Nicolae Ciuca: We have duty to search for truth of December 1989 and present it as it was

Interim Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Nicolae Ciuca sent a message marking the 31st anniversary of the beginning of the Romanian Revolution, in which he stressed the need to "shed light" on the events of December 1989, adding that for the mistakes, errors or abuses committed by some of the employees of the Ministry of National Defense, there is a moral duty to apologize to the families who have suffered.

He recalled that, on December 16, 1989, in Timisoara, the struggle for freedom and democracy of the Romanians began, after decades of communist dictatorship.

He mentioned that, in respect to the Ministry of National Defense, he ordered "total transparency and unconditional cooperation with the judicial bodies in connection with the actions undertaken, during those weeks of 1989, in Timisoara, Bucharest and in the rest of the country."

In his view, it is the duty of the current generation of political leaders and military commanders to make efforts "to shed light on each of the actions of the Ministry of National Defense personnel that resulted in the loss of lives or injuries of people in December 1989."

He also stressed the duty to help establish the circumstances in which the approximately 275 soldiers and civilian employees of the Ministry of Defense lost their lives.