I am a member and the chairwoman of the Academy of Sciences. a silent falling away among American allies. This is not possible. Only the front rows supported Ceauescu with cheers and applause, with most of the crowd remaining impassive. This speech was an annual event and carefully scripted by the regime to insure both success and the appearance of popular support. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: No, we will not sign. Shakespeare dramatized the turnabout in his famous scene. I now ask the court to pass a verdict on the basis of the law, because everybody must receive due punishment for the offenses he has committed. Since the old government has been dissolved and Ceauescu has lost his functions, he no longer has the right to be treated as the president. Why did you make the peasants starve? NICOLAE CEAUESCU: Her scientific papers were published abroad! A later article shows that Australia is moving toward. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for The Land of Green Plums, Mller, Herta at the best online prices at eBay! A voice in the studio said that the army was wholly on the side of the people. Not a single shot was fired in Palace Square. [3], From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core, The former headquarters of the Central Committee of the, File:Ceausescu Final Speech - Former Central Committee Building - Bucharest - Romania.jpg, Video of Ceausescus Last Speech, December 1989, Nicolae Ceauescu LAST SPEECH (english subtitles) 1/2, https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Ceauescu%27s_final_speech&oldid=714636674, Articles with Romanian-language external links, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, About Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core. What should he ask us? We will speak only at the National Assembly, because we have worked hard for the people all our lives. It should be stated once and for all that this military court is absolutely legal and that the former positions of the two Ceausescus are no longer valid. The prosecutor agrees, but stresses that they lived in them while the people suffered. The day began as it ended with vehement anti-Ceauescu demonstrations. Sudden realizations are like a crash; its not the fact of deceleration that is fatal so much as the suddenness of it. Nicolae Ceausescu - Last Speech, Trial and Execution - History Channel (ENG subtitled) ac agencija 258 subscribers Subscribe 743 Save 111K views 3 years ago Notice Age-restricted video (based. You have destroyed the Romanian villages and the Romanian soil. CEAUSESCU: She was not a deputy prime minister, but the first deputy prime minister. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I repeat: I am the president of Romania and the commander in chief of the Romanian army. "This is the final battle," he said. The War of the Words for $3.99, Understanding the crisis of the early 21st century in terms of information corruption in the financial, security and political spheres Elena keeps whispering to him. This was a coup d'etat. I have no statement to make, and I will not sign one. PROSECUTOR: Esteemed Mr. Chairman, I have been one of those who, as a lawyer, would have liked to oppose the death sentence, because it is inhuman. Tens of thousands of people gathered in the early hours in front of the Intercontinental Hotel in Bucharest, undeterred by armoured vehicles. ELENA CEAUESCU: Incredible. You have destroyed the Romanian villages and the Romanian soil. Transcriptul "procesului" Nicolae si Elena Ceausescu. We must not allow the slightest impression of illegality to emerge. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I will answer any question, but only at the Grand National Assembly, before the representatives of the working class. However, there is a difference between real sickness that must be treated and mental insanity which leads to corresponding actions, but which is denied by the person in question. Not a single shot was fired in Palace Square. They not only deprived the people of heating, electricity, and foodstuffs, they also tyrannized the soul of the Romanian people. No one was shot. The workers were augmented by bystanders who were rounded up on Calea Victoriei. In fact, his speech on August 21, 1968 in defiance of the military actions taken by Moscow and a few of her allies in Czechoslovakia roused quite a considerable amount of support for not only himself, but for the Patriot Guards as well. Because of the crimes they committed against the people, I plead, on behalf of the victims of these two tyrants, for the death sentence for the two defendants. . Nicolae Ceauescu had been making speeches for over a couple of decades. Nobody has the right to abolish the Grand National Assembly. Ceausescu begins his address to the people as he had in years past but this year the tide turned. His security guard appears, disappears and, finally, hustles Ceausescu off the balcony. This year, the crowd begins to chant unscripted comments back at the dictator. A later article shows that Australia is moving toward purchasing Japanese submarines to replace its existing fleet. The entire intelligentsia of the country ran away. ELENA CEAUESCU: What genocide? I will not answer you putschists, Ceausescu says. Fanatics, whom you are paying. I ask the chairman of the prosecutor's office to read the bill of indictment. They not only deprived the people of heating, electricity and foodstuffs, they also tyrannized the soul of the Romanian people. Therefore, it is a mistake for the two accused to refuse to cooperate with us. Then he is treated like a normal citizen. 