By Daniel Simpson
Reuters World Service
TARGOVISTE, Romania, Dec 21 (Reuters) – Christmas has never been quite the same for Dorin Carlan and Octavian Gheorghiu since they executed Stalinist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife on December 25, 1989.
But flashbacks to the day they pumped bullets into Romania’s first couple disturb them less than bitterness about their own fate. They brought eastern Europe’s bloodiest revolution to its climax, yet feel betrayed by the men they helped seize power.
“The whole process was a farce,” said Carlan, 38, and now retired from the elite paratroop regiment selected for the task.
Many Romanians agree. The belief that second-tier communists hijacked a popular revolt, or even engineered it, is widespread, particularly since the man who emerged as president, Ion Iliescu, has run the country for all but four years ever since. The haste with which the Ceausescus were put to death by the cabal that took over only fuels popular suspicions further.
“Our commander summoned us at 8:00 a.m. on Christmas Day,” remembers Gheorghiu, 37, who now has a defence ministry desk job. “He wanted eight volunteers for a vital mission, with a 90 percent chance we wouldn’t return. We stepped forward.”
