The Romanian society had been so repressed under Ceaucescu's reign, that there was no real chance for the development of democracy. There were still human rights abuses as well as civil unrest such as the ethnic conflict in Tirgus Mures and miners rampaging through the streets of Bucharest.
Click to link to a document by the Human Rights Watch Institute in Helsinki called "Since the Revolution : Human rights in Romania March 1991 A Helsinki Watch report".
- In Romania, Ceausescu's death haunts Christmas"every Christmas since has brought a feeling of uneasiness — even anger at times — at how the Ceausescus were handled during their final days, after being apprehended in the small town Targoviste. Especially on this anniversary year, as the country closely revisits the events of eastern Europe’s only bloody 1989 revolution, Romanians vehemently contest the Ceausescus’ execution, which followed a one-and-a-half hour kangaroo-trial."
- Twenty-five years after Nicolae Ceausescu was executed, Romanians seek a ‘revolution reborn’Ion Iliescu, and other former communists ran the government for years and still sit in parliament. Former members of the security forces and their families have got rich from privatisation and there has been no justice for the regime’s former victims.
After the revolution, key players were charged with human rights violations
General Victor Stanculescu
Stanculescu joined the revolution, and served as minister of defence then minister of industry in the new government. He was first put on trial in 1997, after his ally President Ion Iliescu lost power.
Stanculescu was convicted, but 10 years of hearings and appeals followed. He was only definitively convicted and sent to prison in November 2008.
Ion Illiescu
"Iliescu and Voiculescu directly spread misinformation through televised appearances and press releases, contributing to the institution of a generalized psychosis," the indictment said. Their actions and statements intentionally increased the risk of "instances of friendly fire, chaotic shooting, and contradictory military orders," prosecutors said, adding that 862 people were killed after Ceausescu's flight.
Radio Free Europe Reports on 1989 vs 2018
"RFE/RL journalists report the news in 20 countries where a free press is banned by the government or not fully established. We provide what many people cannot get locally: uncensored news, responsible discussion, and open debate.
Click on the image below to revisit some of the sites from 1989 and see what changed by 2018.
https://www.rferl.org/a/romania-revolution-then-and-now/29660285.html
Charges continue
- Romania’s 1989 Uprising Was ‘Orchestrated’, Prosecutors SayMilitary prosecutors investigating for a fourth time the 1989 uprising that led to the fall of Communism said they had proof that an orchestrated movement led by army officers and some civilians triggered the protests.
- Since the Revolution: Human rights in RomaniaShortly after the December l989 revolution in Romania, many of the most
repressive practices of the Ceausescu era were abolished. As Romanians looked
forward to the new year, there was much to celebrate. But the initial euphoria was
quickly followed by a bitter realization that, although Ceausescu was gone, he had
left his mark on every institution and every citizen.
WASLA Teacher Librarian of the Year- 2017: Jo-Anne Urquhart
- 2016: Lise Legg
WASLA Library Officer of the Year- 2012: Karen Notley