If you had had a mental illness and admitted this, you would not be responsible for your acts. 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. However, they will be indicted, and a sentence will be passed on the basis of the new legal system. The people were slaves. We must not allow the slightest impression of illegality to emerge. A little noticed article in the, notes that Australia will support Japans effort to repeal its pacifist constitution. This speech was an annual event and carefully scripted by the regime to ensure both success and the appearance of popular support. Later reports suggested the couple had been captured. And you might perhaps have achieved the understanding of the Romanian people if you had now admitted your guilt. Only the front rows supported Ceauescu with cheers and applause, with most of the crowd remaining impassive. PROSECUTOR: Will you sign the statement now or not? NICOLAE CEAUESCU: Nobody can change the state structures. A caretaker government was announced within an hour of the dictators capture. PROSECUTOR: You have never been able to hold a dialogue with the people. "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). Workers from a Bucharest power plant started chanting "Ti-mi-oa-ra! The people only received 200 grams per day, against an identity card. Ceausescu and his wife were later captured, tried, and executed. The president of the United States is the commander in chief over all branches of the military. . These two defendants procured the most luxurious foodstuffs and clothes from abroad. There is still shooting going on, the prosecutor says. We have sufficient data on this period. This is a legal trial, and I honor them by defending them. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I will answer any question, but only at the Grand National Assembly, before the representatives of the working class. In 1947, we assumed power, but under completely different circumstances. The prosecutor asks the counsel for the defense to ask Ceauescu whether he knows that he is no longer president of the country, that Elena Ceauescu has also lost all her official state functions and that the government has been dissolved. The charges are incorrect, and I will not answer a single question here. Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu should be punished in a really legal trial. He still considers himself to be the country's president and the commander in chief of the army. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: What? It is as if, in that moment, everyday Romanian's saw the possibility, saw the reality of the weakness of Ceausescus regime. They were not really interested in the people. The slippage that attracts the most attention of course, is discontent within the United States military. PROSECUTOR: Do you not know anything about the order to shoot? You are faced with charges that you held really sumptuous celebrations on all holidays at your house. They are cowards. COUNSEL FOR THE DEFENSE: Even though he like her committed insane acts, we want to defend them. , 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. In the uprising by people against Ceausescu during this speech and in subsequent days 1,058 people lost there lives. PROSECUTOR: This would serve your defense. Faithless Execution: Building the Political Case for Obamas Impeachment Tell the people that I will answer all their questions. Nicolae Ceauescu had been making speeches for over a couple of decades. For example, there isa silent falling away among American allies. 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. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: No, no. PROSECUTOR: That is to say, as a deputy prime minister you did not know about the genocide? In response, the two laugh, and she says: We do not stay abroad. We are all equal. By the way, I will not answer any more questions. Are they the people, or are you paying them? NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I will not sign anything. This is our home. First their narratives become so infested with lies they go out of sync with their own administrators on the ground. Therefore, it is a mistake for the two accused to refuse to cooperate with us. 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. Storm Over The South China Sea Eight minutes into the speech, some in the crowd actually began to scream because there was a shooting that occurred in the background. It doesnt happen as one big wave. Then follows the reading of the indictment. ELENA CEAUSESCU: The terrorists are from Securitate. The front rows of the assembly were made up of low-level Communist Party officials and members who acted as cheer-leaders. Why did you starve the people? He was arrested and imprisoned multiple times. PROSECUTOR: This situation is known. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: No, the people are fighting for freedom and against the new forum. CEAUSESCU: She was not a deputy prime minister, but the first deputy prime minister. No one wanted to do anything for you anymore. Furnish proof! NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I will not answer this question. Stanley double-crossed Richard at the crucial moment. 20072021 Roy Rosenzweig Center for History & New Media Why did you ruin the country so much: Why did you export everything? PROSECUTOR: Note the following: the defendant refuses to sign this statement. No one can ask Bergdahl, since he is now reported as being unable to speak to anyone including his family. As a result, the prosecutor says: Elena has always been talkative, but otherwise she does not know much. Elena and Nicolae Ceauescu state: Well, you told us about it. He then tried to placate the crowd by offering to raise workers salaries He did not realize, however, that a real revolution was starting before his eyes. You were so impertinent as to cut off oxygen lines in hospitals and to shoot people in their hospital beds. Description One of the most decisive moments in the Romanian Revolution of 1989 was Ceausescu's December 21st speech (or lack thereof). However, why are your programs not implemented? What prevents him from doing so? We have sacrificed all our lives to the people. As a result, the prosecutor says: Elena has always been talkative, but otherwise she does not know much. Mystery surrounded the whereabouts of the former President and his wife, Elena, last night. I am now talking to you as simple citizens, and I hope that you will tell the truth. The prosecutor wants to find out on which basis the trial can be continued. Now the counsel for the defense, who was appointed by the court, asks whether Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu know the aforementioned facts -- that he is no longer president, that she has lost all official functions. One in four of the population is believed to have a member. Not a single shot was fired in Palace Square. You need not admit your mistakes, mister. What do you think? 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 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. 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! It is surpassingly perilous not only for the country, but also for the ruler who relies on it. Centralized regimes may seem to collapse suddenly, yet in reality they have been coming apart for a long time. Ceauescu answers: As I said before, the people are fighting for their freedom and against this putsch, against this usurpation. 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. Who pays them? However, they will be indicted, and a sentence will be passed on the basis of the new legal system. 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. PROSECUTOR: In all district capitals, which you grandly called municipalities, there is shooting going on. PROSECUTOR: Yes, but you are paying the mercenaries. I am talking to you as simple citizens at the least, as simple citizens, and I tell you: I am the president of Romania. This source is a part of the The Romanian Revolution of 1989 teaching module. The defendant has not recognized us. 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. A lie, a lie in my face. What defamation, what provocations! You cannot talk to me in such a way! No Way In at Amazon Kindle $8.95, print $9.99. The Rise of Ceausescu Nicolae was a member of the communist youth movement. An important historical square located on Victoriei Street. 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. No, no, he says. Elena keeps whispering to him. 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. The prosecutor cites all academic titles she had always claimed to have. Now we are making a last attempt. PROSECUTOR: Why do you think that people are fighting today? 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. If he no longer has a certain function, he cannot demand anything at all. The collapse of the narrative doesnt happen in a single big step, but through an accumulation of small, personal, often innocuous refusals. Military base Trgovite - December 25th 1989. Therefore, it is a mistake for the two accused to refuse to cooperate with us. Ceausescu begins his address to the people as he had in years past but this year the tide turned. A later article shows that Australia is moving toward. Copyright 2023 PJMedia.com/Salem Media. And I also do not recognize the counsel for the defense. We have data concerning both of them. PROSECUTOR: So you know the new forum. PROSECUTOR: In the same way he refused to hold a dialogue with the people, now he also refuses to speak with us. The English translation is by the U.S. government's Foreign Broadcast Information Service. CEAUSESCU: Nobody can change the state structures. All the world should know what is going on here. I do not recognize the court. No one wanted to do anything for you anymore. The defendant has not recognized us. PROSECUTOR: So you know the new forum. The prosecutor agrees, but stresses that they lived in them while the people suffered. Everybody should be paid according to his performance. Workers from a Bucharest power plant started chanting Ti-mi-oa-ra! 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. When the crisis comes the Leader Maximus discovers to his absolute surprise that all support has vanished. Ceauescu claims that the putsch was organized from abroad. PROSECUTOR: Children cannot even buy plain candy, and you are living in the palaces of the people. PROSECUTOR: Note - He does not recognize the points mentioned in the bill of indictment. That is why the people are fighting all over the country. I will not answer you putschists, Ceauescu says. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: We had no account in Switzerland. 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.. I will only speak at the Grand National Assembly. I told you right at the beginning that I will not answer a single question. They organized the putsch. We will speak only at the National Assembly, because we have worked hard for the people all our lives. I do not recognize this court. Ceausescu relates his recent meeting with Dubcek in Prague in August 1968. I have nothing to do with them. ELENA CEAUESCU: Such impudence! The hardship exemption rules, for example, let anyone who experienced domestic violence avoid the mandate, without providing any documentation of abuse. By the morning of 22 December, the rebellion had already spread to all major cities across the country. What do you say as a citizen? PROSECUTOR: We now have another leading organ. But those who shot at the young people were the security men, the terrorists. They not only deprived the people of heating, electricity and foodstuffs, they also tyrannized the soul of the Romanian people. The Securitate had hidden food reserves on which Bucharest could have survived for months, the whole of Bucharest. PROSECUTOR: The terrorists are from Securitate? The prosecutor turns to Elena: You have always been wiser and more ready to talk, a scientist. CEAUSESCU: Is it possible that we are facing such charges? 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. [2], Ceauescu appeared on the balcony of the Central Committee building and began as he had in years past, with a speech laden with the usual "wooden language." This speech was an annual event and carefully scripted by the regime to insure both success and the appearance of popular support. How can one say something like this? They are shooting at children; they are shooting arbitrarily into the apartments. Because of this indictment, I call for the death sentence and the impounding of the entire property of the two accused. Within hours Ceauescu was beseiged inside the Central Committee building by irate crowds. All their property will be impounded. This demonstrates their lack of understanding. One of the first acts of the new leadership was to place the security forces, the dreaded Securitate, under control of the army. PROSECUTOR: But not of our army, you are not the commander in chief of our army. 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. It is a lie that I made the people starve. ELENA CEAUESCU: Accounts in Switzerland? [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. He was a cosignatory of an open letter harshly critical of the Ceauescu region which appeared last march. Her husband, Nicolae. In the footage, Romanian president Nicolae Ceausescu can be seen delivering a speech from the balcony of the Central Committee building overlooking Palace Square, now know as "Revolution Square," where he praised the achievements of Romania's socialist regime and its "multi-laterally developed socialist society." From Wikipedia: Thousands of workers were bussed into the square under threat of being fired. 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. A flight into peril, flashbacks to underground action. In addition, the law forbids the IRS from using its normal enforcement tools to collect unpaid penalties. 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). I have observed that she is not even able to read correctly, but she calls herself an university graduate. What prevents him from doing so? Soon afterwards, Bucharest television reported that Mr Ceauescu and his wife were no longer in the country. In one speech, a Romanian politician likened Ceausescu to Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Peter the Great, Abraham Lincoln and other major historical figures. For example,the administration recently issued a new list of prisoners to be released from Guantanamo, citing theirpractice of yogaas proof they had reformed. Machine guns splattered against a background of church bells ringing in triumph. The great Ceauescu escape attempt came after it had become clear that most of the army had gone over to the people. PROSECUTOR: We have always spoken of equality. CEAUSESCU: I do not recognize this court. PROSECUTOR: The Grand National Assembly has been dissolved. Queen Victoria and Her Prime Ministers 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. 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. Ceauescu appeared on the balcony of the Central Committee building and began as he had in years past, with a speech laden with the usual Marxist-Leninist wooden language. However, he had badly misread the crowds mood. PROSECUTOR: Did you know about the genocide in Timisoara? How to Debate Leftists and Destroy Them: 11 Rules for Winning the Argument. You should have stayed in Iran where you had flown to. Everybody should be paid according to his performance. You have information about it. 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. I am a member and the chairwoman of the Academy of Sciences. Only a president who is still confirmed in his position can demand to speak at the Grand National Assembly. I have no statement to make, and I will not sign one. And we will not betray our people here. Tax experts say the best it can do is withhold the penalty amount from any tax refund due. This year, the crowd begins to chant unscripted comments back at the dictator. They obstructed the normal process of the economy. He still considers himself to be the country's president and the commander in chief of the army. Yet there is a big difference between grousing, which is endemic to the military, and actual rebellion. 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. Sections in italic type are from the austrian television comentary: NICOLAE CEAUSESCU: I only recognize the Grand National Assembly. Ceausescu answers: As I said before, the people are fighting for their freedom and against this putsch, against this usurpation. They are not only accused of offenses committed during the past few days, but of offenses committed during the past 25 years. At that moment Elena says to Nicolae: Forget about them. This is a vulgar provocation. Answer this question! I do not recognize this court. PROSECUTOR: And who wrote the papers for you, Elena? This speech was an annual event and carefully scripted by the regime to insure both success and the appearance of popular support. Are they the people, or are you paying them? PROSECUTOR: We have wonderful programs. PROSECUTOR: And who heads Securitate? Quantum: Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate About the Nature of Reality The crimes against the people grew year by year. 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. Elena says: Look, and that they are calling genocide. PROSECUTOR: Why do you think that people are fighting today? Fanatics, whom you are paying. The crowd, now totaling up to 80,000, were given orders on where to stand, when to applaud and what to sing. Forget what the politicians on Capitol Hill are saying about the prisoner swap. Ceauescu refused to answer. But who gave the order to shoot? The counsel for the defense now takes the floor and instructs the Ceauescus once again that they have the right to defense and that they should accept this right. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: What an obscene provocation. quotes Israeli oppositionists as accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of loathing Barack Obama so intensely it has endangering the Jewish states security. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: No, we will not sign. Answer this question! Please make a note that here it has been stated that all legal regulations have been observed, that this is a legal trial. Ti-mi-oa-ra!a chant that was soon picked up by others in the crowd. Then he is treated like a normal citizen. Only a few hours before the Genius of the Carpathians had been in apparently complete command. PROSECUTOR: Nicolae Ceauescu should tell us why he does not answer our questions. Sooner or later an administration neuters itself from sheer implausibility. Teams of doctors with emergency medical supplies were being flown in from Geneva last night. After an outage of transmission of Romanian television, the speaker announces the verdict in the trial of Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu is death sentence. This is a vulgar provocation. 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. 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. Captive: My Time as a Prisoner of the Taliban You were the most important aide, the number two in the cabinet, in the government. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: She was not a deputy prime minister, but the first deputy prime minister. You need not admit your mistakes, mister. I have no statement to make, and I will not sign one. We have sacrificed all our lives to the people. 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. Elena Ceauescu's last moments were as pathetic as one could imagine. CEAUSESCU: No, the people are fighting for freedom and against the new forum. He answers: I am the president of Romania, and I am the commander in chief of the Romanian army. Did you know that you can purchase some of these books and pamphlets by Richard Fernandez and share them with you friends? I am the president of the people. I am the president of the people. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I do not recognize this court. By 6 pm, Romanian television was broadcasting live reports of victory rallies attended by thousands in Bucharest. PROSECUTOR: Who gave the order to shoot in Bucharest, for instance? has openly accused president Obama as unable to lead in world. It should be stated once and for all that this military court is absolutely legal and that the former positions of the two Ceauescus are no longer valid. Some people will continue to believe the narrative, but even among the acolytes, the fatal smoke of doubt has entered the temple. Ti-mi-oa-ra! 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. I will not say anything here. 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.