Danny Huwé: forgotten martyr of the Romanian Revolution
Not only Romanian citizens died in the violent events in December ’89 in Romania. Several Western journalists who came to Bucharest to document the Romanian revolution fell victim to the assassins with epaulets. Danny Huwé was married and had three children. He remains the only Belgian journalist killed in a conflict zone, up to this date.
On the 24th of December 1989, in the evening, two foreign journalists were killed: one was run over by a tank, the French Jean Luis Calderon, and the second, the Belgian Danny Huwé, was shot while he was doing a stand up with the camera’s lights upon him. In his memory, the former Răzoare Square was named Danny Huwé Square. RATB, now STB stations were also renamed after the Belgian journalist.
The monument built in Bucharest in memory of journalist Danny Huwé has unfortunately been left in ruins: it no longer has the name of the journalist clearly written on it, so that people know who it commemorates. Disgrace to the people who did it: they have wiped out the name and erased the memory of a martyr of the Romanian revolution.
Several military units, including a border guard unit, as well as the Prosecutor’s Offices from Constanta and Brasov have also admitted that they destroyed files regarding the dead victims of the Revolution. For example, at a border guard unit, reports of the destruction of secret documents in connection with the body of a terrorist were found, as well as the objects found on the journalist Danny Huwé.
Which day was the most important for the Romanian revolution, is still debated. For some, the most important day of the revolution was their last. While in Bucharest, to broadcast reports on the Romanian revolution, Danny Huwé was shot in the head by a sniper in the Răzoare area of Drumul Taberei.
The images that could have been presented by Danny Huwé, would show many people dressed in civilian clothes, without weapons, who were shot by the authorities. 18-year-old children from the top of the mountains, shot, because they did not stop at the summons, and therefore were considered terrorists. Children, shot by children — who were military that listened indiscriminately to the orders of the commanders.
However, the car in which Danny Huwé and his colleagues were arriving in Răzoare Square was cut off by a tank, when the border guards started firing, and a bullet hit Huwé. Danny’s three colleagues hid behind the car until the next morning, then ran away, leaving their colleague’s body behind. They found his body four days later, at the hospital morgue, near the place where he was killed. Unfortunately, the spotlight on Danny Huwé was turned off.
