Yen Bai Mutiny - French Reaction - Judicial Measures

Judicial Measures

One of the first responses taken in the aftermath of Yen Bai mutiny was the "purification of units and the sending of those contaminated into detention or into isolated disciplinary units". This consisted of an internal army purge organised by military authorities, and the prosecution of civilian and military participants in the mutiny and in the VNQDD uprising at large by the relevant civilian authorities. The judicial action occurred through the Criminal Commission of Tonkin, created by Governor General Pasquier on February 12, and presided over by Jules Bride. It convened five times in four different places during 1930. It prosecuted 547 individuals, soldiers and civilians alike, and handed down 80 death sentences (not all of which were enacted), 102 life sentences of forced labour, 243 deportations, 37 sentences of forced labour for 20 years, six shorter sentences of forced labour, two lifelong detentions, and one term detention for 20 years. There were 18 acquittals, and 58 accused individuals could not be prosecuted due to lack of evidence.16 In addition to the Criminal Commission, provincial tribunals were also involved in the legal procedures.

The largest number of death penalties were handed down by the first Criminal Commission, which had convened at Yen Bai to try those implicated in the mutiny and nearby insurrections. Among the 87 people found guilty at Yen Bai, 46 were servicemen. Some of them defended themselves on the reasoning that they had been "surprised and forced to take part in the insurrection". Of the 87 convicted, 39 were sentenced to death, five to deportation, 33 to life sentences of forced labour, nine to 20 years, and one to five years of forced labour. Among those condemned to death, 24 were civilians and 15 were servicemen.

In France, the severity of the sentences led to a campaign by the French Communist Party and to various demonstrations by Vietnamese expatriates. At the time, more than 1,500 Vietnamese students were resident in France, particularly in Paris. In May, more than 1,000 demonstrated outside Elysee Palace against the French reaction to Yen Bai. The police arrested 47 and eventually deported 17 back to Vietnam, where most of them engaged in communist anti-colonial activities. Due to the high number of death sentences handed down, the Minister of Colonies intervened with Governor-General Pasquier, so that no execution could be performed unless the case had been reviewed by a pardoning commission. The presidential pardon reduced the quantity of death penalties pronounced at Yen Bai from 39 to 13. Pardon was refused only to those who had killed a French officer, warrant officer, or a native soldier. The civilians benefited proportionately more from this intervention, as the enlisted soldiers had been responsible for most of the killings at Yen Bai. Among the 13 who were guillotined on June 17, 1930 were the top VNQDD leaders, Hoc and Chinh. The condemned men cried "Viet Nam!" as they were to be executed. Hoc made a last plea to the French in the form of a letter. In it, he claimed that he had always wanted to cooperate with the authorities, but that French intransigence had forced him to revolt. He contended that if France wanted to stay in Indochina, then it would have to drop policies that he termed as brutal, and become more amiable towards Vietnamese people. He called for the introduction of universal education, training in commerce and industry and an end to the corruption of the French-installed mandarins. The magazine ‘’Phu Nu Tan Van’’ (‘’Women’s News’’) disseminated pictures of the condemned VNQDD members in one of their issues, raising the stature of the revolutionaries in death.

There were also penalties enacted against the French officers whose neglectful behaviour had contributed to the mutiny at Yen Bai. Resident Superior Robin released Resident Massimi from his duties immediately after the mutiny. No punishment was handed down to Commandant Le Tacon, the main person responsible for the security at Yen Bai which had failed to stop the mutiny. Neither Robin nor General Aubert, who were ultimately accountable for the failures of their subordinates, were punished. The former remained in Indochina as Governor General until retiring in 1936. Aubert returned to France when his three year term ended in the autumn of 1930.

General Commandant Superior Aubert, who had been so lenient towards Le Tacon, organised an internal army purge in parallel with the trials of the Criminal Commissions. Its objectives were to reassert control over the native armed forces in Tonkin by identifying, penalising, isolating, and re-educating disloyal troops, thereby setting an example to the others. According to Patrice Morlat, "545 tirailleurs and warrant officers were the object of sanctions: 164 were transferred into disciplinary companies in Tonkin, 94 to Africa..., 57 were handed over to the civilian jurisdiction, and 160 were reduced to the ranks and put on leave without pay." Such remedial actions demonstrated the level of infiltration of the army, and clearly showed that the predominant culpability for the mutiny was seen to be placed squarely on the Vietnamese. In contrast with the first phase of suppression of the VNQDD in 1929, when 121 soldiers suspected of having VNQDD membership were punished and 40 put under investigation by the Sûreté, the measures taken after Yen Bai were far more extensive and harsh. More than 500 out of Tonkin's 12,000 indigenous soldiers, a percentage of 4.5%, were punished by the military, demonstrating the extent to which Vietnamese soldiers in the north were seen to be involved in activities contrary to their military duty.