600K views 3 years ago Nicolae Ceauescu (Romanian pronunciation: [nikola.e ta.uesku]; 26 January 1918 25 December 1989) was a Romanian politician who was the Secretary General of the Romanian. He always claimed to act and speak on behalf of the people, to be a beloved son of the people, but he only tyrannized the people all the time. All the world should know what is going on here. This is not possible. PROSECUTOR: Did you know about the genocide in Timisoara? PROSECUTOR: The Grand National Assembly has been dissolved. PROSECUTOR: Yes, but you are paying the mercenaries. The palaces belong to the people. What do you think? In the uprising by people against Ceausescu during this speech and in subsequent days 1,058 people lost there lives. The English translation is by the U.S. government's Foreign Broadcast Information Service. PROSECUTOR: So far, they have always claimed that we have built this country, we have paid our debts, but with this they bled the country to death and have hoarded enough money to ensure their escape. And Elena says: It is incredible what they are inventing, incredible. No, no, he says. PROSECUTOR: Well, Mr. The following is a transcript of the closed trial of Romanian Dictator Nicolae Ceauescu and his wife, Elena, as shown on Romanian and Austrian television. PROSECUTOR: And who heads Securitate? The next he was a hunted man. A horse or a hearse? They organized the putsch. I have no statement to make, and I will not sign one. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: We had no account in Switzerland. PROSECUTOR: So far, they have always claimed that we have built this country, we have paid our debts, but with this they bled the country to death and have hoarded enough money to ensure their escape. Teams of doctors with emergency medical supplies were being flown in from Geneva last night. And you might perhaps have achieved the understanding of the Romanian people if you had now admitted your guilt. We have sufficient data on this period. Machine guns splattered against a background of church bells ringing in triumph. You were so impertinent as to cut off oxygen lines in hospitals and to shoot people in their hospital beds. Workers from a Bucharest power plant started chanting Ti-mi-oa-ra! They will receive a link in their email and it will automatically give them access to a Kindle reader on their smartphone, computer or even as a web-readable document. Thousands of workers were bused into the square under threat of being fired. No one can ask Bergdahl, since he is now reported as being unable to speak to anyone including his family. The crowd, now totaling up to 80,000, were given orders on where to stand, when to applaud and what to sing. You cannot talk to me in such a way! One announcer called it the heart of our nation. It gave no further details. Why did you starve the people? I do not recognize this court. By the way, I will not answer any more questions. At that moment Elena says to Nicolae: Forget about them. The destruction of buildings and state institutions, undermining of the national economy, in accordance with Articles 165 and 145 of the penal code. Why do the peasants then buy their bread in Bucharest? This gang will be destroyed. The Securitate had hidden food reserves on which Bucharest could have survived for months, the whole of Bucharest. PROSECUTOR: That is to say, as a deputy prime minister you did not know about the genocide? This is a vulgar provocation. Ceauescus hated son, Nicu, a one-time candidate to follow his father as the countrys leader, was said to have been arrested in the city of Sibiu as he was trying to take hostages. Video of Ceausescu's Last Speech, December 1989 Annotation One of the most decisive moments in the Romanian Revolution of 1989 was Ceausescu's December 21st speech (or lack thereof). Ford said of his resignation,I was no longer in a position where I felt I could defend the American policy. Sooner or later inability to credit yoga or videos produced in Los Angeles as actual factors becomes more and more widespread. How can one say something like this? The notorious programme of razing villages in the countryside would be halted. ELENA CEAUSESCU: Accounts in Switzerland? Paper is patient. All their property will be impounded. They are shooting at children; they are shooting arbitrarily into the apartments. Sections in italic type are from Austrian television comentary: NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I only recognize the Grand National Assembly. PROSECUTOR: Who gave the order to shoot in Bucharest, for instance? I will not answer you putschists, Ceauescu says. I will not speak with you provocateurs anymore, and I will not speak with the organizers of the putsch and with the mercenaries. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I do not recognize this court. Every honest citizen who worked hard here until 22 December knows that we do not have medicines, that you two have killed children and other people in this way, that there is nothing to eat, no heating, no electricity. