A grand meeting was held in Hanoi on December 29 to mark the 35^th anniversary of the “Hanoi-Dien Bien Phu victory in the skies”.

The meeting was attended by former Party General Secretaries Do Muoi, Le Kha Phieu, National Assembly (NA) Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong, State Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan, former State Vice President Truong My Hoa, Secretary of the Hanoi Municipal Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi, President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Pham The Duyet, Minister of National Defense Phung Quang Thanh, representatives from centrally-run ministries and sectors, heroic mothers, militias involved in the 12- day-and-night campaign on December 12, 1972 and nearly 400 delegates representing intellectuals, the municipal armed forces and people from all walks of life.

The celebration began by a special artistic performance, which recalled the glorious moments of the capital city during the 12 days and nights of fighting which claimed the victory over B-52 strategic bombers’ strikes 35 years ago.

In his speech, Chairman of the Hanoi City People’s Committee Nguyen The Thao said that the 12 day-and-night heroic battle of the militias from Hanoi and the northern region had made a “Hanoi-Dien Bien Phu in the skies”, forcing the US imperialists to sign the Paris Peace Accords on January 27, 1973, which recognized the independence, integrity and unity of Vietnam and stipulated a complete withdrawal of US troops from the country.

Keeping up the indomitable spirit in this struggle for national independence, the municipal Party Committee and authorities and the people of Hanoi have united in developing the capital city comprehensively, said Mr Thao.

The 35^th anniversary of the Hanoi-Dien Bien victory in the skies was celebrated as 2007 is coming to an end with impressive achievements recorded by the capital city. Last year, Hanoi’s total GDP growth rate was by 12.1 percent, the highest in the past ten years.

2008 will be a pivotal year of implementing the five-year plan (2006-2010). Therefore, Hanoi will have to make thorough preparations for the 100^th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

Mr Thao called on the people of Hanoi to uphold the glorious tradition of the heroic capital city and the self-reliant spirit and to put their absolute confidence in the Party and State leadership in order to boost the process of municipal renewal and construction. This would be living up to late President Ho Chi Minh’s teaching “Making the capital city more beautiful and prosperous being a model city of the whole country”.

For his part, lieutenant general Nguyen Van Phiet, Deputy Political Commander of the Air Defence and Air Force highlighted the significance of the Dien Bien Phu style and to draw valuable lessons from the battle which protected Hanoi 35 years ago and from which Hanoi people can apply such experiences to accelerate the current renewal process.