[as always, purely personal views based on purely personal research and publications over the past two decades]

Thanks to Miodrag Milin (and ASOCIAŢIA MEMORIALUL REVOLUŢIEI 16-22 DECEMBRIE 1989, TIMIŞOARA), the tapes of the Timisoara trials of 1990-1991 have been transcribed and made available to the public.  These transcripts are highly valuable for the researcher of the December 1989 Romanian Revolution.  To my knowledge, much of this information has never made it into the public domain, and much of the most important information has definitely not.

[Are these court documents available at the website of the IICCMER?  Or the website of Asociatia 21 decembrie 1989?  No!  Thankfully, however, they are available on this site: http://www.banaterra.eu/romana/files/procesul_de_la_timisoara_volumul_IV_cuprins_0.pdf and http://www.banaterra.eu/romana/procesul-de-la-timisoara-1990-1991-vol-v ]  The following are from Volumes IV and V.]

Procesul de la Timisoara (VI): Impuscati dintr-un ARO…Al cui apartinea ARO-ul?

Procesul de la Timisoara (VIII): Cine au fost cei “necunoscuti”, mai in varsta, care au tras inainte de 22 decembrie 1989?

Back in 1990, the suggestion that non-draftees were infiltrated and positioned among and more importantly behind soldiers was hardly a radical idea…and indeed those who admitted the Army’s role in the bloodshed also pointed to their presence.

This might shed light on the claim of Army Lieutenant Colonel Dumitru Damian in January 1990 that approximately every unit of…twenty soldiers was subordinated to a Securitate officer who would stand behind them and monitor them. These Securitate officers would give the order to shoot and threaten to shoot the soldiers on the spot if they refused the order to open fire.[92]

[92].. Lt. Col. Dumitru Damian and Major Viroel Oancea, interview by William Totok, Die Tageszeitung, 23 January 1990, in trans. Heinz Lahni, “Generalul m-a facut dobitoc,” Contrapunct, 2 March 1990, 11.

Rewriting the Revolution (1997): Chapter 5 Timisoara 15-17 December 1989

One of the few Securitate officers to deviate from the courtroom routine of steadfast denial of the institution’s involvement was Colonel Ion Bunoaica, the commander of the Securitate’s uniformed troops in Timisoara. Testifying as a witness in late 1990, Bunoaica eventually admitted both that his men had been armed during the Timisoara unrest and, suggestively, that they had taken up “battle formations” behind Army units which opened fire.[91]

[91].. Iosif Costinas, “Nu sinteti dumneavoastra colonelul Bunoaica? [Aren’t you colonel Bunoaica?],” Orizont, 2 November 1990, 5; idem, “Jur sa spun numai adevarul… [I swear to tell the whole truth],” Orizont, 9 November 1990, 5.

Internet posters claiming to have been in the military and on the streets of Timisoara in December 1989 have discussed the appearance of personnel in military uniforms who very clearly were not from the military (my thanks to Corneliu N. Vaida for bringing the following to my attention):

Rewriting the Revolution (1997): Chapter 5 Timisoara 15-17 December 1989

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BELOW 10 TESTIMONIES WHICH DISCUSS THE ROLE OF THESE “UNIDENTIFIED CIVILIANS OR SOLDIERS” [LIKELY PLAINCLOTHES SECURITATE AND/OR MILITIA OFFICERS], IN SOME CASES STATIONED BEHIND RANK-AND-FILE SOLDIERS: