President Klaus Iohannis sent a message on Thursday on the occasion of the Victory Day of the Romanian Revolution and Freedom, in which he noted that 33 years later, the lives of Romanians are completely different, but stressed that the failure to carry out the act of justice for the crimes committed then remains “critical point of our society”.

“December 1989 was the moment that finally changed the course of Romania. Thanks to the faith and will of the Romanians, who could no longer tolerate the humiliations of the communist regime, our country moved irreversibly towards democracy, a path we have been following for almost three and a half decades. In Romania, dramatically, in December 1989, communism could not be eliminated until after

until the last minute he indulged in violence, abuse and murder, the very weapons that had brought him to power. The shed blood and lives given for freedom cannot be forgotten, and the sacrifice of the heroes who freed us from the tyranny of communism will forever remain in our national memory. The noblest way we can honor those who gave their lives so that we can be free is to defend democracy and the rule of law and reject all forms of extremism and populism,” the head of state said in his address.

Iohannis claims that 33 years after the anti-communist revolution, Romanians’ lives are completely different.

“Citizens enjoy rights and freedoms that, until December 1989, were only aspirations that seemed quite impossible. Today, Romania is a democratic state deeply committed to Euro-Atlantic values ​​and a reliable partner for our allies, which is confirmed by the fact that as a member of the European Union and NATO, Romania continues to strengthen its democracy and, thanks to the efforts of the authorities and the support received from the structures of which it is a part, to develop and reduce the gaps created by the communist regime and eliminate its sad consequences,” said President Iohannis.

The head of state notes that although we are living in a difficult time, when the entire European continent is suffering due to the consequences of the war on our borders, it is impossible to imagine that generations who had the chance not to know the horrors of totalitarianism should become victims of nostalgic communist discourse. He points out that against the backdrop of recent instability, economic difficulties, and the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the populist discourse is trying to question the values ​​of today.

“Such dangerous visions affect all of us and can spread among today’s challenges. After 33 years since the overthrow of communism, “we must categorically refuse to distort the truth about our recent past and awaken a sense of nostalgia associated with this period.” .says Johannis.

President Iohannis emphasizes that the mission of the younger generations is to monitor the continuation of the country’s democratic course.

“The communist regime was criminal, repressive and cruel! During the dictatorship, Romanians lived in terror, in cold and darkness in a prison society, isolated from the rest of Europe and the world, deprived of rights and freedoms. Hundreds of thousands of citizens of our Motherland died in prisons, hundreds of thousands sought freedom in emigration, risking their lives and exposing their families to the most severe consequences. The younger generation is entrusted with the mission of watching over the continuation of the democratic course of the country, realizing that our rights were won with difficulty in 1989 year because of the sacrifice of the Romanians, driven by extraordinary courage, who stood up against the dictatorship in the face of blows and bullets,” says Iohannis.

The head of state emphasizes that “failure to carry out justice in relation to the crimes committed during the December revolution of 1989 remains a critical point in our society.”

“The fact that even until this moment justice has not identified and punished those responsible for the crimes committed during the Revolution, only supports the feeling of pain and disappointment. In the absence of justice, mass killings of civilians will continue. wounds that will never heal,” says Yohannis.

The head of state confirms his firm commitment to the correct interpretation of the past and the promotion of democratic values ​​and the rule of law.

“We bow to the sacrifice of our ancestors and preserve their memory by appreciating and protecting the values ​​for which they sacrificed in December 1989,” concluded President Iohannis.

33 years after the revolution, the General Prosecutor’s Office re-sent the case involving Ion Iliescu, Gela Voican Voiculescu and Josip Rus to the court

The Prosecutor General’s Office announced on August 3 that it had returned to the court the materials of the Revolution, which include former President Ion Iliescu, former Deputy Prime Minister Gelu Voican Voiculescu and General Josip Rus, former head of the Air Force. prosecuted for crimes against humanity.

• Revolutionary dossier: the defendants were part of the leadership of the old communist regime / The creation of the “Iliescu” group and the establishment of the Sigurist-terrorist psychosis – the indictment
• The Revolution File: The Romanian military fought among themselves with a fictitious enemy, the “terrorists”. In one night, one regiment carried out almost half a million executions

On May 21, 2021, the Supreme Court returned the Revolution case to the Military Prosecutor’s Office due to a number of problems in the indictment.

The indictment of the Military Prosecutor’s Office dated July 29, 2022 in the criminal case under the general name “Romanian Revolution of December 1989” brought criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity:

• Ion Iliescu is the former president of Romania
• Gelu Voican Voiculescu is the former Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Romania and
• Yosyp Rus – general (retired) – former chief of the Military Aviation

Ranking solutions from the Revolution file

The Revolution case was brought to trial by military prosecutors in April 2019, involving more than 5,000 civilian parties. The process has been blocked for more than a year to discuss requests and exceptions made by the parties in the case.

