Thousands of workers were bused into the square under threat of being fired. The video- shown live on Romanian television-- shows his confusion and consternation and the barely audible comments. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: Her scientific papers were published abroad! I am now talking to you as simple citizens, and I hope that you will tell the truth. They have lost all respect for their commander in chief. This speech was an annual event and carefully scripted by the regime to insure both success and the appearance of popular support. A flight into peril, flashbacks to underground action. This is a legal trial, and I honor them by defending them. ELENA CEAUSESCU: Accounts in Switzerland? The charges are incorrect, and I will not answer a single question here. Paper is patient. You have destroyed the Romanian villages and the Romanian soil. Nobody has the right to abolish the Grand National Assembly. CEAUSESCU: No one recognizes that. They not only killed children, young people and adults in Timisoara and Bucharest; they allowed Securitate members to wear military uniforms to create the impression among the people that the army is against them. And we will not betray our people here. You see, there is no use in talking to these people. . They were given red flags, banners and large pictures of Ceauescu. "a chant that was soon picked up by others in the crowd. However, he had badly misread the crowd's mood. ELENA CEAUESCU: Incredible. I am a member and the chairwoman of the Academy of Sciences. I have observed that she is not even able to read correctly, but she calls herself an university graduate. I would not call for the death sentence, but it would be incomprehensible for the Romanian people to have to go on suffering this great misery and not to have it ended by sentencing the two Ceausescus to death. He was arrested and imprisoned multiple times. Machine guns splattered against a background of church bells ringing in triumph. . You have information about it. For example,the administration recently issued a new list of prisoners to be released from Guantanamo, citing theirpractice of yogaas proof they had reformed. The palaces belong to the people. Everybody should be paid according to his performance. Despite this, I ask the court to make a decision which we will be able to justify later as well. You are faced with charges that you held really sumptuous celebrations on all holidays at your house. 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. 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. CEAUSESCU: No, we will not sign. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: No one recognizes that. PROSECUTOR: This is how you worked with the people and exercised your functions! PROSECUTOR: Mr. Chairman, we find the two accused guilty of having committed criminal actions according to the following articles of the penal code: Articles 162, 163, 165 and 357. PROSECUTOR: Did you know about the genocide or did you, as a chemist, only deal with polymers? Tip Jar or Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the Belmont Club. Then he is treated like a normal citizen. He then tried to placate the crowd by offering to raise workers' salaries by 200 lei per month (about 18 U.S. dollars at the time, yet a 10%-20% raise for a modest salary) and student scholarships from 100 to 110 lei while continuing to praise the achievements of the past 42 years. Because of this indictment, I call for the death sentence and the impounding of the entire property of the two accused. President Nicolae Ceauescu was overthrown yesterday and became a fugitive in the country he has ruled for 24 years as remnants of his personal troops fought bitter last battles with regular soldiers and demonstrators in the streets of the Romanian capital. This demonstrates their lack of understanding. By the way, I will not answer any more questions. The English translation is by the U.S. government's Foreign Broadcast Information Service. Why do the peasants then buy their bread in Bucharest? This page was last edited on 8 October 2016, at 23:48. It must be cleared up whether Ceauescu wants to, should, must or can answer at all. We have data concerning both of them. Only a president who is still confirmed in his position can demand to speak at the Grand National Assembly. As the crowd becomes more unruly, Ceausescu becomes more confused and he begins arguing with the unseen hecklers. No one can dissolve the National Assembly. No one can deprive me of these functions. ELENA CEAUESCU: We will not sign any statement. By the way, I will not answer any more questions. There is still shooting going on, the prosecutor says. Recent items of interest by Belmont readers based on Amazon click-throughs. Rebranding Christianity (The World of Information) What happened was that he was misled by Centralized Information. 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. It is simply an accumulation of multitudes ignoring the official line bit by bit and thereby gradually placing themselves unwittingly in opposition to it. And we will not betray our people here. ELENA CEAUESCU: I will not answer. CEAUSESCU: We will discuss this before the Grand National Assembly. But those who shot at the young people were the security men, the terrorists. You are faced with charges that you held really sumptuous celebrations on all holidays at your house. What do you think? PROSECUTOR: This situation is known. PROSECUTOR: Note the following: The defendant refuses to sign this statement. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: What? His security guard appears, disappears and, finally, hustles Ceausescu off the balcony. I have so many issues with the presidents policies, including the most recent ones, he told me ruefully. His 1936 mugshot at age 18 still haunts the internet. 