PROSECUTOR: That is to say, as a deputy prime minister you did not know about the genocide? What defamation, what provocations! This page was last modified on 10 April 2016, at 21:40. This was a coup d'etat. Why were people screaming during Ceausescu's last speech? What - Quora ALISON SMALE December 21, 1989. Hayek and Ceauescu's Last Speech - PJ Media 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. It gave no further details. A little noticed article in the, notes that Australia will support Japans effort to repeal its pacifist constitution. We have sacrificed all our lives to the people. An important historical square located on Victoriei Street. I will not answer any more. Ceausescu sprinkles snow on his wife's head during yet another hunting trip in 1976. And you might perhaps have achieved the understanding of the Romanian people if you had now admitted your guilt. 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. PROSECUTOR: Who gave the order to shoot in Bucharest, for instance? ELENA CEAUSESCU: Such impudence! He refused to undergo a psychiatric examination. 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. I will not say anything here. These two defendants procured the most luxurious foodstuffs and clothes from abroad. Romania's Lying, Thieving, Widely Hated First Lady | OZY Sections in italic type are from Austrian television comentary: NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I only recognize the Grand National Assembly. The catastrophic situation of the country is known all over the world. You told us about it here. Unprecedented Interruption of Ceausescu's Speech With AM - AP NEWS This shows again how false the charges are. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: Her scientific papers were published abroad! I have no statement to make, and I will not sign one. 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. Ceauescu refused to answer. PROSECUTOR: But not of our army, you are not the commander in chief of our army. . No one can dissolve the National Assembly. But who gave the order to shoot? What prevents him from doing so? I am talking to you as simple citizens at the least, as simple citizens, and I tell you: I am the president of Romania. 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. Ceausescu's Last Speech | History for You and Me Two: Armed attack on the people and the state power, in accordance with Article 163 of the penal code. Now we are making a last attempt. 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. Usurpers have been punished severely during the past centuries in Romania's history. At the beginning, Ceausescu claimed that it is a provocation to be asked whether he was sick. 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. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: No, we had no palaces. And today you are acting in the same megalomaniac way. A voice in the studio said that the army was wholly on the side of the people. Who pays them? We have data concerning both of them. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: You as officers should know that the government cannot give the order to shoot. No one can ask Bergdahl, since he is now reported as being unable to speak to anyone including his family. PROSECUTOR: This situation is known. 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. Military base Trgovite - December 25th 1989. A flight into peril, flashbacks to underground action. Please make a note that here it has been stated that all legal regulations have been observed, that this is a legal trial. Nicolae Ceausescu LAST SPEECH english subtitles 2/2 - YouTube The National Salvation Front is now our supreme body. Transcriptul "procesului" Nicolae si Elena Ceausescu. PROSECUTOR: Will you sign the statement now or not? The story ofCeauescus final speech is a textbook example. I am a member and the chairwoman of the Academy of Sciences. He answers: I am the president of Romania, and I am the commander in chief of the Romanian army. 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. 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. No one wanted to do anything for you anymore. Yet there is a big difference between grousing, which is endemic to the military, and actual rebellion. 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. I told you right at the beginning that I will not answer a single question. ELENA CEAUESCU: Accounts in Switzerland? Bundled in drab winter clothing, she was shoved around by armed guards inside a cold, empty building. Ceauescu's speech of 21 August 1968 [English Subtitles] - Readable By 6 pm, Romanian television was broadcasting live reports of victory rallies attended by thousands in Bucharest. It is as if, in that moment, everyday Romanian's saw the possibility, saw the reality of the weakness of Ceausescus regime. One announcer called it the heart of our nation. 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. Diane Dimond writes in Real Clear Politicsabout the low level grumbling that risen to detectable levels since the Bergdahl affair. This year, the crowd begins to chant unscripted comments back at the dictator. PROSECUTOR: Whether you have ever had a mental illness. Some people will continue to believe the narrative, but even among the acolytes, the fatal smoke of doubt has entered the temple. