NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I do not recognize this court. Witnesses saw scores of people shot down in the centre of Bucharest in the evening and around the burning royal palace where the Ceauescu family had made their home. Elena says: Look, and that they are calling genocide. Did you know that you can purchase some of these books and pamphlets by Richard Fernandez and share them with you friends? Military base Tirgoviste - December 25th 1989. It is a historic time, given that no military member goes public to speak negatively about the ultimate commander. Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu appeared on the balcony of the Central Committee of Comunmunist Party of Romania building, in Bucharest, Romania, on 21 December 1989, and began as he had in years past, with a speech laden with the usual `wooden language`. However, they will be indicted, and a sentence will be passed on the basis of the new legal system. We have data concerning both of them. CEAUSESCU: Nu recunosc nici un tribunal in afara de Marea Adunare Nationala. PROSECUTOR: Whether you have ever had a mental illness. But we are not talking about people. The prosecutor says: The world already knows what has happened here. This speech was an annual event and carefully scripted by the regime to ensure both success and the appearance of popular support. The crowd, now totaling up to 80,000, were given orders on where to stand, when to applaud and what to sing. PROSECUTOR: Did you hear the charges? This year, the crowd begins to chant unscripted comments back at the dictator. I hope that you do not also work for the foreigners and for the destruction of Romania. PROSECUTOR: By now, there have been 34 casualties. The people were slaves. Ceausescu's last speech was interrupted but not by the shouts of the masses. I am a member and the chairwoman of the Academy of Sciences. Its not that we dont want to respect the commander-in-chief, one told me sadly. Ceausescu refused to answer. This shows how little patriotism there is, how many treasonable offenses were committed. PROSECUTOR: This situation is known. Powered by Omeka, Roy Rosenzweig Center for History & New Media. Two: Armed attack on the people and the state power, in accordance with Article 163 of the penal code. They are cowards. I do not recognize this court. Elena and Nicolae reject this. Ceausescu claims that the putsch was organized from abroad. In addition, the law forbids the IRS from using its normal enforcement tools to collect unpaid penalties. Everybody should be paid according to his performance. PROSECUTOR: But not of our army, you are not the commander in chief of our army. 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Usurpers have been punished severely during the past centuries in Romania's history. Queen Victoria and Her Prime Ministers Bucharests Broadcasting House was the main source of information yesterday for Romanians about the countrys liberation and the means by which politicians, military officers and dissidents tried to influence the situation. You are guilty of these offenses even if you do not want to admit it. 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. PROSECUTOR: Please, make a note: Nicolae Ceauescu refuses to cooperate with the court-appointed counsel for the defense. What defamation, what provocations! PROSECUTOR: This is how you worked with the people and exercised your functions! NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I do not recognize you. 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 CEAUSESCU: We will discuss this before the Grand National Assembly. You were not used to talking to the people. Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu must be held fully responsible for this. Tell the people that I will answer all their questions. 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. What should he ask us? Nicolae Ceauescu (Romanian pronunciation: [nikola.e tea.uesku]; 26 January 1918 -- 25 December 1989) was a Romanian Communist politician. CEAUSESCU: I will not answer this question. At the beginning, Ceauescu claimed that it is a provocation to be asked whether he was sick. However, he had badly misread the crowd's mood. You told us about it here. They used to fetch people from orphans' homes or from abroad whom they trained in special institutions to become murderers of their own people. Like a jalopy falling apart on the road, dropping a screw here and a spring there, the Obama administration is gradually shaking itself to pieces. His security guard appears, disappears and, finally, hustles Ceausescu off the balcony. At that moment Elena says to Nicolae: Forget about them. 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. CEAUSESCU: Nobody can change the state structures. . The workers were augmented by bystanders who were rounded up on Calea Victoriei. Elena and Nicolae Ceasescu state: Well, you told us about it. Central planning in economics leads to a mismatch in prices and a collapse in the economy while a Central Narrative in politics leads to an increased incidence of involuntary rebellion. PROSECUTOR: You have never been able to hold a dialogue with the people. Have you understood them? Not a single shot was fired in Palace Square. 