24 Years since the anti-communist revolution in Romania
Commemorative events marking the anti-communist revolution of December 1989 continue in Romania. Following the flight and execution of the dictatorial couple Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu on December 22nd 1989, the National Salvation Front was set up as the new ruling party.
Valentin Țigău, 23.12.2013, 12:28
The transition was not smooth however, taking place against street clashes between revolutionaries and the so-called “terrorists”, namely the forces loyal to the ousted communist regime. These groups targeted key institutions, such as the public radio and television, the public telephony company, ministries, airports and hospitals. Civilians were handed out weapons and panic seized Bucharest. Some voices have subsequently claimed that this state of panic had been caused deliberately.
The new power, headed by Ion Iliescu, called on the people to take to the streets in order to defend what the revolutionaries had achieved. Many regrettable events were registered, such as those of December 23rd at the Otopeni Airport, when revolutionaries opened friendly fire on reinforcement troops from the army, taking them for armed forces loyal to the former regime. Hundreds of innocent military were killed on that day.
A total of 1,100 people lost their lives in the Romanian revolution. On the night of December 23rd, French journalist Jean-Louis Calderon of Canal 5 was killed, crushed to death by a tank. The Romanian Broadcasting Corporation building also found itself in the crossfire, with many people wounded as a result. The institution had been turned from one of the main propaganda tools of the communist regime into a means of communication between the people and revolutionary groups.
The events in Bucharest were given extensive media coverage in the international press, which managed to broadcast the revolution live on TV. The political change in Bucharest was hailed by world leaders, from Gorbachev and Bush to Mitterand and Thatcher.
24 years on, the revolution still ignites the spirits of both revolutionaries who fought to defend an ideal and those who still see the revolution as a political coup.
Commemorative events will end on December 25th, on Christmas Day.
