The Road to the Formation of the

Government of Free Vietnam
Significance of the Formation of the Government of Free Vietnam

A) Legal Foundation of the "Free Vietnam" Political System.

1) Vietnam regained its independence from France in March 1945 under the leadership of King Bao Dai and Prime Minister Tran Trong Kim. In the chaotic aftermath of World War II, the king was forced to abdicate his power to the new Communist government of Ho Chi Minh. Nevertheless, the former king did return to power in 1947, as leader of the newly recognized nation of Free Vietnam in the struggle against Communism.

2) In spite of the fact that Communist North Vietnam had openly violated the 1954 Geneva Peace Accord and the 1973 Paris Peace Accord , these agreements are still legally valid under international law. Therefore, from an international legal perspective, the government of the Republic of Vietnam still exists as a political entity.

3) The transfer of power to General Duong Van Minh as the last president of the Republic of Vietnam in April 1975 was unconstitutional. Given this unconstitutional authority, the surrender of his government to North Vietnam thereafter was legally invalid. The national resistance to regain freedom and democracy of the people of Vietnam has continued on since April 1975 until now. Legally, the continuing existence of a "Free Vietnam" and the Republican System of Government was not ended by the Communist invasion.

B) Historical Continuity of the "Free Vietnam" Political System.

4) The national resistance for a Free Vietnam has continued since the day of April 30, 1975. The need to form a Government for Free Vietnamese has been there since that same day, after the fall of South Vietnam. A Government of Free Vietnam should have been established by former national leaders, generals, and political organizations.

5) In late 1994 and early 1995, the US lifted the trade embargo and was about to recognize the Vietnamese communists. Understanding the pressing need of the people for a new government, a number of young freedom fighters, together with generals from the Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam, as well as leaders of various religions and political organizations, started the movement to form a Government of Free Vietnam. On December 18, 1994, Mr. Nguyen Huu Chanh, together with Professor Ha The Ruyet, Attorneys Doan Van Tien and Tran Danh San, Major General Phan Hoa Hiep, the Venerable Thich Quang Tan (Buddhist clergy), Reverend Ly Cu, Mr. Nghiem Phu Phat , and Dr. Le Van Giao, organized a major press conference, which was attended by more than two hundreds representatives from the media and political organizations. This was the announcement of a movement to form the Government of Free Vietnam . Although it had been an extensive and well-publicized campaign, many political leaders were just too cautious to accept the new responsibility of leadership. Therefore, a government could not be established at that point in time.

6) "As the nation rise and fall, even a common man wakes up to his duty," says an ancient Vietnamese proverb. On April 30, 1995, Mr. Nguyen, Hoang Dan, Mr. Nguyen, Huu Chanh together with his comrades in Vietnam, accepted the wish of the people. He decided to establish the Government of Free Vietnam (GFVN), in order to protect the historical continuity of the "Free Vietnam" Political System since its beginnings in 1945, along with the legal foundation of the First and Second Republics of Vietnam. Because of special political circumstances, a national referendum could not be organized in Vietnam for the time being. Therefore, the fundamental goal of GFVN is leading the democratic and humanity revolution to dismantle the suppressing ideology of Communist regime. After the dissolution of such system, this government will return sovereignty to the people, so that they themselves can organize free elections to choose a political system and future leaders for all the People of Vietnam .