Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (L) visits fomer Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu in Hanoi on December 27, 2013, during his official visit to Vietnam (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Former PartyGeneral Secretary Le Kha Phieu, who passed away on August 7 at the age of 89,was a committed leader who held many positions and greatly contributed toVietnam’s revolution and lofty international missions.
In his honour, Colonel Vu Trong Hoan, a formerlecturer at the Military History Institute of Vietnam, wrote an articlehighlighting the late leader’s contributions to Cambodia’s revolution.
The article noted that in early 1979, inresponse to calls for help from the Kampuchean United Front for NationalSalvation, Vietnamese volunteer soldiers coordinated with the revolutionaryarmed forces and people of Cambodia to launch a general offensive against thePol Pot regime to liberate Cambodia from the scourge of genocide and restorepower to the people.
In this attack, Le Kha Phieu was a member of theFrontline High Command of Military Region 9 and directly ordered the militaryregion’s armed forces and some units from the Cambodian side to fight in themain battlefield in order to liberate southeastern and southern provinces in thecountry, thus greatly contributing to the victory of the general offensive.
All of Cambodia was freed from the genocidal PolPot regime in January 1979 and the Kampuchean People’s Revolutionary Councildeclared the establishment of the People’s Republic of Kampuchea.
In the early period after the liberation,Cambodia’s revolution encountered countless difficulties and challenges, as thecountry had been devastated and remnants of the genocidal regime were yet to bewiped out completely, having retreated to mountains and forests on theCambodia-Thailand border and, with external support, continued its sabotageactivities.
On February 18, 1979, then Vietnamese PrimeMinister Pham Van Dong and President of the Kampuchean People’s RevolutionaryCouncil Heng Samrin signed a treaty of peace, friendship, and cooperation underwhich volunteer soldiers and military experts of Vietnam continued to assistthe Cambodian people to protect the revolutionary administration and revive thecountry.
At Cambodia’s request for assistance in the new circumstancesand under directions from the Central Military Commission and the Ministry ofNational Defence, Le Kha Phieu was assigned to be in charge of the mission ofsupporting the Cambodian people.
The three focal tasks of Vietnamese volunteersoldiers and military experts in Cambodia at that time were protecting importantvenues, arterial roads, and life and property; carrying out mass mobilisationto develop the revolution, stepping up production and stabilising people’slives; and enhancing the political quality of Cambodian forces andstrengthening the solidarity and combatant alliance between the two militaries,the colonel wrote.
In May 1981, the Central Military Commissionfounded the High Command of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers in Cambodia, alsoknown as High Command 719, led by then Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lt. Gen. LeDuc Anh. At that time, Le Kha Phieu was appointed chief of the politicaldepartment at the high command.
In late 1988, after most Vietnamese volunteersoldiers and military experts in Cambodia had returned home, he was promoted tothe rank of Lieutenant General and designated Vice Chairman of the GeneralDepartment of Politics of the Vietnam People’s Army.
During the eight-year period from 1981 to 1988, hewas one of the key leaders of the High Command of Vietnamese volunteer soldiersin Cambodia.
The article noted that Le Kha Phieu’s dedicationto Cambodia’s revolution will be forever remembered by the Cambodian people, ashe helped nurture solidarity, friendship, equality, and cooperation for commondevelopment between the two nations.
In its conclusion, the article quoted CambodianPrime Minister Hun Sen as saying that Le Kha Phieu was “a clear-sighted leaderwho devoted his entire life to the independence, peace, and prosperity ofVietnam” and was also “a good friend of Cambodia” who made significantcontributions to the “fraternal friendship and sound cooperation” between thetwo countries’ Parties, Governments and people./.
VNA
