The monument "Martyr Heroes of Sala Dalles, December 21, 1989," dedicated to the heroes who died fighting for freedom during the Revolution, was recently inaugurated in Bucharest’s District 1.

The monument was created by the artist Cătălin Dragoș Munteanu and is located at the intersection of Nicolae Bălcescu Boulevard and Traian Vuia Street.

"It is a duty of honor that we fulfill today towards young people who gave their lives for freedom. Now that we have been living in freedom for 30-40 years, it seems to all of us that this freedom is self-evident and that we deserve it. And this is one of the purposes of this monument, to remind everyone, especially young people, that freedom is not self-evident, that some people had to die for it, and that once won, it is not definitive either. I think we have two obligations towards these young people: not to forget them, not to forget the gesture they made for us, and to make this country something as close as possible to what they wanted to make it," said the general mayor Nicușor Dan, at the inauguration of the monument, cited by Mediafax.

1,166 people died during the 1989 Revolution in Romania, following the communist regime’s repression of the initial protests. Most people were killed between December 22 and 25 in Bucharest, Timisoara, Arad, Brasov, and other cities throughout the country.

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos | Sabin Cirstoveanu)