35 years since the anti-Communist Revolution in Romania
35 years have passed since Timişoara became the first city free from communism in Romania, a moment that triggered a wave of protests which would spread to Bucharest and other cities
Daniela Budu, 23.12.2024, 14:00
35 years have passed since Timişoara became the first city free from communism in Romania, a moment that triggered a wave of protests which would spread to Bucharest and other cities of the country and lead to the fall of the Ceauşescu regime on December 22, 1989. This year, just like the years before, sirens were sounded in the city to mark the moment, and several revolutionaries remembered the day of the 20 December 1989, when over 100,000 people gathered in the centre of Timisoara. It was a day of mourning at the Metropolitan Cathedral, where a service was held in memory of the heroes of the Revolution. Wreaths were laid in front of the Cathedral, and other memorial services were held at the churches in the city and at the Heroes’ Cemetery.
Three and a half decades after the historic moment, the events in Timisoara were marked by the turmoil on the current political scene, and the Timisoara revolutionaries say that these are the result of the fact that Romanian society has not been able fulfill all the ideals of December ’89. The whole country has marked the Romanian Revolution these days, and many of those attending the commemoration events have recalled how the protesters then fought for democracy and a European path for Romania. In December 1989, 1,142 people lost their lives, over 3,000 were seriously injured and several hundred people were illegally detained and tortured.
In a message conveyed on the day of the Victory Day of the Romanian Revolution, President Klaus Iohannis states that Romania is at a delicate point and must firmly reject attempts to revise history, which seek to “defile the memory of the heroes of democratic Romania and mystify the truth about the dictatorial regime’. “The Revolution of December 1989 was lived with fear, with a lot of emotion, but above all with hope and courage, as it was the moment when Romania was reborn and showed the whole world that it could create its own destiny,” the head of state said. He also pointed out that the ideal of freedom for which the heroes of the Revolution sacrificed themselves is now ‘more alive and more present than ever’. “Let us never forget how much we have achieved since then and how many efforts have been mane to have a country deeply attached to democratic values, which is considered a reliable partner of the allies in the European Union and NATO”, Klaus Iohannis pointed out. He warned, however, that the values and principles of the 1989 Revolution risk being endangered today by ‘populist and hypocritical discourses’.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has also sent a message on the 35th anniversary of the Romanian Revolution, emphasising the sacrifice of the people who fought for democracy. The EC leader stressed that Romania and Europe remember the Romanians’ sacrifice. “35 years ago, Romanians stood up for the right to choose their own destiny. Many gave their lives so that their children could be free and live in democracy. Today, Romania and Europe remember their sacrifice, wrote the President of the European Commission. (MI)
