Rumanian revolution of 1989

The Rumanian revolution of 1989 was a series of riots and protests which proceeded in December 1989 and led to the inversion of the Communist regime of Nicolae Ceauşescu.

Of all the Eastern European countries having reversed the Communist regime after the fall of the Berlin Wall during the autumn and the winter 1989 - 1990, Romania was the only one where this metamorphosis was done in blood: 1.104 dead (including 564 in Bucharest, 93 in Timişoara, 90 in Sibiu, 66 in Braşov, 26 in Cluj-Napoca) and 3.321 wounded (including 1.761 in Bucharest).

Before the revolution

As in the majority of the countries of Eastern Europe, the population was dissatisfied with the general situation of the country. The economic policy of Ceausescu (a bloodless mode, not having any recourse to external debts, combined with construction projects oversize) had led to the impoverishment of the population. The poverty and the mode of suppression of the freedoms of thought reinforced, by the secret police (Securitate), perhaps constituted the main reasons of the release of the revolution. (But the implication of foreign secret services in release is rather probable). Even after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the president of Bulgaria Todor Jivkov, the Rumanian president, Ceauşescu, continued to be unaware of the close danger.

Beginning in Timişoara

March 17th, 1989 six former members of the Rumanian Communist party criticize in an open letter the economic policy of NR. Ceausescu. But in very little time, Ceausescu obtains a " victory of image" , because Romania manages to discharge all its external debt; and he is re-elected president on November 26th. December 16th takes place a demonstration against the evacuation of Pasteur of Hungarian origin that the sécuritate wanted to off-set. The demonstration changes soon goal, and crowd starts to sing songs anticommunists. Safety reacts with teargases and water cannons. The demonstration continues on December 17th, and the army intervenes: engagements in the street, of the set fire to cars, the shots, and the army sends armoured tanks. But the demonstration stops. December 18th, a group of 30 young people raises Tricolours without the communist badge and sing the old national anthem.

December 20th, 100.000 workmen return in the town of Timisoara and they start to express against the government. “We are the people”, “the army is with us”. The workmen who had summers sent in other parts of the country to repress the movements of Timisoara join the protesters.

The capital - Bucharest

The events of Timisoara were described by the radios foreign and listened clandestinely by Rumanian. Of return of a voyage in Iran, Ceausescu finds a situation already degraded in Romania. December 21st it holds a speech in Bucharest. Crowd starts to be agitated and shortly after a protest movement starts. The attempts at Ceausescu to calm crowd remain famous: " hello! hello! hello! Hello, wait quietly, each one in its place! hello! hello! ". People shout “Change the dictator”. In same time, more and more people leave in the street. The army starts to repress the movement before 3 hours of morning. A French journalist, Jean Louis Calderon, are killed.

Remote transmission

The Rumanian revolution of 1989 was the first televised revolution on line of the History. The principal events took place with Timişoara and Bucharest, in the week previous Christmas 1989. The demonstrations and of the armed actions had a character anticommunist and the attempt at repression was brutal, making more than 1.300 victims.

Secret services

In 1978, the general lieutenant Ion Mihai Pacepa, veteran of the Securitate (Rumanian secret services), had made defection and had taken refuge with the the United States, carrying a severe blow with the mode, and constraining Ceauşescu to re-examine all the “architecture” of Securitate. In 1986, Pacepa was to reveal, in its book Red Horizons: Chronicles off has Communist Spy Chief , various details on the mode of Ceauşescu, such as its collaboration with Arab terrorists, its companies of industrial espionage to the United States and its efforts constant and worked out to obtain the support of the Western countries.

Course of the events

" hello! hello! hello! Hello, wait quietly, each one in its place! hello! hello! "

pronounced by Ceausescu since its balcony vis-a-vis crowd little time before her death, at the time of the Rumanian Revolution of 1989 (odd quotation)

The mode of Ceauşescu crumbled after having ordered with the armed forces and Securitate to open fire on the demonstrators anticommunists in the town of Timişoara the December 17th 1989. The demonstrations made following the attempt at expulsion, by the mode, of Hungarian Pasteur László Tőkés; the rebellion was propagated in Bucharest, probably urged on by the decision not very convenient of Ceauşescu to organize there the December 21st 1989 a gathering of mass, supposed to confirm the popular support for the mode. The demonstration, diffused on line on television, was transformed into a massive demonstration of protest against the mode. Eight minutes after the beginning of the speech of Ceauşescu crowd shouted “Timişoara” and Ceauşescu stopped its speech with concern whereas the televised transmission was cut. The following day the demonstrators invaded the presidential palace where lived Ceauşescu. Those joined a helicopter on the roof of the palate to flee with two advisers and three men of crew, with an aim of joining a palate of province and of gathering the forces still faithful to the mode. The demonstrators then attacked the public television channel and at 13:00 managed to take control of it. The armed forces fraternized spontaneously with the demonstrators.

