UPHEAVAL IN ROMANIA : THE ROMANIA STORY

The Fighting Romanians and rebel soldiers toppled President Nicolae Ceausescu amid daylong battles with loyalist troops in Bucharest and others. The presidential palace and Communist Party headquarters were set ablaze by the rebellious crowd. Ceausescu fled his palace as hundreds of thousands of Romanians called for his death in retaliation for the massacre of their countrymen in a military crackdown unleashed a week ago. Casualties The death toll from Friday’s uprising was believed to be in the hundreds, in addition to the thousands of civilians reported killed in seven days of unrest. “Dead and wounded are reported from all parts of city,” the Czechoslovak news agency CTK said. Yugoslavian TV reported hundreds dead. The Reaction The United States said a “terrible burden” had been lifted from Romania. Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, from the podium of Parliament, read out a news update of Ceausescu’s downfall and reported arrest. There was widespread applause. Then, on Gorbachev’s suggestion, they adopted a resolution offering “decisive support for the just cause of the people of Romania.” Western Europe rejoiced at Ceausescu’s downfall, pledging immediate aid. “To win this victory, the people of Romania have paid a heavy price: the yoke of tyranny throughout long years, the massacre of innocent people in the course of recent weeks,” the 12-nation European Economic Community said from its headquarters in Brussels.