continued observation, education, and reeducation, for the following categories:

+Within the puppet government, village council chairmen and thug elements in the village.

+Within the Police Special Branch: all special branch police officers, interrogators, and prison personnel.

-Within the Police Field Force: squad leaders and deputy squad leaders.

-Village police: section chief and deputy chiefs and thugs within the village police.

+Within the psychological warfare, chieu hoi, pacification, and other similar services, all personnel directly involved in operations, excepting personnel performing purely administrative functions.

+Within the intelligence services, all personnel directly involved in intelligence operations, excepting personnel performing purely administrative functions.

+Within reactionary political parties and political organizations, all thugs, party chapter secretaries, and hard-core support elements.

During the short-term confinement and retraining of the above elements, we must be alert to identify particularly dangerous individuals who should be sent to long-term detention and reeducation.

The goals of the short-term confinement and retraining of the above-mentioned target individuals are:

-To provide them with ideological education and reeducation.

-To exploit them for information and to obtain information to help us understand the enemy’s entire organizational structure and all his activities.

-To prevent them from returning to the counter-revolutionary road and to give them an opportunity to make contributions in order to atone for their crimes.

-If any of these individually can be utilized for enemy proselyting operations or for professional public security operations [intelligence or counter-intelligence operations], they may be so utilized on a temporary basis, but they must be closely monitored.

c) Organize local education classes at the village and ward level for all other puppet government personnel and members of reactionary political parties and organizations.

d) Those who truly repent should be given the opportunity to make progress and to atone for their crimes.

e) Some of the enemy’s policemen and fireman can be used, except for reactionary thugs, but we must insert our own cadre and hard-core supporters to administer, direct, and educate them.

8. A Number of Issues that Require Particular Attention:

a) Establishing revolutionary order and maintaining political security in newly liberated areas is a very ferocious struggle against the Americans and their puppets, because they are extremely reactionary, stubborn, and vicious, violent reactionary enemies.

We must maintain a firm understanding of the principle of the dictatorship of the revolution, we must resolutely suppress and arrest counter-revolutionaries, and we must quickly cause their ranks to collapse.

b) The policy of the Americans and their puppets in the area that they temporarily occupy is to soil and dirty everyone in order to force the people to follow them. For that reason, in our operations directed against the counter-revolutionaries, we must strike hard and strike accurately against the stubborn thuggish elements, those who actively and intentionally oppose the revolution, and the counter-revolutionaries. However, we must not confuse that group with those people whom the enemy has forced to join his political organizations or armed forces. With respect to those that have been forced to follow the enemy, we must implement a policy of leniency and mercy, educate and reeducate them, and open the door to allow them to make progress.

c) We must rely on the masses. We must educate and mobilize the masses in order to be able to discover and attack the enemy. In order to do this we must employ correct measures that the masses approve of and support. We must have a plan that works step by step, that employs appropriate measures and forms, that does not frighten the masses, and that the enemy cannot exploit to stir up the masses against us.

d) In addition to overt reactionary organizations, the U.S. and their puppets also have many very dangerous secret organizations. For that reason, when carrying out urgent, short-term operations to maintain public order and security we must also organize and develop plans to delve deeper to understand and uncover reactionary leaders still in hiding and to uncover the enemy’s secret organizations.

e) We must strictly maintain internal security and keep our internal ranks pure, particularly within our Party and State leadership agencies, in our armed forces, in our security forces, and in other vital, important agencies.

We must be extremely vigilant and keep up our guard to prevent the enemy from infiltrating into our internal ranks.

For the Party Secretariat

[signed] To Huu