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. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: She was not a deputy prime minister, but the first deputy prime minister. Stanley double-crossed Richard at the crucial moment. The people only received 200 grams per day, against an identity card. PROSECUTOR: Did you hear the charges? Ceauescu claims that the putsch was organized from abroad. 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. 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. VIENNA, Austria (AP) _ For the first time that anybody could remember, Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu was interrupted at a public speech by boos and jeers that began a huge demonstration against him in Bucharest Thursday. The Times of Israel quotes Israeli oppositionists as accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of loathing Barack Obama so intensely it has endangering the Jewish states security. , the former US ambassador to Syria, has effectively accused the Obama administration of abandoning genuinely pro-American rebels in Syria thereby allowing the ascendance of al-Qaeda. Are they the people, or are you paying them? You told us about it here. CEAUSESCU: Nobody can change the state structures. CEAUSESCU: No, the people are fighting for freedom and against the new forum. Ceauescu's speech of 21 August 1968 was a public address by Nicolae Ceauescu, General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party and President of the State Council of Romania, strongly condemning the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. As hard as it may be to believe, there was a time when . A horse or a hearse? This speech was an annual event and carefully scripted by the regime to insure both success and the appearance of popular support. We live in a normal apartment, just like every other citizen. Why did you make the peasants starve? No one wanted to do anything for you anymore. You were not used to talking to the people. Therefore, it is a mistake for the two accused to refuse to cooperate with us. Not a single shot was fired in Palace Square. Nobody has opened an account. I am now talking to you as simple citizens, and I hope that you will tell the truth. Ti-mi-oa-ra! The administrations threats, so dire on paper, are toothless in practice because they actually cant afford to carry out the threat. The truth shall set you free, even if it makes you miserable. The prosecutor quotes Ceausescu, Ceausescu's program. Faithless Execution: Building the Political Case for Obamas Impeachment You have acted in a very irresponsible manner; you led the country to the verge of ruin and you will be convicted on the basis of the points contained in the bill of indictment. PROSECUTOR: Children cannot even buy plain candy, and you are living in the palaces of the people. If he no longer has a certain function, he cannot demand anything at all. His country passed from traditional monarchy to troubled democracy to royal dictatorship to military control to occupied territory. The trial of Nicolae and Elena Ceauescu was held on 25 December 1989 by an Exceptional Military Tribunal, a drumhead court-martial created at the request of a newly formed group called the National Salvation Front. Sections in italic type are from Austrian television comentary: NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I only recognize the Grand National Assembly. A lie, a lie in my face. Ceausescu begins his address to the people as he had in years past but this year the tide turned. About In response, the two laugh, and she says: We do not stay abroad. These two defendants procured the most luxurious foodstuffs and clothes from abroad. Ceauescu's final speech is a speech delivered by Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauescu on 21 December 1989. And that assumes more dont simply dodge paying the penalty because of the ease with which they can claim a hardship exemption, or because the law places strict limits on the IRS ability to collect the money. PROSECUTOR: In all district capitals, which you grandly called municipalities, there is shooting going on. Share . A tyrant stops knowing the difference. Only the front rows supported Ceauescu with cheers and applause, with most of the crowd remaining impassive. Did you know that you can purchase some of these books and pamphlets by Richard Fernandez and share them with you friends? I hope that you do not also work for the foreigners and for the destruction of Romania. At the moment the situation is rather uncertain. The prosecutor wants to find out on which basis the trial can be continued. I told you right at the beginning that I will not answer a single question. It gave no further details. PROSECUTOR: In the same way he refused to hold a dialogue with the people, now he also refuses to speak with us. Mystery surrounded the whereabouts of the former President and his wife, Elena, last night. The English translation is by the U.S. government's Foreign Broadcast Information Service. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States federal government (see 17U.S.C. I have no statement to make, and I will not sign one. In the early evening, it was announced that a National Democracy Committee had been formed, made up of uncompromised military commanders, students and intellectuals. Tip Jar or Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the Belmont Club, George Ciampa, an 89-year old D-Day veteran, Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway, Faithless Execution: Building the Political Case for Obamas Impeachment, Captive: My Time as a Prisoner of the Taliban, Quantum: Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate About the Nature of Reality, The Idiot Vote: The Democrats Core Constituency, Rebranding Christianity (The World of Information), The Lion and the Unicorn: Gladstone vs. Disraeli, How to Debate Leftists and Destroy Them: 11 Rules for Winning the Argument, The FBI Targeted Patriotic Conservatives Exercising Their First Amendment Rights: Theyre All Bleeping Terrorists, Watch: Russell Brand OBLITERATES MSNBC in Hack's Face on 'Real Time With Bill Maher', New York Times Discovers a New Source of Racism, and This One Could Be the Most Ridiculous Yet, Young Man Does His Own Taxes for First Time, Rage and Mirth Ensue, California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. CEAUSESCU: You as officers should know that the government cannot give the order to shoot. ELENA CEAUSESCU: The intelligentsia of the country will hear what you are accusing us of. PROSECUTOR: That is to say, as a deputy prime minister you did not know about the genocide? One moment Ceauescu was in total control of Romania, determined to crush his enemies. You, as a scientist, did you know about it? JUDECATORUL: Va rog sa luati loc. What do you think? PROSECUTOR: So you know the new forum. ELENA CEAUSESCU: The terrorists are from Securitate. You are guilty of these offenses even if you do not want to admit it. PROSECUTOR: And who wrote the papers for you, Elena? You held monologues and the people had to applaud, like in the rituals of tribal people. The crimes against the people grew year by year. 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. Queen Victoria and Her Prime Ministers PROSECUTOR: Did you know about the genocide or did you, as a chemist, only deal with polymers? You cannot talk to me in such a way! PROSECUTOR: Please, ask Nicolae and Elena Ceauescu whether they have ever had a mental illness. Thousands of workers were bussed into the square under threat of being fired. And so should such reports chill one to the bone. Whatever the reason, the result is that the penalty will raise $27 billion less over the next decade than the CBO had originally expected. CEAUSESCU: I will not answer this question. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I will answer any question, but only at the Grand National Assembly, before the representatives of the working class. I do not recognize the court. The catastrophic situation of the country is known all over the world. You were not used to talking to the people. Its provisional leader is the 73-year-old former Foreign Minister, Mr Corneliu Mnescu. You see, there is no use in talking to these people. We must not allow the slightest impression of illegality to emerge. This is not possible. One announcer called it the heart of our nation. [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. Why did you starve the people? At some point the entire structure of governance becomes a system of workarounds with all real power devolved to the man on the ground. In 1947, King Michael showed more dignity than you. But we are not talking about people. Please make a note that here it has been stated that all legal regulations have been observed, that this is a legal trial. 23 December 1989: Nicolae Ceauescus overthrow follows a week of carnage in which thousands of protesters against his regime were killed in cold blood. PROSECUTOR: Note the following: the defendant refuses to sign this statement. 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. VIENNA, Austria (AP) _ For the first time that anybody could remember, Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu was interrupted at a public speech by boos and jeers that began a huge demonstration against him in Bucharest Thursday. Ceauescu was finally cornered in a small town, where he and his wife were subjected to a summary trial, taken out to the courtyard and shot. When the crisis comes the Leader Maximus discovers to his absolute surprise that all support has vanished. Two: Armed attack on the people and the state power, in accordance with Article 163 of the penal code. The people were slaves. It is a lie that I made the people starve. Fanatics, whom you are paying. Elena and Nicolae reject this. But who gave the order to shoot? quotes Israeli oppositionists as accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of loathing Barack Obama so intensely it has endangering the Jewish states security. You were the most important aide, the number two in the cabinet, in the government. Eight minutes into the speech, some in the crowd actually began to jeer, boo and whistle at hima reaction considered unthinkable for most of Ceauescus 24 years in power. No, no, he says. We have sufficient data on this period. 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. All the world should know what is going on here. Do you want to sign this statement? I guaranteed that every village has its schools, hospitals and doctors. At the moment the situation is rather uncertain. Richard III of England rode into Bosworth Field relying on his ally Baron Stanely to come to his aid. And you might perhaps have achieved the understanding of the Romanian people if you had now admitted your guilt. PROSECUTOR: Whether you have ever had a mental illness. 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. In 1947, we assumed power, but under completely different circumstances. 