A solemn ceremony was held in the northern city of Hai Phong on August 10 to disperse the ashes of Merle Ratner, a leftist and anti-war activist of the US and also a close friend of Vietnam.

On behalf of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, Le Hoai Trung, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Chairman of the committee’s Commission for External Relations, has sent condolences to the family of Merle Ratner, a left-wing and anti-war activist in the US and a close friend of Vietnam, over her death.

Raymonde Dien, a member of the French Communist Party and a symbol of the fight against the war by the French colonialists in Vietnam, passed away on August 19. She was 93.