Timișoara, the first free city
" The crowd looked at me like a leader, but in reality I was just the prisoner of their anger."
"Beginning of the Revolution in Timișoara"
Context:
On December 10, Reformed Pastor László Tőkés announced to his parishioners that on December 15 he would be evicted by the militia, and as such would not be able to hold his next service. He would be transferred from Timișoara to a parish in Mineu village (Sălaj county). He asked his parishioners to support him in his attempt to oppose his eviction. On the night of December 10, demonstrators against Ceaușescu appeared on the streets of Timișoara.
Radu Tinu, former Deputy President of the Securitate in Timiș county, stated that Tőkés was contacted by foreign diplomats on December 15.
On December 15, starting at 8 am, a few parishioners from the Reformed Church gathered around the parsonage in Maria Square, where pastor László Tőkés lived, in an attempt to oppose the decision to evict Tőkés. The size of the group watching the parsonage increased constantly. At about 12:00 pm, the militia members located in Maria Square were withdrawn in order to calm the situation, especially since Tőkés had caught the eye of the foreign press. The American and British embassies had sent representatives to Timișoara to monitor and record the events. At around 1 pm, the head of the Securitate in Timiș, Colonel Traian Sima, sent some agents into the area to identify the people behind the protests and Tőkés's supporters. Towards 4 pm, more than one hundred people had gathered in Maria Square.
Crowd chanting against Ceaușescu
"December 16, 1989"
""Without having been called by me and without telling me,
on the morning of the 15th some other 150-200 Reformed parishioners showed up."
László Tőkés"
"At 8 am,
the Secretaries of the County Committee of the Romanian Communist Party
were informed that 300-400 people had gathered in Maria Square.
Radu Bălan, First Secretary of the Timiș County Committee of the Romanian
Communist Party, stated that he received a phone call from Nicolae Ceaușescu, ordering him to evict the pastor.
From 1 pm,
the number of people in Maria Square in Timișoara began to increase, with demonstrators and
representatives from the authorities.
Colonel Ion Deheleanu, Chief of the Timiș County Militia,
had ordered six officers and NCOs dressed in
civilian clothing to mingle with the crowds.
By 5 pm, the number of people in Maria Square had reached several hundred.
On December 16, the pastor
made several attempts to
disperse the crowd. "
"On the evening of December 16, between 5:20 pm and 5:30 pm,
traffic in Maria Square was blocked.
Some party activists mixed themselves among the demonstrators.
"
""By early evening, the number of demonstrators had increased so much that they blocked the trams
traffic through the square. Spontaneous speakers climbed on vehicles and addressed the crowd,"
Peter Siani – Davies "Revoluţia română din decembrie 89" [The Romanian Revolution of December 1989]"
"According to accounts by Marius Mioc, between 7 pm
and 8 pm, fire trucks and military personnel with shields appeared in the square,
and the demonstrators were removed from around Tőkés' residence.
The people regrouped at the bridge connecting Maria Square to the city center.
The militia units bearing riot shield went over the bridge and split the crowd into two.
Groups were formed heading towards the city center. At around 9 pm, the street lights went out for a few minutes.
The demonstrators that reached the Party Committee were chanting anti-Ceaușescu and anti-Communist slogans,
and removed the coat of arms of the Romanian Communist Party from the wall of the building.
The people were attacked by members of the militia equipped with shields, batons and helmets.
At 10 pm, 28 unarmed militia members were first sent to the parsonage, followed by an intervention
platoon made up of 80 people equipped with police batons, shields, helmets and a few fire trucks.
Ceauşescu called General Iulian Vlad twice that night, at 10 pm and at 2 am. He asked him what measures
he had taken and accused him of a lack of engagement. General Milea was receiving phone calls from the
Timișoara political leadership asking for army intervention. Initially the Minister of Defense dodged
the issue, saying it was not a case for military intervention. He then sent five patrols without ammunition,
followed by another ten patrols, and 941 demonstrators were detained.
"
"December 17, 1989"
"Between 3 am and 5 am, the president of the Timiș
County Court ordered the forced eviction of pastor Tőkés
and his family. Nicolae Ceaușescu ordered Vasile Milea to organize
a military parade in Timișoara to discourage any protests by the people.
General Milea ordered two detachments of 500 soldiers to parade with a
military band on four routes through the city. The military parade took
place on the streets of Timișoara between 10 am and 11:30 am.
220 members of the militia and the Securitate were armed with light machine guns.
Two platoons from the Securitate and three from the border guard surrounded the County Party Committee at around 11:00 am.
"
Army tank
"At 1:30 pm, the Minister of National Defense, General Vasile Milea, gave the intervention order, authorizing the use of live ammunition,
in Timișoara.
A state of emergency was declared.
The order assumed the presence of a foreign enemy, insinuated the idea of imminent armed
aggression and indicated that military personnel be equipped with weapons and war ammunition.
At 2:25 pm, eight instruction tanks and two battle tanks were taken out into the streets,
with ammunition. The crowds tried to stop the tanks. Warning shots were fired and one of the tanks was set on fire.
"
"At around 3 pm, the demonstrators attacked the Timiș County Committee building of
the Romanian Communist Party and the municipal party organization. A military truck
was set on fire and people forced their way into the Committee headquarters.
The demonstrators threw pictures representing the dictator, as well as party
books and flags, out the windows. They found a flag in the large meeting hall
and cut out the coat of arms. A young woman took the flag to the balcony and
waved it towards the crowds gathered outside the building.
The protestors gathered in Opera Square.
"
""You should have fired at them,
fired at their feet, and those who would have fallen would have been
locked in the cellars and never left out."
Elena Ceaușescu
"
Militia car
"At around 4:30 pm, soldiers were given live ammunition. Clashes took place
between the demonstrators and the army, and the demonstrators set a car on fire.
Major Vasile Joițoiu opened fire with an automatic weapon. The first victims were down.
At 6:30 pm, five tanks were blocked on Calea Girocului in a barricade made up of
trolley buses stopped by the demonstrators who wanted to prevent them from
reaching the County Committee.
"
"Many people managed to flee Liberty Square
and join the crowd by the Opera and the Cathedral.
"
"At around 7:15 pm, without any warning, fire opened in all directions.
The militia and Securitate troops patrolled all night. Mobile patrols
opened fire on the move in Opera Square, Calea Girocului, Calea Aradului,
Calea Șagului, Calea Buziaşului, Decebal Bridge, Traian Square, Timișoara
North Train Station.
According to statistics published in 2008 in the Notebooks
of the Revolution, 63 people were killed and 326 were
wounded in Timișoara on December 17."
""
I told you what you had to do... You were supposed to fire! You were supposed
to fire a warning shot and if they didn't stop, you were supposed to fire at them."
Nicolae
Ceaușescu"
Editor contributor—Lina Vdovîi
