On the afternoon of November 12, the Commission for Information and Education of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, in coordination with the Municipal Department of Culture and Sports, held a press conference to provide information on socio-economic issues across the city.
The press conference was co-chaired by Deputy Head Tang Huu Phong of the Commission for Information and Education of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee and Deputy Director Nguyen Ngoc Hoi of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports.
At the press briefing, Deputy Head Truong Kim Quan of the Cultural Heritage Division under the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports stated that the martyrs’ mass grave area inside Le Thi Rieng Cultural Park holds historical and cultural significance, preserving traces of the sacrifices and losses of martyrs during the struggle for national liberation and reunification.
According to Deputy Head Truong Kim Quan, to protect the original elements and current status of the area related to the martyrs’ mass grave, the Department of Culture and Sports recognizes the need to research and propose appropriate management and protection solutions, minimizing activities that could alter or affect the site's historical value.
Specifically, the Department of Culture and Sports is orienting research toward an in-situ preservation plan for the excavated pits by reinforcing and solidifying the surrounding area and installing a protective tempered glass enclosure above. This aims to ensure safety and limit impacts from the environment and external factors while also facilitating public visits, incense offerings, gratitude, and commemoration of the heroic martyrs.
The implementation of the specific plan will be thoroughly studied based on an assessment of historical values, the site's current condition, and professional relic preservation requirements, ensuring solemnity and harmony with the park's overall landscape.
The Deputy Head of the Cultural Heritage Division added that the Department of Culture and Sports is coordinating with the Ho Chi Minh City High Command to collect records and documents related to the combat and sacrifices of officers and soldiers, as well as the discovery, search, excavation, and collection of martyrs’ remains in the area.
The department has also requested diagrams, maps, photographs, eyewitness accounts, and related information to serve as a basis for researching and assessing historical-cultural values and building a scientific dossier for the relic.
Based on the research results, the Department of Culture and Sports plans to propose a zoning plan to protect the martyrs’ mass grave area, ensuring the preservation of historically valuable elements in alignment with the park's general planning orientation.
Currently, the Ho Chi Minh City leadership has assigned the Department of Planning and Architecture to research and implement the planning for Le Thi Rieng Cultural Park, which includes the preservation of the martyrs’ mass grave area.
Once the planning scheme is completed, the Department of Culture and Sports will finalize the scientific dossier and submit it to the municipal-level Specialized Scientific Appraisal Council in the field of cultural heritage for review and appraisal, thereby advising the Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee or competent authorities to decide on relic ranking in accordance with regulations.
Within the grounds of Le Thi Rieng Cultural Park, there are currently several memorial structures honoring heroic martyrs and prominent historical figures. According to Deputy Head Truong Kim Quan, during the research and implementation of the park's planning, functional departments and agencies will coordinate to review and evaluate the current status and value of each structure to propose suitable preservation, embellishment, renovation, or arrangement plans within the overall space.
The guiding principle is to preserve and honor the site’s historical and cultural values while maintaining its commemorative significance, the Deputy Head of the Cultural Heritage Division said. He noted that the project will create a harmonious and dignified landscape, linking memorial structures, the martyrs’ mass grave area, and public cultural spaces into a unified whole.
