A demonstration in March, 1960
"When the use of force was not possible, Party cadres devised ways to continue to act so that villagers did not give way to despair. Nguyen Thi Dinh's group may have escaped encirclement, but retaliation was swift and ferocious. In March 1960, the village of Phuoc Hipe was occupied by the army, which arrested and executed twenty young men, burying their bodies conspicuously around the army post. The outraged villagers asked Nguyen Thi Dinh's group to rid them of the post.
"We also wanted to destroy this gang badly and relieve our anger, but our armed forces were still weak. So we discussed ways to put a stop to the enemy's killing while still maintaining the initiative and the legal status of the masses [so as to avoid mass arrests]. Everyone unanimously agreed that we should organize immediately a large group of women who would push their way into Mo Cay district town to denounce the crimes of the soldiers in Phuoc Hiep."Five thousand women from six different villages, wearing mourning bands and carrying their children, poured into Mo Cay demanding compensation for the dead and an end to teh soldiers' brutality. 'The district chief was scared out of his mind and shouted at the soliers to shut the gates tightly and not to allow anyone to enter. The people stayed in front of the district headquarters, defecating and urinating on the spot, and refused to go home.' For five days and five nights, singing revolutionary songs and appealing to the soldiers to desert, the women camped in front of the district headquarters, their numbers constantly reinforced, until finally their demands were met and the army outpost was withdrawn from Phuoc Hiep."
-- Marilyn B. Young, The Vietnam Wars 1945 - 1990.
