Geneva Conference (1954)
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- For other similar events, see Geneva Conference
The Geneva Conference (April 26 - July 21, 1954) was a conference between many countries that agreed to end hostilities and restore peace in French Indochina and Korea. It produced a set of treaties known as the Geneva Accords, signed on behalf of France by Pierre Mendès-France and of North Vietnam by Pham Van Dong.
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[edit] Background
During the First Indochina War, the French had sought to re-establish colonial rule in Indochina, but despite American aid, they were defeated in 1954 by forces under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh, notably in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. This was significant because it was also the first time that a western nation was defeated by an indigenous south-east Asian resistance movement.
[edit] The Geneva Accords
On 21 July, the Conference produced a declaration which supported the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Indochina which gained its independence. In addition, the Conference declaration agreed upon the cessation of hostilities and foreign involvement (or troops) in internal Indochina affairs. Vietnam was partitioned into northern and southern zones pending unification on the basis of internationally supervised free elections to be held in July 1956 (Article 3) (N. Tarling, The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia, Volume Two Part Two: From World War II to the present, Cambridge University Press, p45).
An International Control Commission was set up to oversee the implementation of the Geneva Accords, but it was basically powerless to ensure compliance. It was to consist of India, Canada, and Poland.
The agreement was between Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, France, Laos, the People's Republic of China, the State of Vietnam, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. However, only France and Ho Chi Minh's DRV signed the document. The former wanted to re-establish her colonial influence while the latter was buying time to reinforce its position in the North.
[edit] Post declaration events
Due to the partition, a massive migration took place. Most of the migration consisted of one million moving from North Vietnam to South Vietnam, mostly Catholics, while a smaller number went from South to North. [1]
The conference stipulated national elections take place in two years, but Diem suppressed the advocates of the agreed-to election, and it never took place. The suppression continued, which led South Vietnamese opponents of President Ngo Dinh Diem to form the Communist National Liberation Front, better known as the Viet Cong, which eventually launched guerrilla attacks against the RVN government and desired the reunification of Vietnam under Communist rule. The Viet Cong were supported by the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) of the North.
Backed by the United States, Diem's government refused to open consultation with the North Vietnamese concerning general elections. The South contended it did not have to honor the agreement as it was not a signatory, and the U.S. feared that the communists would win the election.
Guerrilla activity in the South escalated, while U.S. military advisors continued to support the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. The result was the Second Indochina War, more commonly known as the Vietnam War.
