The ceremony was attended by National Assembly Chairwoman, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, and Vice President, Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh.
NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan presented the title to representatives of the Women’s Liberation Association – Long-Haired Army.
Addressing the ceremony, NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan also congratulated Ben Tre on 50 years since it was bestowed with the title “Heroic in uprising, winning against the US, defeating the puppet regime.”
She expressed her belief that, with their glorious tradition, the Party and people of Ben Tre will rise strongly, overcome difficulties and turn Ben Tre into a rich province, worthy of the sacrifice of the previous generation, and worthy of the belief of the Party and people.
During the war, Ben Tre was one of the fiercest battlefields, where the US and its puppet regime suppressed and terrorised the revolutionary movement and turned the whole southern region into prisons and concentration camps under the name of “strategic hamlets”.
In the face of such an urgent situation, the 15th session of the second Party Central Committee, in January 1959, developed the policy of rising up to seize power for the people. The Party organisation and people of Ben Tre realised the session’s resolution in a creative way and waged the resounding General Uprising in 1960.
The Long-Haired Army was established and developed during this movement. It was one of the key forces in the guerrilla warfare during the fight against the US.
The army initially fought solely in the political aspect but then also took part in armed combats. In 1961, the number of female guerrillas in local communes and hamlets surpassed 3,000, accounting for one-ninth of the total female guerrillas across the southern region.
From Ben Tre, the General Uprising spread across the south. The Long-Haired Army also developed in almost every southern provinces, greatly helping to reverse the revolutionary situation from defending and saving forces to attacking the enemy and gaining victories.
