Quang Tri Province
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Provinces of Vietnam |
|
| Administration | |
|---|---|
| People's Council Chair | |
| People's Committee Chair | |
| Geography | |
| Capital | Đông Hà |
| Region | North Central Coast |
| Area | 4,745.7 km² |
| Demographics | |
| Population • Density |
616,600(2004) 129.9/km² |
| Ethnicities | Vietnamese, Bru – Vân Kiều, Hoa, Tà Ôi |
| Calling code | 53 |
| ISO 3166-2 | VN-25 |
| Website | www.quangtri.gov.vn |
Quang Tri (in Vietnamese Quảng Trị; pronunciation ; Hán Tự: 廣治) is a province in the North Central Coast of Vietnam, next to the former capital of Huế. This is where the southernmost Chinese commandery of Rinan was centred during the Later Han dynasty (25-220 CE).[1]
Contents |
[edit] History
Quang Tri was the northernmost province of the former Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). Around 1964, the province became a center for American bases. In 1966, North Vietnamese forces began occupying the northern region heading their way deeper into the province.In The War in the Northern Provinces, Lieutenant General Willard Pearson writes that the Communists were moving into Quang Tri from the north and west. The U.S. Marines, U.S. Army, and the South Vietnamese were pushing north and west from the coast, thus “a major clash seemed inevitable.”
After the Battle of Khe Sanh (1968), the North Vietnamese moved further in to take the entire province. Offensives were issued, bases left by retreating Americans, and bridges (such as the one in Dong Ha) were destroyed.
The most notable achievement of the North Vietnamese offensive in 1972 was capturing Quang Tri. With the incapability of holding its stand against General Vo Nguyen Giap's (commander of the North Vietnamese Army) Nguyen Hue Offensive,the province ultimately fell under the hands of the Communists where the Republic of Vietnam ceased to exist after the end of the Vietnam War.
After Quang Tri fell, the North Vietnamese Provisional Revolutionary Government laid their authority over the province. Collective farms were set up and strict rules instilled by the Viet Cong were forced on the villagers, many of whom eventually fled. According to Gary D. Murfin, one of the lead writers to have done a survey on Vietnamese refugees after 1975, the province was an area of particularly dense Catholic concentration, many of whom were anti- communist. He estimated that 41% fled the area in fear of Viet Cong reprisals, 37% feared fighting, shelling, and bombing, and others fled because they were a family related to a Nationalist soldier, or were at one point landowners.
Its capital is Dong Ha. Another notable city is Quang Tri.
In 2000, Clear Path International (CPI) was still working to remove unexploded ordnance left by the United States in Quang Tri Province. This was at the time the largest unexploded ordnance removal effort by an NGO in Vietnam's history.[2] CPI continues to operate in Quang Tri, providing victim assistance to those injured by landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO).
In 2006, Mines Advisory Group (MAG) continues to operate in Quang Tri (and neighbouring Quang Binh) province, providing the only civilian staffed demining and UXO clearance operations in Vietnam.
[edit] Administrative divisions
Quảng Trị is divided into eight districts:
The city of Đông Hà and the town of Quảng Trị are also separate municipalities.
[edit] Non Governmental Organizations
[edit] References
Other
- Murfin, Gary D., A. Terry Rambo, Le-Thi-Que, Why They Fled: Refugee Movement during the Spring 1975 Communist Offensive in South Vietnam Asian Survey, Vol. 16, No. 9. (Sep., 1976): 855-863
- Pearson, Lieutenant General Willard. The War in the Northern Provinces: 1966-1968, Washington D. C.:U.S. Government Printing Office, (1975).
Schulzinger, Robert D. A Time for War: The United States and Vietnam, 1941–1975 (1997).
[edit] See also
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