20072021 Roy Rosenzweig Center for History & New Media I will only speak in front of it. The Securitate had hidden food reserves on which Bucharest could have survived for months, the whole of Bucharest. . A little noticed article in the, notes that Australia will support Japans effort to repeal its pacifist constitution. Tens of thousands of people gathered in the early hours in front of the Intercontinental Hotel in Bucharest, undeterred by armoured vehicles. No one can ask Bergdahl, since he is now reported as being unable to speak to anyone including his family. At the beginning, Ceauescu claimed that it is a provocation to be asked whether he was sick. CEAUSESCU: As a citizen, as a simple citizen, I tell you the following: At no point was there such an upswing, so much construction, so much consolidation in the Romanian provinces. They were given red flags, banners and large pictures of Ceauescu and his wife. You were so impertinent as to cut off oxygen lines in hospitals and to shoot people in their hospital beds. I ask the chairman of the prosecutor's office to read the bill of indictment. These two defendants have robbed the people, and not even today do they want to talk. It is a historic time, given that no military member goes public to speak negatively about the ultimate commander. Defendant, if you had no accounts in Switzerland, will you sign a statement confirming that the money that may be in Switzerland should be transferred to the Romanian state, the State Bank. PROSECUTOR: Let us now talk about the accounts in Switzerland, Mr. Ceausescu. PROSECUTOR: In the same way he refused to hold a dialogue with the people, now he also refuses to speak with us. All the world should know what is going on here. As the other primary sources reveal, the Ceausescus were tried a few days later and executed as enemies of the new Romanian state. ELENA CEAUESCU: Such impudence! Free shipping for many products! The catastrophic situation of the country is known all over the world. Immediately before them were plainclothes Securitate agents and a row of police militia, who kept the mass of the crowd about thirty meters back from the front of the Central Committee building. We will speak only at the National Assembly, because we have worked hard for the people all our lives. Its just that he makes it so hard to do so.. PROSECUTOR: By now, there have been 34 casualties. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: Is it possible that we are facing such charges? After an outage of transmission of Romanian television, the speaker announces the verdict in the trial of Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu is death sentence. 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. This is where President Ceausescu gave his final speech in December 1989, before fleeing Bucharest. PROSECUTOR: Did you know about the genocide in Timisoara? PROSECUTOR: Do you not know anything about the order to shoot? I have observed that she is not even able to read correctly, but she calls herself an university graduate. At that moment Elena says to Nicolae: Forget about them. ELENA CEAUSESCU: Incredible. Judecator Gica POPA. They were even worse than the king, the former king of Romania. Lech Walesa has openly accused president Obama as unable to lead in world. In the wake of growing tension over an uprising in Timioara in which thousands were reportedly killed, Ceauescu decided to give a nationally televised speech before a crowd in Palace Square (now known as Revolution Square) in Bucharest. Usurpers have been punished severely during the past centuries in Romania's history. By the morning of 22 December, the rebellion had already spread to all major cities across the country. PROSECUTOR: Please, make a note: Nicolae Ceauescu refuses to cooperate with the court-appointed counsel for the defense. The National Salvation Front is now our supreme body. But who gave the order to shoot? The mighty Law of the Land is exposed as all bark and no bite; a fine they cant enforce. Defendant, if you had no accounts in Switzerland, will you sign a statement confirming that the money that may be in Switzerland should be transferred to the Romanian state, the State Bank. Centralized regimes may seem to collapse suddenly, yet in reality they have been coming apart for a long time. Everybody should be paid according to his performance. ELENA CEAUSESCU: We will not sign any statement. He also refuses to recognize the new forum. The Soviet Parliament expressed its approval of the fall of President Ceauescu and sent to the Romanian people a special message of support proposed by President Gorbachev. 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. 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. The collapse of the narrative doesnt happen in a single big step, but through an accumulation of small, personal, often innocuous refusals. Forget what the politicians on Capitol Hill are saying about the prisoner swap. Sections in italic type are from the austrian television comentary: Forget the pontifications from the myriad talking heads on TV and radio. They organized the putsch. How to Debate Leftists and Destroy Them: 11 Rules for Winning the Argument. Who are these fanatics? Romania's dictator Nicolae Ceausescu's final speech (executed 12/25) More Notable Events on December 21: 1997 Detroit Lions Barry Sanders is 3rd to run for 2,000 yards in a season 1991 U.S. actress Jane Fonda marries CNN-director Ted Turner 1989 Dan Quayle sends out 30,000 Xmas cards with word beacon spelled beakon Shakespeare dramatized the turnabout in his famous scene. PROSECUTOR: We have wonderful programs. 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. One day Obama may wake up and find the alliances just gone. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: Nobody can change the state structures. Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway