The sonic weapon, which is suspected to have been used during the protests in Belgrade on March 15, was also used during the Romanian Revolution, the former Romanian chief military prosecutor, Catalin Ranko Pitu, assessed in an interview for DW.
Romanian chief military prosecutor Catalin Ranko Pitu worked for six years on the investigation in connection with s The Romanian Revolution December 1989, which led to the fall of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, writes Deutsche Welle (DW).
Pitu claims for DW that the same technology, used at Nicolae Ceausescu's big rally on December 21 in Bucharest, where the Romanian dictator wanted to convince the citizens of the "correctness of his policy" and that the demonstrators protesting in Timisoara "do not want Romania well", was also used in Belgrade during the March 15 protest.
"During that rally, Romanian soldiers from a specialized unit for psychological warfare intervened on the sound system with a tape that emitted low frequencies, and this caused the disorganization of the rally," Pitu told DW.
That moment marked the beginning of the Romanian Revolution in Bucharest as well. Just one day later, Ceausescu lost power, and on December 25 he was executed in Trgoviste. During the revolution, 1.200 people died, and around 4.000 were seriously injured.
"Technology has advanced, but the principle is the same"
Pitt interviewed hundreds of witnesses and military technology experts during his investigation. The description of the chaos then caused by the sound waves, he says, recalls scenes from Belgrade.
"Hundreds of people felt physical pain in the area of the solar plexus and were in a state of total panic for several minutes," says Pete.
Citizens of Serbia who spoke to DW testified that they first heard a short-lived, unusual noise and felt vibrations that made them feel imminent danger, which disturbed them and led them to flee in panic.
Although the technology has come a long way in 35 years, Pitt says, the principle of use remains the same: it is used as part of "psychological warfare."
"In my opinion, what recently happened in Belgrade can be explained by the use of manipulation technology by exposing the masses to special sound waves," says Pitu.
The recognition came 30 years later
The truth about who used the sound system against Romanian protesters in 1989 did not come to light until 30 years later. During the investigation, Pete spoke with soldiers of the special psychological warfare unit who only then admitted to using a technique involving mass manipulation through sound.
Where the order came from, however, he failed to prove.
"But it is logical that the order came from the very top of the Romanian army, because it was some kind of extraordinary manipulation, it could not have been done by anyone," says Pitu.
He is convinced that such an order had to come from the authorities in Serbia as well.
"It has to be the government - whether it's the army, whether it's the Ministry of Interior, because not just anyone can have that technology. So the citizens of Serbia couldn't have that technology. It's not that easy," says the former Romanian chief prosecutor.
No evidence?
The authorities in Serbia initially denied that they possessed such weapons at all. Two days later, opposition MP Marinika Tepić published a document showing that the MUP had acquired two types of sound cannons. She also showed a photo showing one of these devices mounted on a gendarmerie jeep.
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Ivica Dacic, later admitted that the MUP possesses so-called LRAD systems, but denied that they were used.
"Those systems are in our warehouses in boxes," said Dacic.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić added that "various things" were bought, but that they were never used. If it is proven that they are, he said, he will no longer be president.
"No, nobody used it. And nobody used it anywhere. You didn't show me any evidence. And you don't have any evidence, because you can't find evidence for something that doesn't exist," said Vučić.
Can a case be initiated with the testimonies of citizens and the recognition that the state does possess a sound cannon - but without a photo of the device itself in use? Romanian prosecutor Catalin Ranko Pitu believes that it can.
"But after that moment, the investigation has to be much more complex," says Pitu. "To begin with, it's enough to talk to people and make sure that this manipulation was something real. And as I saw on television, it was real. Because you can't run to the left and right side of a street at the same time without some kind of manipulation," Pete assured.
However, he does not want to prejudge whether the use itself could be a criminal offense, given that no one was seriously injured. That, he says, also depends on whether the use of those systems is regulated by law.
In Romania, on the other hand, the use of a sound system for mass manipulation is part of the so-called "Revolution Dossier" which aims to bring to justice the key figures of the events of December 1989, but only because it was the turning point of the revolution in which 1.200 people lost their lives, Pitu explains.
However, even 35 years later, many victims' families in Romania are still waiting for justice. The case is still before the court.
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