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: Note: He does not recognize the points mentioned in the bill of indictment. "Video of Ceausescus Last Speech, December 1989," in World History Commons, https://worldhistorycommons.org/video-ceausescus-last-speech-december-1989 [accessed March 4, 2023], Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. The workers were augmented by bystanders who were rounded up on Calea Victoriei. ELENA CEAUSESCU: The intelligentsia of the country will hear what you are accusing us of. You cannot talk to me in such a way! You have information about it. PROSECUTOR: And who wrote the papers for you, Elena? NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I will answer any question, but only at the Grand National Assembly, before the representatives of the working class. Elena and Nicolae Ceauescu must be held fully responsible for this. PROSECUTOR: Well, Mr. PROSECUTOR: We now have another leading organ. The video- shown live on Romanian television-- shows his confusion and consternation and the barely audible comments. Elena answers: The intellectuals of this country should hear you, you and your colleagues. Do you want to sign this statement? And so should such reports chill one to the bone. A lie, a lie in my face. This page was last edited on 8 October 2016, at 23:48. The English translation is by the U.S. government's Foreign Broadcast Information Service. These two defendants procured the most luxurious foodstuffs and clothes from abroad. Then he is treated like a normal citizen. He also refuses to recognize the new forum. The Times of Israel quotes Israeli oppositionists as accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of loathing Barack Obama so intensely it has endangering the Jewish states security. PROSECUTOR: Note the following: The defendant refuses to sign this statement. Captive: My Time as a Prisoner of the Taliban Ceausescu answers: As I said before, the people are fighting for their freedom and against this putsch, against this usurpation. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: Nobody can change the state structures. If he no longer has a certain function, he cannot demand anything at all. Getting a shut-off notice from a utility is also sufficient to claim a hardship exemption. 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 bill of indictment contains the following points: Genocide, in accordance with Article 356 of the penal code. No truth, no survival. 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. 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 You should have stayed in Iran where you had flown to. This speech was an annual event and carefully scripted by the regime to insure both success and the appearance of popular support. You were not used to talking to the people. This is a vulgar provocation. What do you say as a citizen? PROSECUTOR: Did you know about the genocide in Timisoara? 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. But who gave the order to shoot? 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. CEAUSESCU: I do not recognize you. The people were slaves. Rebranding Christianity (The World of Information) Tip Jar or Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the Belmont Club. They were even worse than the king, the former king of Romania. Within hours Ceauescu was beseiged inside the Central Committee building by irate crowds. CEAUSESCU: I do not recognize this court. Tens of thousands of people gathered in the early hours in front of the Intercontinental Hotel in Bucharest, undeterred by armoured vehicles. I have nothing to do with them. 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. Ceausescu sprinkles snow on his wife's head during yet another hunting trip in 1976. Not a single shot. However, why are your programs not implemented? Furnish proof! PROSECUTOR: Note the following: the defendant refuses to sign this statement. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: No one recognizes that. [1] The crowd, now totaling up to 80,000, were given orders on where to stand, when to applaud and what to sing. 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. That is why the people are fighting all over the country. Ceauescu's final speech is a speech delivered by Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauescu on 21 December 1989. What do you think? A flight into peril, flashbacks to underground action. Robert Ford, 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. Ceauescu's final speech is a speech delivered by Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauescu on 21 December 1989. Thousands of workers were bussed into the square under threat of being fired. Workers from a Bucharest power plant started chanting "Ti-mi-oa-ra! Shakespeare dramatized the turnabout in his famous scene. Why did you make the peasants starve? , Now career military personnel are speaking out through gritted teeth, insisting they speak for active-duty personnel who cannot talk without being punished. 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: This situation is known. PROSECUTOR: This is how you worked with the people and exercised your functions! These two defendants procured the most luxurious foodstuffs and clothes from abroad. What happened was that he was misled by Centralized Information. 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. This shows how little patriotism there is, how many treasonable offenses were committed. No one can dissolve the National Assembly. CEAUSESCU: No one recognizes that. He would be executed a few days later. I am now talking to you as simple citizens, and I hope that you will tell the truth. One announcer called it the heart of our nation. What do you say as a citizen? No one can ask Bergdahl, since he is now reported as being unable to speak to anyone including his family. 