On the 35th anniversary of the Revolution, the city of Timisoara commemorates on Tuesday the first 66 demonstrators in the city who died for freedom during the events of December 1989.

A memorial service for the martyred heroes will be held at the Metropolitan Cathedral, as part of the bishop's liturgy.

Wreaths of flowers will be laid at the Moment of the Crucifixion in front of the Cathedral, and other memorial services will take place at the Martyrs' Church and the Heroes' Cemetery, where the funeral service for those who died during the days of the 1989 Revolution will also be held.

Another commemorative event will take place at the Timisoara Garrison Command, where an exhibition of paintings, photography and multimedia in the vision of artist Adrian Florin Pop will be inaugurated.

In the evening, a moment of silence will be held and candles will be lit on the steps of the Metropolitan Cathedral.

Thirty-five years ago, on the night of December 16 to 17, dozens of young people were arrested, loaded into army trucks and taken to the Militia detention centre in Timisoara for questioning. On December 17, 1989, the army organized a show of force in the downtown area of Timisoara. That day, the first gunshots were heard in this city. The population believed that they were blank bullets and, therefore, instead of retreating, running and defending themselves, people held hands, forming a human chain in front of the tanks and machine guns.

The Timisoara Military Prosecutor's Office recorded 66 deaths and 196 injuries at that time. On the evening of the same day, in Bucharest, the Executive Political Council approved the forcible repression of the demonstrators in Timisoara, labeled as traitors. AGERPRES (RO - author: Otilia Halunga, editor: Andreea Rotaru, EN - author: Cristina Zaharia)