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: No, we had no palaces. ELENA CEAUESCU: I will not answer. I told you right at the beginning that I will not answer a single question. Here Nicolae Ceauescu steps in and defends her. However, why are your programs not implemented? PROSECUTOR: This would serve your defense. Elena and Nicolae Ceasescu state: Well, you told us about it. They are not only accused of offenses committed during the past few days, but of offenses committed during the past 25 years. The History: Last Speech, Trial and Execution Decades of brutal oppression under the Ceausescu regime came to a head in Timisoara, earlier that same December. Sections in italic type are from Austrian television comentary: Only a president who is still confirmed in his position can demand to speak at the Grand National Assembly. No one can deprive me of these functions. I am a member and the chairwoman of the Academy of Sciences. From the archive, 23 December 1989: Celebration as a nation emerges from the dark, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. The atmosphere was one of jubilation, and the over-riding feeling among the thousands celebrating in the city centre before the shooting began was one of undiluted triumph. Since the old government has been dissolved and Ceausescu has lost his functions, he no longer has the right to be treated as the president. Workers, military units and other popular organizations were bused to the capitol and given orders on where to stand, when to applaud and what to sing. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Mr. President, I would like to know something: The accused should tell us who the mercenaries are. They are speaking about injustice, ineptitude and impeachment. I have nothing to do with them. Workers, military units and other popular organizations were bused to the capitol and given orders on where to stand, when to applaud and what to sing. He was arrested and imprisoned multiple times. The destruction of buildings and state institutions, undermining of the national economy, in accordance with Articles 165 and 145 of the penal code. There is still shooting going on, the prosecutor says. You told us about it here. We have sacrificed all our lives to the people. Despite this, I ask the court to make a decision which we will be able to justify later as well. ALISON SMALE December 21, 1989. Stanley double-crossed Richard at the crucial moment. Elena keeps whispering to him. Everybody should be paid according to his performance. 20072021 Roy Rosenzweig Center for History & New Media This is a legal trial, and I honor them by defending them. Queen Victoria and Her Prime Ministers We have sufficient data on this period. What prevents him from doing so? Sooner or later an administration neuters itself from sheer implausibility. Military base Trgovite - December 25th 1989. CEAUSESCU: We had no account in Switzerland. What do you say as a citizen? Military base Tirgoviste - December 25th 1989. Now you know what members of our U.S. military are thinking and saying. You told us about it here. A tyrant stops knowing the difference. Paper is patient. PROSECUTOR: In all district capitals, which you grandly called municipalities, there is shooting going on. He would be executed a few days later. Grandiose plans are announced, pivots are ordered, Red Lines are drawn, all manner of schemes are announced with a maximum of hoopla but everybody ignores it they know the latest fad will pass and the regime will Move On. PROSECUTOR: In the same way he refused to hold a dialogue with the people, now he also refuses to speak with us. ELENA CEAUSESCU: Such impudence! Some people will continue to believe the narrative, but even among the acolytes, the fatal smoke of doubt has entered the temple. Another question . The Idiot Vote: The Democrats Core Constituency Captive: My Time as a Prisoner of the Taliban I will only speak at the Grand National Assembly. I am talking to you as simple citizens at the least, as simple citizens, and I tell you: I am the president of Romania. He was a cosignatory of an open letter harshly critical of the Ceauescu region which appeared last march. However, he had badly misread the crowd's mood. What about the accounts? It was one of the most pivotal moments in the Romanian Revolution of 1989. He answers: I am the president of Romania, and I am the commander in chief of the Romanian army. The details are known. I just couldnt convince myself to do it., He is not alone. They have lost all respect for their commander in chief. It is as if, in that moment, everyday Romanian's saw the possibility, saw the reality of the weakness of Ceausescus regime. CEAUSESCU: Is it possible that we are facing such charges? CEAUSESCU: Nobody can change the state structures. You see, there is no use in talking to these people. But who gave the order to shoot? Because of this indictment, I call for the death sentence and the impounding of the entire property of the two accused. They organized the putsch. This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content. The Man at the Top increasingly pulls on disconnected controls, yet still imagines he is in charge. I have so many issues with the presidents policies, including the most recent ones, he told me ruefully. The collapse of the narrative doesnt happen in a single big step, but through an accumulation of small, personal, often innocuous refusals. PROSECUTOR: Children cannot even buy plain candy, and you are living in the palaces of the people. He also refuses to recognize the new forum. Tax experts say the best it can do is withhold the penalty amount from any tax refund due. This shows how little patriotism there is, how many treasonable offenses were committed. Ceauescu answers: As I said before, the people are fighting for their freedom and against this putsch, against this usurpation. Then he is treated like a normal citizen. Now the counsel for the defense, who was appointed by the court, asks whether Nicolae and Elena Ceauescu know the aforementioned facts that he is no longer president, that she has lost all official functions. The following is a transcript of the closed trial of Romanian Dictator Nicolae Ceauescu and his wife, Elena, as shown on Romanian and Austrian television. PROSECUTOR: And who wrote the papers for you, Elena? The problem with the Narrative is that it suppresses the dispersed information by insisting on the centralized knowledge, on stories the elite make up themselves. I am now talking to you as simple citizens, and I hope that you will tell the truth. They were even worse than the king, the former king of Romania. TheWashington Timesreports that a top intelligence official is accusing the Obama admininistration of funding a terror network for the next ten years, alleging the administration paid a cash ransom to redeem Bowe Bergdahl. All their property will be impounded. An important historical square located on Victoriei Street. Yet there is a big difference between grousing, which is endemic to the military, and actual rebellion. And the next moment he was lying in the dust. Tell us! The crimes against the people grew year by year. This shows again how false the charges are. We want a legal trial. This year, the crowd begins to chant unscripted comments back at the dictator. One of the first acts of the new leadership was to place the security forces, the dreaded Securitate, under control of the army. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: Nobody can change the state structures. Those moments of Ceausescus weakness and the power of popular pressure explain why, a mere 48 hours later, Ceausescu was attempting to flee Romania, all power lost. PROSECUTOR: And who wrote the papers for you, Elena? In response, Ceauescu raised his right hand in hopes of silencing the crowd; his stunned expression remains one of the defining moments of the end of Communism in Eastern Europe. PROSECUTOR: The people are fighting against you, not against the new forum. It is simply an accumulation of multitudes ignoring the official line bit by bit and thereby gradually placing themselves unwittingly in opposition to it. We live in a normal apartment, just like every other citizen. All the world should know what is going on here. Its not that we dont want to respect the commander-in-chief, one told me sadly. COUNSEL FOR THE DEFENSE: Even though he -- like her -- committed insane acts, we want to defend them. He refused to undergo a psychiatric examination. I guaranteed that every village has its schools, hospitals and doctors. In 1947, we assumed power, but under completely different circumstances. No one can deprive me of these functions. He also refuses to recognize the new forum. Ti-mi-oa-ra! But their triumph was marred by the first confused reports of fresh bloodshed in the early evening following heavy machine-gun fire in Bucharests Republic Square. These two defendants have robbed the people, and not even today do they want to talk. Elena answers: The intellectuals of this country should hear you, you and your colleagues. Sections in italic type are from the austrian television comentary: This page was last modified on 10 April 2016, at 21:40. Now we finally saw your villa on television, the golden plates from which you ate, the foodstuffs that you had imported, the luxurious celebrations, pictures from your luxurious celebrations. CHIEF PROSECUTOR: Esteemed chairman of the court, today we have to pass a verdict on the defendants Nicolae Ceauescu and Elena Ceauescu who have committed the following offenses: crimes against the people. The charges are incorrect, and I will not answer a single question here. Do you want to sign this statement? PROSECUTOR: But not of our army, you are not the commander in chief of our army. , Now career military personnel are speaking out through gritted teeth, insisting they speak for active-duty personnel who cannot talk without being punished. Free shipping for many products! CEAUSESCU: You as officers should know that the government cannot give the order to shoot. I am the president of the people. Dressed in a black Persian lamb hat with matching coat collar, Ceausesecu, 71, was . Only a president who is still confirmed in his position can demand to speak at the Grand National Assembly. And Elena says: It is incredible what they are inventing, incredible. Ceausescu sprinkles snow on his wife's head during yet another hunting trip in 1976. CEAUSESCU: No, we will not sign. As a simple citizen, I tell you the following: For the first time I guaranteed that every peasant received 200 kilograms of wheat per person, not per family, and that he is entitled to more. At some point the entire structure of governance becomes a system of workarounds with all real power devolved to the man on the ground. PROSECUTOR: Why do you think that people are fighting today? About However, there is a difference between real sickness that must be treated and mental insanity which leads to corresponding actions, but which is denied by the person in question. The final speech of the prosecutor follows: PROSECUTOR: It is very difficult for us to act, to pass a verdict on people who even now do not want to admit to the criminal offenses that they have committed during 25 years and admit to the genocide, not only in Timisoara and Bucharest, but primarily also to the criminal offenses committed during the past 25 years. They were given red flags, banners and large pictures of Ceauescu. Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway PROSECUTOR: Do you not know anything about the order to shoot? NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I do not recognize you. Then follows the reading of the indictment. It doesnt happen as one big wave. I ask the court, as the plaintiff, to take note that proof has been furnished for all these points, that the two have committed the offenses mentioned. They carried out acts that are incompatible with human dignity and social thinking; they acted in a despotic and criminal way; they destroyed the people whose leaders they claimed to be. And who brought them into the country? Suntem in fata unui tribunal al poporului. The story ofCeauescus final speech is a textbook example. We have data concerning both of them. The truth shall set you free, even if it makes you miserable. Who are these fanatics? . For example, there isa silent falling away among American allies. We have sacrificed all our lives to the people. I will not say anything here. The following is a transscript of the closed trial of Romanian Dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, as shown on Romanian and Austrian television. Centralized Information as Hayek points out, eventually becomes the Official Lie. Two: Armed attack on the people and the state power, in accordance with Article 163 of the penal code. I will only speak in front of it. ELENA CEAUSESCU: The intelligentsia of the country will hear what you are accusing us of. I have done everything to create a decent and rich life for the people in the country, like in no other country in the world. PROSECUTOR: We have always spoken of equality. Soon afterwards, Bucharest television reported that Mr Ceauescu and his wife were no longer in the country. "Video of Ceausescus Last Speech, December 1989," Making the History of 1989, Item #696, https://chnm.gmu.edu/1989/items/show/696 (accessed May 28 2021, 3:24 pm). The prosecutor wants to find out on which basis the trial can be continued. Quantum: Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate About the Nature of Reality The workers were augmented by bystanders who were rounded up on Calea Victoriei. PROSECUTOR: In all district capitals, which you grandly called municipalities, there is shooting going on. Here Nicolae Ceausescu steps in and defends her. But who gave the order to shoot? All Rights Reserved. has openly accused president Obama as unable to lead in world. The great Ceauescu escape attempt came after it had become clear that most of the army had gone over to the people. Ceauescu claims that the putsch was organized from abroad. PROSECUTOR: Nicolae Ceausescu should tell us why he does not answer our questions. PROSECUTOR: The terrorists are from Securitate? This is our home. Have you understood them? And we will not betray our people here. At that very moment, many everyday Romanians saw the weakness of Ceauescu's regime for the first time. One momentCeauescu was in total control of Romania, determined to crush his enemies. We have ensured an apartment for every citizen through corresponding laws. Because of the crimes they committed against the people, I plead, on behalf of the victims of these two tyrants, for the death sentence for the two defendants. PROSECUTOR: The terrorists are from Securitate? They were only busy enslaving the people and building up an apparatus of power. I will not answer anymore. He, Elena and four others managed to get to the roof and escaped by helicopter, only seconds ahead of a group of demonstrators who had followed them there.. Their son, Nicu, was shown on television under arrest. PROSECUTOR: Well, Mr. Dressed in a black Persian lamb hat with matching coat collar, Ceausesecu, 71, was . You were the most important aide, the number two in the cabinet, in the government. PROSECUTOR: Note the following: The defendant refuses to sign this statement. Perhaps the biggest example of thisis a CBO report that while 30 million people will technically be liable to pay the Obamacare Individual Mandate fine but in practice all but 4 million will have their fines waived or exempted. The produce which the peasants grew was exported, and the peasants came from the most remote provinces to Bucharest and to the other cities in order to buy bread. A lie, a lie in my face. As a result, the prosecutor says: Elena has always been talkative, but otherwise she does not know much. This speech was an annual event and carefully scripted by the regime to insure both success and the appearance of popular support. The produce which the peasants grew was exported, and the peasants came from the most remote provinces to Bucharest and to the other cities in order to buy bread.