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. Plenara Comitetului Central al Partidului, Consiliul de Stat, Guvernul, repr. One of the fundamental defenses of a democracy is the truth. quotes Israeli oppositionists as accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of loathing Barack Obama so intensely it has endangering the Jewish states security. PROSECUTOR: The people are fighting against you, not against the new forum. PROSECUTOR: We have wonderful programs. CEAUSESCU: I will answer any question, but only at the Grand National Assembly, before the representatives of the working class. We want a legal trial. Now you know what members of our U.S. military are thinking and saying. Diane Dimond writes in Real Clear Politicsabout the low level grumbling that risen to detectable levels since the Bergdahl affair. PROSECUTOR: Nicolae Ceauescu should tell us why he does not answer our questions. 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: Will you sign the statement now or not? You were so impertinent as to cut off oxygen lines in hospitals and to shoot people in their hospital beds. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: Her scientific papers were published abroad! 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. I told you right at the beginning that I will not answer a single question. Soon afterwards, Bucharest television reported that Mr Ceauescu and his wife were no longer in the country. You were so impertinent as to cut off oxygen lines in hospitals and to shoot people in their hospital beds. Two: Armed attack on the people and the state power, in accordance with Article 163 of the penal code. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I will not sign anything. The day began as it ended with vehement anti-Ceauescu demonstrations. How can one say something like this? A horse or a hearse? COUNSEL FOR THE DEFENSE: Even though he like her committed insane acts, we want to defend them. We have data concerning both of them. The hardship exemption rules, for example, let anyone who experienced domestic violence avoid the mandate, without providing any documentation of abuse. Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway The National Salvation Front is now our supreme body. His security guard appears, disappears and, finally, hustles Ceausescu off the balcony. 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. ELENA CEAUSESCU: The terrorists are from Securitate. No one was shot. 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. This is a legal trial, and I honor them by defending them. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: We had no account in Switzerland. Elena and Nicolae Ceauescu should be punished in a really legal trial. I will not answer any question. CEAUSESCU: Her scientific papers were published abroad! JUDECATORUL: Va rog sa luati loc. The prosecutor wants to find out on which basis the trial can be continued. 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. And Elena says: It is incredible what they are inventing, incredible. I have no statement to make, and I will not sign one. I will not say anything here. This gang will be destroyed. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: She was not a deputy prime minister, but the first deputy prime minister. Are they the people, or are you paying them? And today you are acting in the same megalomaniac way. You are faced with charges that you held really sumptuous celebrations on all holidays at your house. They not only deprived the people of heating, electricity and foodstuffs, they also tyrannized the soul of the Romanian people. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: Is it possible that we are facing such charges? He still considers himself to be the country's president and the commander in chief of the army. But those who shot at the young people were the security men, the terrorists. 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: By now, there have been 34 casualties. He refused to undergo a psychiatric examination. And we will not betray our people here. They were only busy enslaving the people and building up an apparatus of power. PROSECUTOR: You have never been able to hold a dialogue with the people. What defamation, what provocations! 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 answer any question. It was one of the most pivotal moments in the Romanian Revolution of 1989. ELENA CEAUESCU: What genocide? Mr Ceauescus overthrow followed a week of carnage in which thousands of men, women and children protesting against his regime were killed in cold blood, and probably tens of thousands wounded. 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. I have so many issues with the presidents policies, including the most recent ones, he told me ruefully. PROSECUTOR: Well, Mr. This was a coup d'etat. Ceausescu begins his address to the people as he had in years past but this year the tide turned. As the other primary sources reveal, the Ceausescus were tried a few days later and executed as enemies of the new Romanian state. The next he was a hunted man. Here Nicolae Ceauescu steps in and defends her. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: No, the people are fighting for freedom and against the new forum. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I do not recognize this court. 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 . He also refuses to recognize the new forum. PROSECUTOR: This would serve your defense. He had been falling for a long time, and proved the last to know. Nobody has the right to abolish the Grand National Assembly. By the way, I will not answer any more questions. The prosecutor quotes Ceauescu, Ceauescu's program. has openly accused president Obama as unable to lead in world. A tyrant stops knowing the difference. It is as if, in that moment, everyday Romanian's saw the possibility, saw the reality of the weakness of Ceausescus regime. 