However, last May, the Supreme Court returned the revolution case to the prosecutor’s office due to several problems in the indictment, and now the General Prosecutor’s Office says that the “violations” found by the Supreme Court of Cassation and Justice have been “cleaned up” and sent to court.

Classification decisions issued according to the indictment dated 04/05/2019 against Nicolae Ceausescu (res judicata authority), Vlad Julian (res judicata authority), Tudor Postelnik (res judicata authority), Emil Dumitrescu (death occurred), Stănculescu Atanasie Victor (death occurred) ), Milea Vasile (deceased), Militaru Nicolae (deceased), Hortopan Ion (deceased), Eftimescu Nicolae (deceased), Brucan Silviu (deceased), Mocanu Mircea (there is no convincing evidence of the existence of the deed), Dinu Štefan (no convincing evidence about the existence of the deed), Toma Jon (no convincing evidence about the existence of the deed), Igrec Viorel (no convincing evidence about the existence of the deed), Roman Petre (no convincing evidence about the existence of the deed), Brother Teodor (no convincing evidence about the existence of the deed) the existence of the act) and regarding common law crimes committed during the Revolution, remain final, rejecting the ICCJ complaints, respectively, without confirming the ICCJ’s reopening of the criminal proceedings by order of the First Deputy Prosecutor General.

The ICCJ, however, confirmed the reopening of criminal prosecutions against 627 injured persons, who are being investigated by the Military Prosecutor’s Office in Criminal Case no. 1/P/2020. During the investigation of the criminal proceedings in this case, a decision was made to separate the proceedings and join them in the criminal proceedings No. 100. 11/P/2014, regarding the complaints filed by 409 injured persons, who are included in the number of injured persons referred to the court. Regarding the remaining 218 victims, investigative actions are ongoing in the criminal case SPM No. 10. 1/P/2020.

4,544 criminal cases were opened for crimes committed during the revolution. What happened to them

The General Prosecutor’s Office also states that starting from the afternoon of December 22, 1989, a large-scale, systematic and particularly complex military operation of deception, unique in the national history, was deliberately launched on the territory of Romania, which led to a very large number of deaths, as well as injuries to some people, mental suffering and serious deprivation of liberty:

• “The Romanian revolution of December 1989 was characterized by a sequence of justified popular protests, social and political demands, street battles, mass demonstrations, brutal armed repression, which began in Timisoara on December 16, 1989, then continued in Bucharest. and other cities of Romania, starting from the afternoon of December 21, 1989, the culmination of which was the abandonment of the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party (CCP) to the presidential couple Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu on December 22, 1989 (12:00 p.m.), the moment, which meant their loss of the prerogatives of state power and the end of the communist dictatorship in our country.
• Later, starting in the afternoon of December 22, 1989, a large, systematic and particularly sophisticated military campaign of deception, unique in the national history, was launched throughout Romania, with the intention of causing a very large number of deaths. , physical injuries, mental suffering, serious deprivation of liberty.
• It is very important to emphasize that the circumstances that led to the numerous deaths and injuries of people in December 1989 eventually became the subject of investigation in numerous criminal cases conducted by the military prosecutor’s office.
• Research activities began on December 22, 1989, when the first investigations were conducted in connection with the death of the Minister of Defense, General Vasile Milea.
• Later, as a result of the complex situations caused by the events that took place throughout the country with unprecedented dynamism, the research activity was extended to all districts and localities in Romania, where the killing or wounding of people was recorded, respectively. detention of individual participants of anti-communist demonstrations or partial or complete destruction of buildings.
• During this time, the events of December 1989 were investigated in 4,544 criminal cases. In 112 cases, the military prosecutor’s office and other military prosecutors gave orders to prosecute 275 people, including 25 generals (10 from the Ministry of Defense and 15 from the Ministry of Defense), 114 officers (32 from the Ministry of Defense and 82 from the Ministry of Defense), 13 sergeants ( 8 of the Ministry of Defense and 5 of the Ministry of Defense), 36 conscripted servicemen and 87 civilians, who were found to be involved in the losses registered during the events of December 1989, through ordered measures or actions taken. Among the civilians brought to court and convicted are former members of the Executive Committee of the Central Committee of the CPSU and former ministers.
• Most of the people brought to trial belonged to the political and military leadership structures of the former regime, which were found to have taken measures or acted to suppress demonstrations against the communist regime and the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu.
• The above is proof of the concern of the Ministry to bring to criminal responsibility persons (military and civilians) guilty of numerous deaths and injuries of people during the revolutionary period.”