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: No, no. PROSECUTOR: That is to say, as a deputy prime minister you did not know about the genocide? I will not speak with you provocateurs anymore, and I will not speak with the organizers of the putsch and with the mercenaries. I will not say anything here. The bill of indictment contains the following points: Genocide, in accordance with Article 356 of the penal code. This source is a part of the The Romanian Revolution of 1989 teaching module. 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. PROSECUTOR: Note the following: the defendant refuses to sign this statement. The crowd, now totaling up to 80,000, were given orders on where to stand, when to applaud and what to sing. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I do not recognize you. At that very moment, many everyday Romanians saw the weakness of Ceauescu's regime for the first time. The administrations threats, so dire on paper, are toothless in practice because they actually cant afford to carry out the threat. Soon afterwards, Bucharest television reported that Mr Ceauescu and his wife were no longer in the country. You have destroyed the Romanian villages and the Romanian soil. PROSECUTOR: This would serve your defense. . PROSECUTOR: And who wrote the papers for you, Elena? CEAUSESCU: Her scientific papers were published abroad! This is our home. 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. Tens of thousands of people gathered in the early hours in front of the Intercontinental Hotel in Bucharest, undeterred by armoured vehicles. We will speak only at the National Assembly, because we have worked hard for the people all our lives. Ceausescu claims that the putsch was organized from abroad. Because of this indictment, I call for the death sentence and the impounding of the entire property of the two accused. 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. Elena Ceauescu's last moments were as pathetic as one could imagine. 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. PROSECUTOR: You have never been able to hold a dialogue with the people. First their narratives become so infested with lies they go out of sync with their own administrators on the ground. What do you say as a citizen? All their property will be impounded. ELENA CEAUESCU: I will not answer. The video- shown live on Romanian television-- shows his confusion and consternation and the barely audible comments. This gang will be destroyed. 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. CEAUSESCU: No, we had no palaces. The prosecutor turns to Elena: You have always been wiser and more ready to talk, a scientist. Sudden realizations are like a crash; its not the fact of deceleration that is fatal so much as the suddenness of it. At that moment Elena says to Nicolae: Forget about them. This gang will be destroyed. The great Ceauescu escape attempt came after it had become clear that most of the army had gone over to the people. The prosecutor quotes Ceauescu, Ceauescu's program. That is why the people are fighting all over the country. The people only received 200 grams per day, against an identity card. You are guilty of these offenses even if you do not want to admit it. I will only speak in front of it. PROSECUTOR: Who gave the order to shoot in Bucharest, for instance? Nobody has opened an account. At the moment the situation is rather uncertain. However, he had badly misread the crowd's mood. Immediately before them were plainclothes Securitate agents and a row of police militia, who kept the mass of the crowd about thirty yards back from the front of the Central Committee building. The Securitate had hidden food reserves on which Bucharest could have survived for months, the whole of Bucharest. You were the most important aide, the number two in the cabinet, in the government. He also refuses to recognize the new forum. It is surpassingly perilous not only for the country, but also for the ruler who relies on it. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I do not answer, I will only answer questions before the Grand National Assembly. I have no statement to make, and I will not sign one. They not only deprived the people of heating, electricity, and foodstuffs, they also tyrannized the soul of the Romanian people. quotes Israeli oppositionists as accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of loathing Barack Obama so intensely it has endangering the Jewish states security. Nicolae Ceausescu LAST SPEECH (english subtitles) 1/2 They are cowards. I am now talking to you as simple citizens, and I hope that you will tell the truth. 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. It is a lie that I made the people starve. He refused to undergo a psychiatric examination. You should have stayed in Iran where you had flown to. The collapse of the narrative doesnt happen in a single big step, but through an accumulation of small, personal, often innocuous refusals. Another question . The recent Bergdahl prisoner swap in which five hardened Taliban terrorists were released from prison is rubbing a lot of the military veterans attending D-Day events the wrong way. . You were not used to talking to the people. They not only deprived the people of heating, electricity and foodstuffs, they also tyrannized the soul of the Romanian people. Rebranding Christianity (The World of Information) 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. We have sacrificed