SUMMARY

The Government of Romania used one-sided violence in 1989, in the context of mass protests against the authoritarian communist regime of Nicolae Ceausescu that expanded into a conflict between the National Salvation Front and the government (see the Government of Romania - NSF conflict). Ceausescu personally ordered troops to fire at the demonstrators in the first days of unrest when the demands of the protesters still were limited to local issues. The perpetrators of one-sided violence were mostly members of the government security forces, the Securitate. They deliberately fired into the masses of demonstrators.

Ceausescu first denounced the use of force. After some days of violence he said the facts so far showed "that these actions of a terrorist nature were organized and unleashed in close connection with reactionary, imperialist, irredentist, chauvinist circles, and foreign espionage services in various foreign countries.” He added that "since anti-national, terrorist groups continued their actions [...] military units were obliged to defend themselves, to defend order and the assets of the whole city: in fact, to defend order throughout the country." Researchers argue that he was convinced that the Soviet Union and western countries planned his overthrow and therefore had sent agents to foment civil unrest.

The Government of Romania first became active as a one-sided actor in UCDP data in 1989, when the one-sided violence resulted in over 25 civilian deaths. The threshold was reached that year when members of the Securitate opened fire at demonstrators gathered in protest of the harassment of the dissident priest, Laszlo Tokes, in the town of Timisoara near the Hungarian border.