Did Serbia use a similar sound cannon to Romania in 1989?

The erstwhile caput of Romania's Military Prosecutor's Office Catalin Ranco Pitu has told DW that the sonic limb allegedly utilized during the monolithic protest successful Belgrade connected March 15 was akin to the 1 utilized by the authorities of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu during the Romanian Revolution successful December 1989.

Pitu spent six years investigating the 1989 revolution, which led to the autumn of Ceausescu and the illness of communism successful Romania.

He told DW that the aforesaid benignant of dependable manipulation was deployed during a wide pro-Ceausecu rally organized by the communist authorities successful Bucharest connected December 21, 1989.

Catalin Ranco Pitu said that dependable manipulation was deployed during a wide pro-Ceausescu rally organized by the communist authorities successful Bucharest connected December 21, 1989. Pictured here: Nicolae Ceausescu addressing a rally a period earlierImage: representation alliance/AP/D. Endlicher

The intent of the rally had been to person Romanians of the "righteousness" of Ceausescu's policies and to discredit arsenic anti-Romanian the protests successful Timisoara that had begun a fewer days previously.

Low-frequency sound

"During that rally, Romanian soldiers from a specialized intelligence operations portion intervened utilizing a portion recorder that emitted low-frequency sounds done the dependable system," Pitu told DW.

That infinitesimal marked the commencement of the Romanian Revolution successful Bucharest. The adjacent day, Ceausescu fled the capital. He was subsequently captured and executed 3 days later, on Christmas Day, successful Targoviste.

About 1,200 radical died and astir 4,000 were earnestly injured during the Romanian Revolution.

More precocious technology; akin principle

During his probe into the Romanian Revolution, Pitu spoke with hundreds of witnesses and subject exertion experts.

He said that the statement of the chaos caused by dependable waves backmost successful 1989 was rather akin to scenes successful Belgrade past weekend.

Protesters were observing 15 minutes of soundlessness during past Saturday's monolithic rally successful Belgrade erstwhile a sudden, unusual sound caused galore to fly successful panicImage: Andrej Isakovic/AFP/Getty Images

"Hundreds of radical felt carnal symptom successful the star plexus country and entered a authorities of full panic for respective minutes," helium said, speaking of radical who attended the rally successful Bucharest successful 1989.

Serbian citizens who spoke to DW reported that they archetypal heard a brief, antithetic sound and felt vibrations that gave them a consciousness of contiguous danger, causing panic and making them flee.

Pitu said that though the exertion has precocious implicit 35 years, the rule down it remains the same, namely that it is utilized arsenic portion of "psychological warfare."

"In my opinion, what precocious happened successful Belgrade tin beryllium explained by the usage of exertion for manipulating crowds done vulnerability to peculiar dependable waves," helium said.

The information came retired aft 30 years

The information down the usage of dependable exertion against Romanian protesters lone emerged 3 decades aft the revolution.

Pitu spoke with soldiers from the peculiar intelligence warfare portion during his investigation. They admitted having utilized assemblage manipulation techniques based connected sound.

About 1,200 radical died and astir 4,000 were earnestly injured during the Romanian Revolution of 1989. Pictured here: a thoroughfare conflict during the revolutionImage: picture-alliance/dpa/AFP

He was, however, incapable to beryllium who had fixed the bid to usage specified technology.

"Logically, specified an bid indispensable person travel from the highest ranks of the Romanian army, fixed the complexity of this manipulation — this isn't thing conscionable anyone could propulsion off," Pitu explained.

He is convinced that specified an bid successful Serbia would person to person travel from the authorities, too.

"It indispensable travel from the authorities — whether the service oregon the police. Civilians wouldn't person entree to specified technology. It's not that simple," helium said.

Denials from the Serbian government

The Serbian authorities initially denied possessing specified equipment.

Two days later, however, absorption lawmaker Marinika Tepic released a papers indicating that the Interior Ministry had so procured 2 types of sound cannons. She besides published a photograph allegedly showing 1 mounted connected an off-road conveyance belonging to the gendarmerie.

The dependable instrumentality presented to journalists by the Serbian Interior Ministry. Interior Minister Ivica Dacic stated connected Wednesday that the Serbian constabulary person ne'er utilized immoderate amerciable oregon unauthorised means, including during the protests connected March 15Image: BETAPHOTO/SIPA/picture alliance

Interior Minister Ivica Dacic aboriginal admitted that the Interior Ministry does person alleged long-range acoustic devices (LRAD) but denied that they had been used.

"These systems are stored successful our warehouses, inactive successful their boxes," said Dacic.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic added that "various things" had been purchased but ne'er utilized and said that if proven otherwise, helium would measurement down arsenic president.

"No, nary 1 utilized it. No 1 utilized it anywhere. You haven't shown maine a azygous portion of evidence. And you person nary grounds due to the fact that you can't find impervious of thing that doesn't exist," Vucic said.

Is usage of specified exertion a transgression offense?

But tin a lawsuit beryllium built connected testimonies and the admittance of ownership but without photographic grounds of progressive use? Pitu believes that it could.

"But from that constituent on, the probe would person to go acold much complex," said Pitu. "Initially, it's capable to speech to witnesses and found whether manipulation did so occur. From what I saw connected television, it looked real: People don't abruptly tally successful other directions down the aforesaid thoroughfare without immoderate benignant of manipulation," helium said.

Pitu said that it is not imaginable to accidental whether the usage of specified exertion could successful itself beryllium considered a transgression offense, fixed that nary 1 was earnestly injured. That, helium said, depends connected whether the usage of specified systems is regulated by law.

In Romania, however, the usage of dependable systems for assemblage manipulation is portion of what is known arsenic the "Revolution Dossier," the lawsuit that seeks to bring key figures successful the events of December 1989 to justice — but only, explains Pitu, due to the fact that that was a turning constituent successful the gyration successful which 1,200 radical were killed.

Thirty-five years aft the Romanian Revolution, galore victims' families are inactive waiting for justice, arsenic the lawsuit remains successful court.

Edited by: Aingeal Flanagan