The death of the dictator

According to the later official version, Nicolae and Elena Ceauşescu escaped of the presidential palace in the helicopter, allegedly by taking as an hostage his pilot, threatened using a firearm. Because of lack of fuel, the pilot posed the helicopter in the countryside, near the buildings of a farm. An erratic escape of the presidential couple would have been followed from there, during which it would in particular have been taken drives out some by insurgent citizens trying to stop them, before managing to find a respite of short duration in a school. They would finally have been retained prisoners during several hours in a police car, the police officers remaining in the expectancy and listening to the radio to guess in which direction the wind was going to turn, before being delivered to the armed forces.

According to other assumptions, the Stanculescu general would have work for foreign powers (the CIA and the KGB wanting both to get rid of the leader) and the diversion of the presidential helicopter would not be due randomly.

The December 25th 1989, following 55 minutes an expeditious lawsuit returned by a car-proclaimed court (a martial Court of kindness), joined together in secrecy in a school of Târgovişte to 50 km of Bucharest, Nicolae Ceauşescu and Elena Petrescu, were declared guilty of Génocide, were condemned to died and carried out at once in the military base of Târgovişte. The evening even the images of the bodies of the Ceauşescu couple were diffused on television. They are buried in a cemetery of Bucharest in a tomb without name.

New capacity

After the escape of Ceausescu, chaos settles in Bucharest. Revolted invade the building of the Central committee and the offices are vandalisés. The portraits of the dictator are thrown. Rumanian television starts again to emit, Mircea Dinescu and Ion Caramitru appear with a group of revolted and announce the escape of the dictator. The continuation is not really clear. New governments are formed, with members of the Communist party. Crowd asks for a government without Communists. Everywhere, it appears hidden assassins who start to draw in the population. They are called terrorist. One asks the army to defend television. This one transmits contradictory informations. There are many deaths and property damages. With the Otopeni airport two companies of the army fight one against the other, by saying that they fight against the terrorists. In the Iliescu afternoon, Novel and Voican establish a provisional government and Ion Iliescu (old of the Communist regime) on television announces the creation of the Face of the National Hello The “terrorists”, tackle important places of the sociopolitic life - the radio, television, the center of press, the airports, and the ministry for defense. The night from December 22nd to 23rd, the citizens remain in the streets and the zones of seat to protect the released institutions.

In 1990, Ion Iliescu, founder of the Face of the National Hello, dignitary of the Communist regime reconverted into the democracy “with Western”, gains the first presidential election of the era post-Communist.

Analyzes

Today, after 18 years, one does not know the truth yet. There are several assumptions:

a spontaneous revolution,
an internal coup d'etat,
a coup d'etat with the assistance of foreign secret services.

The identity of these “terrorists” remained a mystery until now, like their relationship to the current mode. No “terrorist” was found or condemned. According to some information, it was a coup d'etat, and the Stanculescu general would have created “scenarios” with terrorists to maintain the fear.

The execution of a president without a lawsuit is regarded as regrettable, and the election of a communist semi mode too. According to other assumptions, the Stanculescu general would have work for foreign powers (the CIA and the KGB wanting both to get rid of the leader) and the diversion of the presidential helicopter would not be due randomly.

The books on this subject present divergent opinions, as well as the handbooks of history. And with the time which passes, the things become less and less clear

References

the Rumanian revolution of 1989 (Adrian Balan)

Transcription of the http://laroumanie.free.fr/page/proces1.html lawsuit.
Domniţa Ştefănescu, Five years, 1995. Editura " Maşina de Scris" , Bucureşti.
Viorel Patrichi, " The double of Nicolae Ceauşescu" , Lumea Magazin NR. 12,2001.
Marian Oprea, " After 15 ani" , Lumea Magazin NR. 10,2004.
" Commits suicide? " , Jurnalul Naţional 30 decembrie 2004.
Speech of Nicolae Ceauşescu, 20 decembrie 1989.
Almond Mark, Uprising: Political Upheavals that cuts Shaped the World (Răscoală: Schimbări politice care with the cutremurat lumea), 2002. Mitchell Beazley, London.
Bonds Videos

video Înregistrare DIN 20 decembrie 1989 of Timişoara
Faceţi culoarul liber să treacă tovarăşul Bălan! - înregistrare video DIN 22 decembrie 1989 of Timişoara
video Înregistrarea Cu ultimul discurs Al him Nicolae Ceauşescu in Piaţa Republicii
Eseu foto anonim despre Revoluţia Română DIN 1989

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