The PPA or Paris Peace Accords was an effective agreement made between the PRG or Provisional Revolutionary Government – South Vietnam, government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam – North Vietnam, Republic of Vietnam – South Vietnam, and United States in order to bring peace and an end to Vietnam War.
Involved Parties in the PPA
These four that represented indigenous South Vietnamese revolutionaries signed the ‘Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam’ on January 27, 1973. The negotiations that took place for this accord started in 1968. And as an outcome of the Paris Peace Accords, the ICC or International Control Commission was potentially placed by the ICCS or International Commission of Control and Supervision to fulfill that agreement. The primary negotiators of this agreement were the United States National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger as well as the Vietnamese politburo member Lê Ðức Thọ. These two men have been awarded with the ‘1973 Nobel Peace Prize’ for their dedication and efforts, but Lê Ðức Thọ didn’t accept the award.
Purpose of the Paris Peace Accords
The Paris Peace Accords ended the conflict, following by the withdrawal of all remaining American troops. The primary terms of this peace accords actually called for total ceasefire in South Vietnam, allowing the forces of North Vietnamese to keep hold of the territory that they’d captured, to released the US prisoners, and also called both parties to search for the best political solution for the conflict. As an incentive to Thieu, Nixon offered the US airpower for enforcing these peace terms.
The Paris Peace Accords on Vietnam of 1973 is consider misnomer since the peace only came into Vietnam in April 1975, and definitely not in any way that the terms of agreement stated it would. Essentially, this agreement has separated the political and military questions, the latter being specific but the former needing more negotiations in terms of the implementation – and these couldn’t occur fruitfully. This agreement actually provided for Joint Military Commission, but because of the fact that the decisions must be unanimous, it was then doomed for failure. It also created International Commission of Control and Supervision with members from the NATO nations, Communist nations, and neutralist, but because the decisions must also be unanimous, this too was totally ceremonial.
Position of Vietnam and Nixon
Upon the completion of the last text, Nixon said that the US recognized Republic of Vietnam, which Van Thieu, the general, headed as the ‘sole legitimate government of South Vietnam, which only meant he would approve of and support those aspects of the agreement that he favored. The regime of Thieu, in turn has refused to accept the Viet Cong Provisional Revolutionary Government at all, and would rather sign separate agreement that excluded all references. Each party, in effect, essentially supported those factors and terms that are in its interest, which only meant that that Agreement is meaningless overall. Thus, revolutionary wars uncommonly and rarely end with some diplomacy.
This is the explanation of the Paris Peace Accords that up until now are being discussed by some people who favors the history. This is indeed one of the many things of the past that are worth remembering.