Ceausescu’s Execution
It’s been with fascination and joy that we in the West have watched the events unfold in Eastern Europe. Still, it’s with apprehension that we observed the ferocious civil war in Romania; with horror we listened to the litany of Ceausescu’s excesses over a quarter-century.
I can’t help but feel that the dictator should’ve been put on trial before the whole world--as were the Nazis at public trials at Nuremberg following World War II--to provide another example of civilization’s ultimate reward for governments which do not derive from the consent of the governed, governments which rule through force of arms and repression.
I only hope that the world will not look at these summary executions and speculate that the ruthlessness of Ceausescu was not unique to him but simply a reflection of the character of the Romanian people.
It would be a great pity.
A. L. HERN
Los Angeles
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