December 16 2019, 12:01am,The Times<\/p>\n
Edward Lucas<\/p>\n
Devices that cant be hacked or traced are precious to those who live under repressive regimes<\/p>\n
Thirty years ago this week I was an unwilling guest of the Securitate, the Romanian secret police. My interrogators wore ill-fitting brown suits, smelt bad and behaved worse. I freely admitted that I had entered the country illegally but for good reason: to report the imminent downfall of their regime. Instead of deporting me, I suggested, it would be prudent to switch sides: I could guarantee that their actions would be front-page news. They scoffed. I told them to turn on the shortwave radio they had confiscated. The BBC and other foreign stations were already broadcasting details of the mushrooming uprising against the Ceausescu dictatorship.<\/p>\n
I was right: the regime would fall within days. But Romanian secret policemen had little practice in exercising initiative. They<\/p>\n
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My shortwave radio still speaks of freedom | Comment - The Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" December 16 2019, 12:01am,The Times Edward Lucas Devices that cant be hacked or traced are precious to those who live under repressive regimes Thirty years ago this week I was an unwilling guest of the Securitate, the Romanian secret police. My interrogators wore ill-fitting brown suits, smelt bad and behaved worse. Continue reading