(VOVworld0) – The 8th Congress of the Vietnam Fatherland Front will be held from September 25-27 in Hanoi. Themed “Unity, democracy, innovation for development”, the Congress will discuss measures to reform the Front’s activities to better mobilize national unity.
The Vietnam Fatherland Front is a component of the political system. The Front’s functions are to rally and promote national unity, ensure democracy and social consensus, exercise social supervision and criticism, and get involved in Party and State building and people’s diplomacy. The Front’s core tasks at present are to enhance national unity and promote its social supervisory and criticism role.
Mobilizing great national unity
Great unity is a national tradition which generates power for the success of Vietnam’s revolution. In order to promote national unity, the Communist Party of Vietnam and President Ho Chi Minh founded and led the Vietnam National United Front, the predecessor of the Vietnam Fatherland Front. The Party Central Committee has adopted several resolutions, orientations, and policies to care for and develop all social strata and forces. The State has promulgated laws and policies to inspire and promote people’s creativity and foster national unity. Fatherland Front’s branches at all levels have encouraged people to engage in patriotic emulation movements, contributing to socio-economic growth and poverty reduction. The Front’s organizations have tried to rally more members of different social strata.
The Front has diversified activities to rally people to mass movements. The Front has listened to and collected people’s opinions for the Party and State and to inform the legislative process.
In order to strengthen national unity in the new period, the Front needs to promote linkages among religions, ethnic groups, and localities. Tran Hau, former Editor-in-chief of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Magazine, says: “We should make public Congress’ agenda to serve national peace, independence, democracy, and prosperity. More than 90 million Vietnamese people are looking forward to the Congress. The Congress should issue a declaration on great unity in the new period.
Strengthening social criticism
The Vietnam Fatherland Front needs to encourage people’s patriotism and working spirit while carrying out its social supervision and criticism role to contribute ideas to the Party and State and assess policy and law enforcement.
During the 2013 Constitution referendum, the Front’s members contributed 8 million opinions of the 22 million opinions collected. The Front organized several discussions to make recommendations to the Land Law.
The Front has been supervising 5 areas at the national and local level. The Front has coordinated with ministries and sectors to supervise specific areas.
Nguyen Song Phi, Vice President of the Vietnam War Veterans Association, says: “The Front’s staff must be able to explain things and instruct the people. The Front should work out a supervisory program and prepare competent staff to conduct it.”
The Fatherland Front is a socio-political organization which has the function of protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the people.