Romanian Revolution 1989 year
The Romanian revolution was carried out with typical fervor and passion for the people of the South. They were the spark that was delivered in a small Hungarian church in Timisoara, against dictatorial governments, public appearances by Father Laszlo Tókes. The decision of the Reformed Church of Romania to remove the pastor from his office caused widespread outrage and the next evening a crowd gathered in front of his house., and before an hour 21.00 the protests turned into loud demonstrations. When the police started arresting, riots also swept other parts of the city, armored vehicles appeared on the streets.
17 December in Bucharest in front of a powerful crowd gathered on bulevardul 30 December (currently Piata Victoriei) Securitate branches were established (secret police) and the regular army. When demonstrators broke into the district headquarters of the party and threw a portrait of Ceausescu out of the window, law enforcement forces proceeded to clean up the square, directing tanks and motorized armed forces against the protesters. This did not prevent further riots in nearby Libertyn Square..
That same afternoon, the Political Executive Committee condemned the "gentle” military actions and ordered the use of live ammunition. Securitate fulfilled the order… There were more and more victims. The collected corpses were buried in a mass tomb or sent to the crematorium in Bucharest.. The turning point has come 19 of December, after the army in Timisoara went over to the side of the rebels.
To gain time, 20 December government representatives were sent there, but the alleged negotiations ended with the arrival of new Securitate troops and the shelling of demonstrators. At around 6 p.m. Ceausescu returned from his official visit to Iran and immediately declared martial law for the Timia district. Military railway transports were sent there with an order to suppress the rebellion.
21 December, a strange event took place. Ceausescu decided to gather workers in front of the building of the Central Committee in the capital, to show the world their support for the actions taken against "hooligans."” riots in Timisoara. The surrounding factories eagerly sent their most trusted activists., to applaud the leader's speech. But arriving early in the morning on Piata Gheorghe Gheorghu-Dej (currently Piata Revolutiei), Did, that the president has changed his mind and they can go home. The real causes of this movement will probably remain a mystery., but it is assumed, that the party conspirators wanted to shake Ceausescu's position even more. It is said, that people like the bosom of Iliescu considered certain gradual changes inevitable and decided to sacrifice a leader, to keep track of the development of accidents. A few hours later it was announced, that the speech would nevertheless be made and the arrival of workers was expected. But this time, the factory managers had to work harder, to gather the required number of people and it was no longer a group of tried and tested activists.
As Ceausescu began his speech from the balcony of the Central Committee building, from the side of young people restrained by policemen, whistles came. The tension of the silent crowd grew, until sudden cries of disapproval interrupted the speech in half a word. Ceausescu trembled; and on his face was painted huge, surprise, recorded by live television cameras. Hell was unleashed by young people trying to break through the police cordon, while the visiting workers escaped. Urged by his wife, Ceausescu tried to continue his speech despite the fighting in the square. But he had to stop, when someone unexpectedly turned off the cassette of pre-recorded applause and cheers.
The protesters withdrew to the wide avenue between Piata Universitati and Piata Romana. About 14.30 armed with sticks and shields, tight groups lined up along the inches of Victoriei, and the secret police proceeded to arrest. More and more police and armored vehicles were coming, but the number of demonstrators also increased, surrounded on both squares. About 17.00, when the crowd did not respond to the call to disperse, warning shots were fired first on Piata Romana, and then the armoured troops moved to attack, giving a series of submachine guns.
Armoured cars also broke into the crowd gathered in front of the Inter-Continental Hotel in Universitatia Square.. Doused with icy water, protesters refused to surrender and in front of Western journalists., residing in a nearby hotel, began to erect barricades. O 23.00 the forces of order proceeded to storm, ramming barricades with tanks. Before dawn, the square was cleared, and the body was removed.
22 December from 7.00 in the morning, the demonstrators began to gather for Piata Romana and Piata Universitiatii. In front of 11.00 in front of the crowd of thousands, the tight ranks of army units stood, tanks and Securitate units, blocking access to the building of the Central Committee, where Ceausescu was allegedly hiding. Rumors spread, that General Milea, defense minister, who refused to order the shots at the population, was forced to commit suicide. There was an increasingly bold singing "Army with us"!” and the protesters began to approach the soldiers lined up in front of them., giving them flowers and offering them cigarettes.
O 11.30 Bucharest radio reported the news, that "traitor” Milea "committed suicide”, and a state of emergency has been declared throughout the country. Thousands of people marched towards the building of the Central Committee, Securitate was going backwards. Around noon, the dictator reappeared on the balcony, trying to say something. Whistles and thrown objects forced him to hide inside the building. At this point, the crowd, this time the police did not prevent him, broke into the building through the main door. Ceausescu with his wife and several other people managed to get into a helicopter waiting on the roof. Soon the rebels entered the television and radio building, encountering no resistance anywhere.
The escapees reached Ceausescu's villa in Snagov, north of Bucharest. According to the plan, they were to go to the airport in Pitesti, from there go abroad. Halfway up, the presidential helicopter pilot landed, simulating a machine failure. Two security officers commandeered a passing car and they all headed towards Tirgoviste, where Ceausescu was arrested and taken to a military base.
23 On December, the ad hoc trial of Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu was held. They were sentenced to death by shooting. (The army general, the chairman of the jury, took his own life two weeks later). The next day their bodies were shown on television, probably for this, to suppress the opposition of the most loyal members of the secret guard, who could try to save them. Fierce resistance from securitate has been reported, but in fact, it was the walls of the security forces buildings that bore the most traces of bullets. One could draw from here, that securitate was the most insistently attacked side. If she had used modern weapons, which she had at her disposal, the number of victims would be incomparably higher.
Currently, it is considered, that Ceausescu's hasty trial was primarily aimed at protecting former party members, not stopping securitate. Elena and Nicolae just knew too much, so that an open process can be allowed. And no one doubts, that if they were given the right to defend themselves at a public hearing, many of the respected Romanian politicians in later years would not have had a chance to win support in the elections in the elections. 1990 i 1992 r.
The data on the losses incurred during the revolution were greatly exaggerated. When Ceausescu sat on the dock, it was claimed, that he was killed during the revolution 64 000 people (the dictator was even charged with genocide). A few days later, this figure was applied to his entire 25-year rule. After a week, the number of victims did not exceed any more 7000, in the end it was reduced to 1033. In Timisoara, it was killed 115 People, and not – as originally estimated – 4000.