On 17 December 1989, authorities begin using deadly force against the protesters in Timisoara. Ceausescu holds a teleconference in which he orders all troops to intervene with war ammunition.

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1. At around 4:00 in the morning, László Tőkés and his wife are forcefully taken from their home and sent to the village Mineu.

   Iulian Vlad, head of Securitate, reprimands his subordinates, telling them that “they let the László Tőkés case get out of hand”^(1) and that the priest “should have been taken to hell”^(1). He then orders the use of “the system we used in Brasov”^(1) (in 1987, speaking about order 2600/1988). Vlad demands “an exceptional mobilisation”^(1) and the “toughest actions”^(1) to be taken. In Timisoara arrive Securitate troops and resources from even more nearby cities (Arad, Hunedoara, Orastie etc.)

   As a an example of real-life doublethink, Iulian Vlad on the one hand speaks about the domestic nature of the protests (“song – Awaken thee, Romanian!”^(1), “church bells ringing”^(1), “lighting candles”^(1), “calls for restructuring”^(1) – euphemism for the chant “Down with Ceausescu!” and realizing that these protests “can happen anytime, anywhere”^(1)) and on the other hand about foreign implications (“Tőkés was just a pretext”^(1), the search for “Hungarian nationalists and iredentists”^(1) instigators and other forces looking for “the destabilization of the situation in Romania”^(1)).

   Ceausescu holds a teleconference with local authorities (from all around the country, not just Timis County) and leaders of the Army and Interior Ministry. [Here is the full recording of it, with English subtitles](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAQ4ec_9d8g). In simple words, Ceausescu declares war against the population he was technically serving. An important note is that Ceausescu already did not trust the Army, as it didn’t have “thoroughly checked” personnel. As a result, he orders joint patrols with both soldiers and Securitate troops. The reason for this mistrust is that, because Romania had mandatory conscription, a large portion of the soldiers were actually young adults (18-20yo), who of course weren’t willing to kill others.

   In the morning, the Army is ordered to hold a kind of parade on the streets of Timisoara, to try and intimidate the civilians. This has the exact opposite effect, as it angers them even more. Tens of thousands of protesters take to the streets, despite the said show of force and later, use of live ammunition. Protesters temporarily occupy the County Party Committee.

   Before the shooting starts, hundreds of people are being arrested. In search for “foreign agents”, a demographic statistic of the first 109 arrested protesters is made:

   “Those arrested, who will be prosecuted:

   -72 workers

   -19 students

   -86 between 18-35yo

   -106 with no previous record

   -13 party members

   -41 members of UTC (the party youth wing)

   -workers from serious factories”^(1)

   Stefan Alexie writes in his work diary: “it must be understood that any attempt must be mercilessly punished”; “the integrity of the country and of socialism must be defended”; “everything that happened in the socialist countries was organized by the US[SR] and USA with their respective secret services”; “the problems must be understood as such, it can’t be any other way”^(1).

   Shootings begin in the afternoon. [Here, people are shot in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0j89MUWh_w).

   In this time in Bucharest, Securitate cadres are put in a “state of war, with automatic ammunition”^(2). Troops are not allowed to go home without ammunition, and are told that “in Timisoara the actions were not sufficiently opperational”^(2). As a consequence, the “possibilities of action are studied in advance”^(2) and “80% of staff has to be at the unit at any time”^(2).

   The day ends with 76 people dead, ~250 injured and hundreds arrested.

   ^1 – notes from the work diary of Stefan Alexie, secretary of state in the Ministry of Interior, in charge of Timis county

   ^2 – notes from the work diary of the chief of cadres of the 5th Directorate of the Securitate

2. I’ve always wondered, how did the process of cutting out the socialist coat of arms from the flag start?

3. Why were they protesting

4. And on 25. December 1989, Ceausescu was executed. An action that had been long overdue.

   Good riddance to him and all other dictators. If you’re still out there oppressing people, rest assured, we’ll get you eventually.

5. And more than 30 years later Daea is the minister for agriculture instead of a retired communist relic…