1954 in the Vietnam War establishment of a demilitarized zone 10 kilometers (6 miles) wide separating the two provisional states. Viet Minh soldiers were to withdraw to the north and military forces allied to France to the south. Free movement between north and south was granted for 300 days. The Final Declaration stated that the demarcation line at the 17th parallel between North and South Vietnam was only "provisional and should not in any way be interpreted as constituting a political or territorial boundary." Elections by secret ballot were to be held in July 1956 to unite the north and the south into a single
Congress of Peace in Geneva Congress of Peace in Geneva In 1867, the French pacifist Charles Lemonnier (1806-1891) convened the Congress of Peace in Geneva, known as the "International League of Peace and Liberty". It was ultimately at this conference that it was decided to abolish the sovereignty and international relations of the Holy See, something which Pius IX blamed on secret societies. According to Jasper Ridley, at the 1867 Congress of Geneva, Garibaldi referred to "that pestilential institution which is called the Papacy" and proposed giving "the final blow to the monster". This was a reflection of the bitterness that had been generated by