all our lives to the people. If he no longer has a certain function, he cannot demand anything at all. I have observed that she is not even able to read correctly, but she calls herself an university graduate. These two defendants procured the most luxurious foodstuffs and clothes from abroad. CEAUSESCU: I repeat: I am the president of Romania and the commander in chief of the Romanian army. We must not allow the slightest impression of illegality to emerge. Trial and execution of Nicolae and Elena Ceauescu - Wikipedia ELENA CEAUSESCU: Accounts in Switzerland? Nobody is likely to rise up and become a Man on Horseback. KGB technicians and agents made one of the most brilliant moves and played a recording of whistles and protests through installed speakers in the square. After an outage of transmission of Romanian television, the speaker announces the verdict in the trial of Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu is death sentence. ROMANIA: DEATH OF A DICTATOR : Ceausescu--Tyrant Who Posed as a Centralized Information as Hayek points out, eventually becomes the Official Lie. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Mr. President, I would like to know something: the accused should tell us who the mercenaries are. This shows again how false the charges are. Only a president who is still confirmed in his position can demand to speak at the Grand National Assembly. Have you understood them? Usurpers have been punished severely during the past centuries in Romania's history. 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. . 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. What prevents him from doing so? Only a president who is still confirmed in his position can demand to speak at the Grand National Assembly. They are speaking about injustice, ineptitude and impeachment. Fiction. The Ceauescu administrations Prime Minister, Mr Constantin Dsclescu, and his government were said to have resigned. And Elena says: It is incredible what they are inventing, incredible. Their son, Nicu, was shown on television under arrest. Ti-mi-oa-ra! The entire intelligentsia of the country ran away. The defendant has not recognized us. The counsel for the defense now takes the floor and instructs the Ceausescus once again that they have the right to defense and that they should accept this right. Any actual attempts to fine 30 million Americans would end in a political disaster. 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 A caretaker government was announced within an hour of the dictators capture. 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. 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. The destruction of buildings and state institutions, undermining of the national economy, in accordance with Articles 165 and 145 of the penal code. He would be executed a few days later. What do you think? Elena answers: The intellectuals of this country should hear you, you and your colleagues. 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. After many people began to exit the square, Ceauescu shouted over the public address system for them to "remain seated". 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. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I will not say anything more. They organized the putsch. Captive: My Time as a Prisoner of the Taliban Only the front rows supported Ceauescu with cheers and applause, with most of the crowd remaining impassive. He answers: I am the president of Romania, and I am the commander in chief of the Romanian army. No one was shot. What do you think? I am talking to you as simple citizens at the least, as simple citizens, and I tell you: I am the president of Romania. Here Nicolae Ceausescu steps in and defends her. PROSECUTOR: We now have another leading organ. 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. Elena and Nicolae Ceauescu state: Well, you told us about it. ELENA CEAUESCU: How can one tell us something like this? However, they will be indicted, and a sentence will be passed on the basis of the new legal system. And we will not betray our people here. PROSECUTOR: Let us now talk about the accounts in Switzerland, Mr. Ceauescu. . What about the accounts? Here Nicolae Ceauescu steps in and defends her. Paper is patient. PROSECUTOR: We have wonderful programs. Not a single shot was fired in Palace Square. The new committee declared its immediate aim was an end to the cult of personality which had developed around the Ceauescu family. The destruction of buildings and state institutions, undermining of the national economy, in accordance with Articles 165 and 145 of the penal code. And who brought them into the country? A little noticed article in the Sydney Morning Herald notes that Australia will support Japans effort to repeal its pacifist constitution. We are all equal. They were only busy enslaving the people and building up an apparatus of power. The Balcony from Which the Romanian Dictator Nicolae Ceausescu You should have stayed in Iran where you had flown to. The people were slaves. Machine guns splattered against a background of church bells ringing in triumph. The streets and squares of Bucharest were littered with torn portraits and shattered busts of the President and his wife. 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. Teams of doctors with emergency medical supplies were being flown in from Geneva last night. In 1947, King Michael showed more dignity than you. 