Anti-government protests apparently began after hundreds of ethnic Hungarians formed a human chain Friday night to prevent the eviction of the Rev. Laszio Toekes, a Reformed Church clergyman who has championed their rights, Berindei said.

Toekes had been harassed for months by Romanian authorities. He and his wife, who is pregnant, had remained inside his church since masked assailants tried to attack him in his neighboring apartment November 2, Berindei said, again quoting witnesses.

He said he did not know where Toekes was last night.

Several thousand people, most of them ethnic Romanian students and workers, protested in downtown Timisoara on Saturday and briefly occupied the Communist Party headquarters, breaking windows and smashing furniture, Berindei said.

They also broke windows of bookstores, and burned the works of Ceausescu, whose books are prominently displayed, he said.

Protest continued Sunday, then police and army units intervened and shots were fired, Berindei said.

Official media did not mention the weekend unrest, devoting themselves instead to Ceausescu's visit to Iran.

Emigres said Bucharest radio warned citizens on Sunday to remain orderly or face serious consequences, which in Romania can include long jail sentences or forced labor.

Western diplomats reached by telephone yesterday in Bucharest said the capital appeared calm but the international airport was heavily guarded.