Vietnam celebrates 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu battle with military parade

(7 May 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam - 07 May 2024
1. Various of performance
2. Wide of Vietnamese leaders and officials attending ceremony
3. Officials, including French Defense Minister Sebastian Lecornu, sitting
4. Various of helicopters carrying Vietnamese flags flying by
5. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh walking to podium
6. SOUNDBITE (Vietnamese) Pham Minh Chinh, Vietnamese Prime Minister:
“The historic Dien Bien Phu victory is a remarkable event, not only for the Vietnamese revolution but it is also a monumental saga that inspired countries rising up to fight for independence and freedom, marking the collapse of colonialism all over the world.”
7. Float carrying portrait of revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh
8. Various of military parade
9. Various of veterans watching
10. Various of parade
11. Various of veterans
12. SOUNDBITE (Vietnamese) Nguyen Trung Dung, Dien Bien Phu veteran, 94:
“I am very happy to be here at the 70th anniversary, to meet my friends, my comrades who I fought alongside in the Dien Bien Phu battle.”
13. Various of parade


STORYLINE:
Vietnam on Tuesday celebrated the anniversary of Dien Bien Phu battle, where the French colonial army was defeated by Vietnamese troops 70 years ago.

During the battle, led by General Vo Nguyen Giap and revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh, Vietnamese troops surprised the French with artillery rampage in its stronghold in the northwest mountainous region.

When Dien Bien Phu fell, it was the decisive point that ended French colonial rule after almost a century.

At the ceremony, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said the historic victory was a remarkable event, not only for the Vietnamese revolution but also an inspiration for other countries to rise up against colonialism.

On Tuesday morning, the commemoration was held at a stadium in the center of Dien Bien Phu city, once a valley dense with trenches, barbed wires and bomb craters.

Watching from the stands, thousands of locals and veterans with chestful of medals, most of them in their 90s, cheered and waved Vietnamese flags as the military parade marched by.

94-year-old veteran Nguyen Trung Dung said the event was a good opportunity for him to meet up with his friends, those he fought alongside in the Dien Bien Phu battle.

AP video by Hau Dinh

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