The Romanian Revolution of 1989
The series dedicated to the Revolution of December 1989 continued on Thursday in Bucharest and across the country.
Valentin Țigău, 22.12.2016, 13:41
The Chamber of Deputies has scheduled a special meeting to mark the 27th anniversary of the anti-communist Revolution and religious services were held in places where people died. One such place is Bucharest, at the Memorial honouring the heroes of the Revolution, at the Romanian Television and the Radio Broadcasting Corporation.
The date of December 22nd 1989 has often been described as “the day of triumph”. This triumph was paid for, however, in blood, as hundreds of people died on that day. The spark of the Revolution was ignited in Timisioara, in the west, the first city to have the courage to defy the communist regime and proclaim its freedom on the 21st of December 1989.
After a failed attempt to win the support of groups of workers brought to the centre of Bucharest and after a turbulent previous night when the army, the police and the secret services killed 50 revolutionaries in the streets, dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was forced to flee the capital city under pressure from the crowds that had gathered in front of the headquarters of the Communist Party Central Committee.
The dissolution of the system’s power structures, the fraternisation of the army with the population, the arrest of Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu and the occupation of the headquarters of the public radio and television stations by the protesters were important factors that led to the start of the process of transformation of Romanian society.
A newly created Provisional National Salvation Front Council called for abandoning the political dominance of a single party and the introduction of pluralist democracy, holding free elections the next April, the separation of state powers, drafting a new Constitution, promoting free economic initiative, supporting small farmers’ production, making the education and culture democratic, respecting the rights and freedoms of ethnic minorities, fully respecting human rights and liberties and contributing to efforts to create a united Europe.
The triumph of December 22nd was overshadowed by diversionist forces loyal to the communist regime who opened fire on protesters in Bucharest, killing more than 500 people, both military and civilians.
This is how eyewitnesses describe the events that day:
“I can still relive those moments when I close my eyes. People shot in the head, dragged by their arms”.
“All these 27 years, I have not been able to forget the images of the pools of blood near Coltea [in central Bucharest], they are imprinted on my memory and I will never forget them, just as I will never forget the moment when we shouted ‘Freedom!’ for the first time, here, in this square, a freedom Romanians only truly tasted after Christmas, following the trial and execution of the dictators Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu.” (Translated by Cristina Mateescu)
