We know that the Vietnam War it was one of the most disastrous events of the 20th century. It is considered by many historians and journalists to be the most exhausting and unresolved military operation in which the United States of America has directly participated. Crossing three decades (between 1950 and 1970) of the period known as WarCold, the Vietnam War became the target of severe criticism from American and European civil societies throughout the 1960s. Pressure from anti-war politicians and pacifist movements meant that, in the early 1970s, some peace agreements were signed with the aim of bringing the war to an immediate end. These negotiations took place in January 27, 1973, in the city of Paris, and became known worldwide as Paris Peace Agreements.
The main agendas of the Paris peace accords dealt with 1) the release of American prisoners of war in custody of the VietnamFrom north (of communist political orientation), which was, with the guerrillasvietcongs (active in South Vietnam), enemies of
South Vietnam and the US – who were together in the war; 2) the withdrawal of US troops from Vietnamese soil; and 3) the development of democratic policies that ensure the peaceful reunification of both sides of Vietnam.The central characters in this negotiation process were the diplomats Le Duc Tho, from North Vietnam, and Henry Kissinger, from the USA. Kissinger spearheaded the negotiations outlined above before January 1973. Efforts to end the war intensified after the offensive ofTet, which took place on January 30, 1968, which consisted of a coordinated North Vietnamese attack on South Vietnamese and Americans. However, even in the midst of negotiations aimed at signing the agreements, the Richard Nixon administration authorized retaliations against North Vietnam, such as the massive bombing of December 1972.
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A month later, with the agreements signed, the US withdrew its troops from Vietnamese soil. But contrary to expectations, there was no immediate ceasefire. On the contrary, North Vietnamese and Vietnamese took advantage of the lack of American support that was given. to the South Vietnamese (which caused the rapid disintegration of their army) and advanced on their territory. Pressed, the then president of South Vietnam, Nguyen Van Thieu, resigned on April 21, 1975. Nine days later the North Vietnamese occupied the capital of South Vietnam, Saigon.
The decision of the US Congress in June 1975 to ban any further US military involvement in Southeast Asia, as researcher Demetrius Magnoli puts it, “demoralized Nixon's promises to Van Thieu to respond by force to an eventual violation of the ceasefire by the Vietcong. Less than a year and a half later, North Vietnamese forces entered Saigon victoriously, ending the second Indo-Chinese war. Vietnam was reunified in 1976 and the city of Saigon was renamed after Ho Chi Minh.” [1]
GRADES
[1] MAGNOLI, Demetrius. “Indochina Wars”. In: MAGNOLI, Demetrius. (org.) history of wars. São Paulo: Context, 2013. P. 415.
By Me. Cláudio Fernandes
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
FERNANDES, Claudio. "Paris Peace Agreements (1973)"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/guerras/acordos-paz-paris-1973.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.
