General information
Type of Incompatibility: Government
Comment on Type of Incompatibility: There is an ongoing debate over if the events that took place in December 1989 were a revolution or a coup. The goal for both the people of Romania as well as the presumed coup makers was to overthrow the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.
Date of first stated goal of incompatibility: 1989-12-22
Comment on date of first stated goals of incompatibility: In March 1989 six members of the RCP sent an open letter to Ceausescu and the Western media criticizing Ceausescu and his policies. The letter of the six, as it became known, attacked the Romanian secret police and Ceausescus cult of personality, and suggested that popular dissatisfaction with the regime was growing as a result of shortages of basic consumer goods and food. In early 1989 Radio Free Europe broadcast the text of the letter as the manifesto of an underground organization called the National Salvation Front (NSF). However it was not until the 22 December after Ceausescu had been arrested that NSF appeared in the national television introducing the committee as a transitional government until free elections could be held in April. NSF stated Romania would have a pluralistic democratic system, give up ideological dogma and reform its economy. They also said they had the support of the army.
Date of first use of armed force: 1989-12-16
Comment on first use of armed force: The Romanian revolution began with a protest in the town of Timisoara on 16-17 December 1989. The meeting grew into an anti-government riot that required police, Securitate troops and a large contingent of Army troops to suppress. So on December 16th, Ceausescu ordered that the demonstrators be shot and ordered Vasil Milea, minister of defence, to arm the Securitate forces with guns and live munitions.
Date of first battle related death: 1989-12-16
Comment on first battle related death: Most people that died in the Romanian coup were civilian demonstrators. These deaths are not counted as battle-related. However there were clashes between parts of the army loyal to the NSF and the parts loyal to Ceausescu in Sibiu, Galati, Arad, Cluj, Brasov and in Bucharest. The number of deaths in these battles is unclear but late numbers have shown that the military had 260 dead, and the Securitate had 65 dead in the December violence.
Date of conflict reached 25 battle releated deaths: 1989-12-22
Comment on conflict reached 25 battle releated deaths: Most people that died in the Romanian coup were civilian demonstrators. These deaths are not counted as battle-related. However there were clashes between parts of the army loyal to the NSF and the parts loyal to Ceausescu in Sibiu, Galati, Arad, Cluj, Brasov and in Bucharest. The number of deaths in these battles is unclear but late numbers have shown that the military had 260 dead, and the Securitate had 65 dead in the December violence.
Annual information
This section contains annual information systematically collected by the UCDP.
1989
Primary Parties: Government of Romania - Military faction (forces of Nicolae Ceausescu), NSF
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 499 |
| Best | 249 |
| Low | 249 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
Conflict Archive
This section contains annual information no longer systematically collected by the UCDP.
1989 Conflict Archive
Comment on Yearly Battle Related Deaths: The number of deaths in the December battles is unclear. Late numbers have shown that the military had 260 dead, and the Securitate had 65 dead in the December violence it is however unclear if they did in battle-related clashes and how many civilians that died in the cross-fire. Our best estimate is 196 battle-related deaths.
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: YES
Victory side: b
Comment on Victory: The National Salvation Front managed to oust President Ceausescu and form an interim government on 22 December.
Terminated: YES
Type of termination: Victory
Date of termination: 1989-12-23
Comment on Termination: The National Salvation Front managed to oust President Ceausescu and form an interim government.
