The indictment drawn up by military prosecutors in the so-called Revolution File would have us believe that the only controversy surrounding the transport of forces from Bucharest Otopeni to Sibiu on 20 December 1989 is a binary one of were DIA (Army’s Intelligence unit) personnel on the flight or not? As if there had never been any accusations, any debate on the identity of the forces on the plane? This may seem trivial but it is in fact an important test case, that the Procuracy should have gotten right. They didn’t even have to decide which forces were on the plane. All they had to do, to be credible and straighforward, was to say, there is controversy surrounding there identity: were they M.I. (Securitate, USLA), DIA, Ceausescu’s “special troops,” or even (as absurd as it gets) GRU/KGB/Soviet troops. But no. The prosecutors circumscribe the question to were there DIA (thus Army) personnel on the plane or not…there are no other options posited. And that is not by accident, and yes, it stinks.
This is what the indictment says on page 65.
Here in episode 1, I ask: from where did the accusation and argument that they were DIA come in the first place? Because in December 1989 and immediately after, no one, absolutely no one, raised this suspicion or hypothesis.
While there were accusations in 1990 that the DIA were the “terrorists” of post 22 December, or had created a diversion to make it appear there were “Securitate terrorists,” the specific mention of the ROMBAC from Bucharest to Sibiu on 20 December was not mentioned.
Here, however, in issue on nr. 32 in the fall 1990 of the Cluj anti-Front, anti-government weekly NU, we find an interview taken by Liviu Man (!) and Eugen Popescu with an anonymous Military Counterintelligence Colonel. Although the article starts with the source as saying that DIA was the number one enemy of Military Counterintelligence, conveniently the fact that this CI-ist was in fact a member of Directorate IV of the Securitate (Military Counterintelligence) is swept under the rug and thus no skepticism about the CI-ist’s motives are raised.
Un Colonel din Contrainfortiile Militare Vrea Adevarul: Generalii Guse si Directia de Informatii a Armatei
Despre D.I.A. stiu multe…A doau oara am auzit de un avion care a decolat din Bucuresti de pe Aeroportul Otopeni si nu Baneasa cum era normal, spre Sibiu, avion in care erau doar sapte sibieni si in rest peste 50 de barbati cu valize (?) asematoare, civili, dar cu domiciliu fals: asa am inteles din depozitia col. Rotariu, inspector sef la Sibiu [la Inspectoratul MI!].
Not unsurprisingly, who later in 1994 fleshes out the DIA Sibiu Rombac hypothesis, but another former Securitate CI-ist Valentin Raiha, Revolutia Romana si Jocul Serviciilor Secrete (Baia Mare: Euxinus-Impex, 1994)
…nu trebuie s conconcluzionam ca pasagerii Rombac-ului ar cam trebiu cautati in gradina la D.I.A.?
While the origins and roots of the DIA hypothesis may have escaped the military prosecutors who drew up the indictment, other military officials and researchers were more observant, as the following makes clear (note the mention of Iulian Rotariu, cited by the first C.I.-ist above…):
In lucrarea “Lovitura de stat a confiscat Revolutia Romana”, Serban Sandulescu, membru al Comisiei Senatoriale, sustine ideea ca avionul ROMBAC a adus la Sibiu nu uslasi, ci luptatori ai Directiei Informatii a Armatei, argumentand aceasta afirmatie, in principal, cu declaratiile facute de elevi ai U.M. 01512, care, in seara zilei de 20 decembrie 1989, i-au intrebat pe cei adusi in unitate de unde sunt, acestia raspunzand ca sunt de la D.I.A. Fara a cita alte detalii sau nume de oameni, Serban Sandulescu precizeaza ca aceste fapte i-au fost relatate de un redactor de la ziarul “Tribuna” din Sibiu, care urma sa scrie o carte. Pentru sustinerea ipotezei sale adauga “confirmarea obtinuta personal de la un cadru al S.R.I.”, a carui identitate este invaluita in aceleasi anonimat.
Varianta ca in ROMBAC au fost adusi la Sibiu luptatori ai D.I.A. este sustinuta in cartea “Recurs” si de Iulian Rotariu, fost inspector-sef la Inspector-sef la Inspectoratul M.I. Sibiu. Pasagerii avionului–sustine acesta–“nu au apartinut Ministerul de Interne. Din surse care au tinut sa-si pastreze anonimatul, cel circa 80 de pasageri ar fi fost cazati la U.M. 01512 Sibiu, unde au intrat pe poarta 2 si nu pe cea principala. Daca ar fi fost de la M.I. ar fi fost identificati. Mai degraba au facut parte din trupele de cercetare-diversiune subordonate D.I.A.”.
Interesant de retinut este faptul ca varianta D.I.A. este sustinuta, in diferite formule, doar de foste cadre ale M.I., interesate, se pare, sa creeze aceasta diversiune….
Pararea autorilor acestui studiu este ca primele concluzii ale Procuraturii, potrivit carora cu avionul ROMBAC a fost trimis la Sibiu un destasament din U.S.L.A., sunt cel mai aproape de adevar. Primul personaj la care Elena Ceausescu putea sa intervina era Postelnicu, caruia ii era subordonata U.S.L.A. Faptul ca s-a apelat, pentru transportul detasamentului, la o cursa TAROM este inca un argument ca in componenta sa nu erau militari subordonati M.Ap.N., armata avand la dispozitie, pentru transport, avioane militare [nota mea: iata cum au fost transportati cadrele D.I.A. spre Timisoara pe 18 decembrie, cu un avion militar AN 24/26]….
(mai sus) Armata romana in revolutia din decembrie 1989 (doua editii, 1994, 1998)–atentie la discutie despre Sandulescu si Rotariu
Roland O. Thomasson, PHD 