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. Furnish proof! "This is the final battle," he said. I will not speak with you provocateurs anymore, and I will not speak with the organizers of the putsch and with the mercenaries. 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. The crimes against the people grew year by year. They were even worse than the king, the former king of Romania. The mighty Law of the Land is exposed as all bark and no bite; a fine they cant enforce. You see, there is no use in talking to these people. PROSECUTOR: Did you know about the genocide in Timisoara? We want a legal trial. Ti-mi-oa-ra!a chant that was soon picked up by others in the crowd. They were only busy enslaving the people and building up an apparatus of power. Not a single shot was fired in Palace Square. The prosecutor agrees, but stresses that they lived in them while the people suffered. Thousands of workers were bussed into the square under threat of being fired. CEAUSESCU: I do not recognize this court. PROSECUTOR: But not of our army, you are not the commander in chief of our army. The charges are incorrect, and I will not answer a single question here. ELENA CEAUSESCU: I will not answer. Tell the people that I will answer all their questions. PROSECUTOR: Well, Mr. Why did you starve the people? Its provisional leader is the 73-year-old former Foreign Minister, Mr Corneliu Mnescu. Have you understood them? By the way, I will not answer any more questions. Elena answers: The intellectuals of this country should hear you, you and your colleagues. Forget the pontifications from the myriad talking heads on TV and radio. Ceauescu's final speech is a speech delivered by Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauescu on 21 December 1989. These two defendants have robbed the people, and not even today do they want to talk. But who gave the order to shoot? Sections in italic type are from the austrian television comentary: This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content. This demonstrates their lack of understanding. ELENA CEAUSESCU: The terrorists are from Securitate. As the crowd becomes more unruly, Ceausescu becomes more confused and he begins arguing with the unseen hecklers. The next he was a hunted man. You held monologues and the people had to applaud, like in the rituals of tribal people. Elena keeps whispering to him. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: This is not possible at all. This speech was an annual event and carefully scripted by the regime to insure both success and the appearance of popular support. Richard III of England rode into Bosworth Field relying on his ally Baron Stanely to come to his aid. 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. I do not recognize this court. PROSECUTOR: Please, make a note: Ceausescu does not recognize the new legal structures of power of the country. 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 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. The prosecutor cites all academic titles she had always claimed to have. 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 . PROSECUTOR: Why do you think that people are fighting today? ELENA CEAUESCU: Such impudence! One of the most decisive moments in the Romanian Revolution of 1989 was Ceausescus December 21st speech (or lack thereof). What may happen of course, is that like a frog slowly being boiled in a pot, the process happens so slowly that people arent aware of it themselves. I ask the chairman of the prosecutor's office to read the bill of indictment. Are they the people, or are you paying them? There is still shooting going on, the prosecutor says. 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. 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. Military base Tirgoviste - December 25th 1989. Paper is patient. For example,the administration recently issued a new list of prisoners to be released from Guantanamo, citing theirpractice of yogaas proof they had reformed. ELENA CEAUSESCU: What genocide? I do not recognize the court. I have nothing to do with them. ELENA CEAUSESCU: How can one tell us something like this? Frederich Hayek identified the primary reason why tyrants fall: they rely on the poisoned cup of centralized knowledge. If you had had a mental illness and admitted this, you would not be responsible for your acts. a silent falling away among American allies. Unprecedented Interruption of Ceausescu's Speech With AM-Romania, Bjt It is simply an accumulation of multitudes ignoring the official line bit by bit and thereby gradually placing themselves unwittingly in opposition to it. What defamation, what provocations! Elena and Nicolae Ceauescu must be held fully responsible for this. You held monologues and the people had to applaud, like in the rituals of tribal people. You have information about it. He was a cosignatory of an open letter harshly critical of the Ceauescu region which appeared last march. The English translation is by the U.S. government's Foreign Broadcast Information Service. One of the first acts of the new leadership was to place the security forces, the dreaded Securitate, under control of the army. I will not answer anymore. The crimes against the people grew year by year. 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. CEAUSESCU: No, we will not sign.