The consequences of the fall of the Berlin wall & Eastern European dictatorships

andrew
Fri, 07 Jan 2000 09:46:20 +0000
Globalisation, Leninism, Politicians, Summit protest, Imperialism, The Left, International, Newspaper, Analysis, Kevin Doyle

WHAT WAS ANYONE to make of the fact that students began hanging pears from apple trees on the morning of December 20th 1990 at Bucharest University? For, early that same morning, workers were bussed from all over Romania to attend a 'spontaneous' demonstration in front of Party buildings in support of the dictator, Nicolai Ceausescu. The students at Bucharest University, aware of the real mood in the country, were satirising a famous speech made by Ceausescu to the effect that Stalinist party policy in Romania would only change when 'pears began to grow from apple trees' - the students proved to be singularly accurate with their timing.