Mineriad
A Mineriad (Mineriada in Romanian) is the parody term used to name any of the successive violent interventions of miners in Bucharest. These interventions were aimed at wrestling policy changes or simply material advantages from the current political power. The term is mostly used to refer to the most violent mineriad, which happened on the 14 and 15 June 1990. The Mineriads had a devastating effect upon Romania's international image.[citation needed] The term follows the names of classic events like the Olympics (Olimpiada in Romanian) or the Crusades (Cruciada in Romanian) representing a gathering of people with a usually honourable goal.
January 1990 mineriad
28 January
After the National Salvation Front's decision to transform itself into a party, an anti-Communist demonstration took place in Bucharest's Victoria Square (Piaţa Victoriei), organised by the Christian-Democratic National Peasants' Party (PNŢCD), National Liberal Party (PNL), and other smaller parties. The manifestation was mainly aimed at Ion Iliescu, protesters waving banners reading "He who spent five years with the Russians, cannot think like Bush", "We don't want neocommunism" or "Yesterday Ceauşescu, today Iliescu" "Using the TV (media), you have lied to the people".
The National Salvation Front (FSN) also organised a demonstration, bringing in workers from factories in Bucharest that, armed with clubs and crowbars, chanted what will become the 'motto' of the first three Mineriads: "Death to intellectuals!".
Even if the anti-Communist demonstration started out, and was intended to be, non-violent, the protesters charged on the Parliament building and demanded their resignation. After that, the FSN started talks with opposition parties. In the mean time, Ion Iliescu called upon the population of Romania to come to Bucharest to protect democracy.
29 January
On the morning of the 29th of January, over 5,000 miners from Jiu Valley came to Bucharest, heeding the leaders' call, armed as the FSN supporters. They headed out for the PNŢCD and PNL headquarters and attacked and devastated them. In a rather dramatic moment, Petre Roman, Prime Minister at the time, came in a military vehicle and pulled Corneliu Coposu from his party's besieged headquarters. Iliescu and Roman then addressed the crowd, calming things and sending the miners home.
February 1990 mineriad
Less than a month after the January mineriad, another anti-Communist manifestation took place in Bucharest (February 28). Despite the demonstrators' pleas to non-violence, several persons started throwing stones into the Government building. Riot police and army forces intervened to restore order, and on the same night, 4,000 miners rushed into Bucharest. Their "services" weren't needed any more, but they threatened they will return in force whenever somebody opposed the government.
Opposition leaders and independent media speculated that the demonstration was manipulated by Securitate and FSN.
June 1990 mineriad
- Main article: June 1990 Mineriad
The Romanian miners of Jiu Valley were called by the newly-elected power to Bucharest to end the riots that broke up on 13 June 1990. As Ion Iliescu put it, the miners were called to save the "besieged democratic regime" and restore order and democracy in Bucharest. A democracy and order disturbed by a months long demonstration labelled in the same parodic style Hooliganiad (Golaniada in Romanian and the participants were called golani (rascals) or huligani (hooligans)), happening in University Square and trying to attain official recognition for the 8th demand of the popular Proclamation of Timişoara, which stated that the communists should be prevented from holding official functions — the elected president of Romania, Ion Iliescu being a former Communist himself.
Many people, most of them intellectuals, were dissatisfied with Ion Iliescu's first government, made up mostly of former communists, because it implemented reforms very slowly or not at all. There had been a protest and hunger strike since 20 May, the general elections day, when the protesters were angry that Iliescu's FSN won the elections mostly because the opposition had no chance to mount an effective campaign, and that former communists were in power — the only other country of the ex-Soviet bloc in which this happened was Bulgaria, where the Bulgarian Socialist Party won a 52.7% majority.
The official figures say that during the third Mineriad, seven people were killed and more than a thousand were wounded. However, some NGOs say that at least 100 people died. The newspaper România Liberă said that on 29 June 1990 over 40 bodies were buried in a common grave in Străuleşti, near Bucharest. The Mineriad of June 1990 is believed to have been a staged event, not a spontaneous one, with political implications, going all the way to the Presidency and National Secret Services.[citation needed]
September 1991 mineriad
The fourth mineriad began on 24 September, under the pretext that the Petre Roman government did not gave a solution to their demands, but it is alleged that it was due the fact that there were some disagreements between President Ion Iliescu and reformist Prime Minister Petre Roman.
The miners occupied the town hall of Petroşani and from its balcony, Miron Cozma said "We're going to Bucharest". They hijacked a train and several thousands miners left toward the Victoria Palace, the headquarters of the government. Petre Roman refused to negotiate with them and the miners began attacking the guards of the government. The Roman government resigned a day later. Before leaving, the miners went to the Chamber of Deputies asking for Iliescu resignation, but Iliescu discussed with Miron Cozma and the miners left Bucharest. Three people died and 455 were wounded during this mineriad.
January 1999 mineriad
The miners left again for Bucharest, unhappy with the governmental reduction of the subsidies, which would result in the closing of the mines. The barricade installed by the gendarmes at Costeşti was crossed by the miners and near Râmnicu Vâlcea a Gendarmerie unit was ambushed by the miners. Reaching Râmnicu Vâlcea, they sequestered the prefect of Vâlcea County. Radu Vasile, Prime Minister at the time, negotiated an agreement with Miron Cozma, the miners' leader, at the Cozia Monastery, nearby.
February 1999 mineriad
On 14 February 1999, Cozma was found guilty for the 1991 mineriad and sentenced for 18 years in prison. The miners led by Cozma left for Bucharest and were stopped by the police at Stoeneşti, Olt. In the battle, 100 policemen and 70 miners were wounded and one miner died. Cozma was arrested and sent to Rahova prison.
Ion Iliescu pardoned Cozma's sentence on December 15 2004, a few days before his term ended, but revoked the decision two days later, having faced the outrage of Romanian and international media and politicians.
However Cozma attacked in a Court of Law the withdrawal of the pardoning and on the 14th of June 2005 he was freed by the Judge Court of Craiova county. Many people saw this as a bitter irony, to free this man exactly 15 years after the atrocities, in a time when the country was mourning for the lives lost or destroyed in the mineriad from 1990 and the ones that followed.
On September 28, 2005, Miron Cozma was sentenced by the Romanian High Court of Cassation and Justice to serve 10 years in prison for the January 1999 Mineriad, nevertheless all his sentences have been cumulated, so as of June 2006 he has 13 more months to serve. His request to be released on parole was denied on June 2, 2006.
References
- Academia Caţavencu, 13-15 Iunie: Trei zile cu ghinION, no. 16/2005, 27 April 2005.
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