Respect-paying ceremonies for former Party leader held abroad

The Vietnamese Embassies in India, the Philippines and Tanzania on August 14 held respect-paying ceremonies and opened books  of condolences in commemoration of former Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu.

Speaking at the ceremony in New Delhi, Vietnamese Ambassador to India Pham Sanh Chau recalled milestones in the career of comrade Le Kha Phieu from his first days in the army to his election as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee.

Comrade Le Kha Phieu had made important contributions to the glorious revolutionary cause of the CPV and the nation, as well as the successes in foreign affairs such as the signing of the Vietnam-China Land Border Treaty in 1999 and the Vietnam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement in 2000, Chau stressed.

Representatives of organisations and diplomatic missions in India, including the ambassadors of Laos, the Republic of Korea and Morocco, together with Indian officials and international friends came to the Vietnamese Embassy to pay last tribute to the former Party leader.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) sent a letter of condolences to the Vietnamese Embassy.

At the ceremony in the Philippines, Vietnamese Ambassador Hoang Huy Chung highlighted comrade Le Kha Phieu’s great contributions to the struggle for national independence and reunification as well as the implementation of noble international duties.

Due to the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic and enforcement of social distancing order in Manila, Philippine authorities, diplomatic agencies and the Vietnamese community sent diplomatic notes, letters and messages of condolences to the Vietnamese Embassy.

At the ceremony in Dar es Salaam, Vietnamese Ambassador to Tanzania Nguyen Nam Tien, who is also in charge of Burundi, Comoros, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Somalia, recalled the biography and milestones in the revolutionary career of comrade Le Kha Phieu.

On behalf of the ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), CCM's Ideology and Publicity Secretary Humphrey Polepole paid tribute to comrade Le Kha Phieu and wrote in the book of condolences.

He also conveyed a letter of condolences from the CCM Central Committee’s Secretariat to the CPV Central Committee via Ambassador Nguyen Nam Tien.

The embassy will receive delegations and the book of condolences remains open until August 17.

Comrade Le Kha Phieu was born on December 27, 1931 in Dong Khe commune, Dong Son district, the north-central province of Thanh Hoa, and resided at 7/36/C1 Ly Nam De, Cua Dong ward, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi.

He started participating in revolutionary activities in 1947, and joined the Communist Party of Vietnam on June 19, 1949. He was a member of the Party Central Committee of the 7th and 8th tenures, a member of the Party Central Committee's Secretariat of the 7th tenure, a Politburo member of the 7th and 8th tenures, and the General Secretary of the Party Central Committee from December 1997 to April 2001. Also he was Deputy to the National Assembly of the 9th and 10th tenures.

After a period of illness, despite the wholehearted care by the Party, State, medical group and his family, he passed away at 2:52 on August 7, 2020, of serious illness and old age at his home.

Over more than 70 years of his revolutionary activities, he made great contributions to the glorious revolution cause of the Party and the nation. He was awarded with the Golden Star, an insignia of 70-year Party membership, and many other noble Vietnamese and international orders and medals.