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. Elena and Nicolae reject this. 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. They organized the putsch. He answers: I am the president of Romania, and I am the commander in chief of the Romanian army. The video- shown live on Romanian television-- shows his confusion and consternation and the barely audible comments. The two defendants should also know that they are entitled to a counsel for defense, even if they reject this. Dressed in a black Persian lamb hat with matching coat collar, Ceausesecu, 71, was . The prosecutor agrees, but stresses that they lived in them while the people suffered. We live in a normal apartment, just like every other citizen. 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. 23 December 1989: Nicolae Ceauescus overthrow follows a week of carnage in which thousands of protesters against his regime were killed in cold blood. You need not admit your mistakes, mister. 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. But those who shot at the young people were the security men, the terrorists. Richard III of England rode into Bosworth Field relying on his ally Baron Stanely to come to his aid. 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. The slippage that attracts the most attention of course, is discontent within the United States military. This speech was an annual event and carefully scripted by the regime to insure both success and the appearance of popular support. He did not realize, however, that a real revolution was starting right before his eyes. Storm Over the South China Sea $0.99, how China is restarting history in the Pacific At the beginning, Ceausescu claimed that it is a provocation to be asked whether he was sick. CEAUSESCU: She was not a deputy prime minister, but the first deputy prime minister. PROSECUTOR: Did you know about the genocide in Timisoara? Why do the peasants then buy their bread in Bucharest? The story ofCeauescus final speech is a textbook example. After many people began to exit the square, Ceauescu shouted over the public address system for them to "remain seated". 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. By the way, I will not answer any more questions. Faithless Execution: Building the Political Case for Obamas Impeachment 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. Therefore, it is a mistake for the two accused to refuse to cooperate with us. The story of Ceauescu's final speech is a textbook example. The Rise of Ceausescu Nicolae was a member of the communist youth movement. 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. By the morning of 22 December, the rebellion had already spread to all major cities across the country. You see, there is no use in talking to these people. PROSECUTOR: Why do you think that people are fighting today? 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. 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. "This is the final battle," he said. Not a single shot was fired in Palace Square. PROSECUTOR: We now have another leading organ. PROSECUTOR: Did you hear the charges? Rebranding Christianity for $3.99, or why the truth shall make you free Answer this question! Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu should be punished in a really legal trial. The prosecutor turns to Elena: You have always been wiser and more ready to talk, a scientist. 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. CEAUSESCU: No, we had no palaces. I will not speak with you provocateurs anymore, and I will not speak with the organizers of the putsch and with the mercenaries. Only a president who is still confirmed in his position can demand to speak at the Grand National Assembly. PROSECUTOR: Who gave the order to shoot in Bucharest, for instance? 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. The message was apparently sent on the understanding that Mr Ceauescu had been arrested. I will not say anything here. I will not answer you putschists, Ceauescu says. I just couldnt convince myself to do it., He is not alone. Elena answers: The intellectuals of this country should hear you, you and your colleagues. They were not really interested in the people. 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. ELENA CEAUESCU: How can one tell us something like this? PROSECUTOR: Who ordered shooting into the crowd? The English translation is by the U.S. government's Foreign Broadcast Information Service. I will only speak at the Grand National Assembly. PROSECUTOR: Children cannot even buy plain candy, and you are living in the palaces of the people. Bucharest television said that they had left the country. 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. Frederich Hayek identified the primary reason why tyrants fall: they rely on the poisoned cup of centralized knowledge. 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. At the moment the situation is rather uncertain. ELENA CEAUESCU: The intelligentsia of the country will hear what you are accusing us of. There is still shooting going on, the prosecutor says. The prosecutor quotes Ceausescu, Ceausescu's program. Only the front rows supported Ceauescu with cheers and applause, with most of the crowd remaining impassive. What do you think? 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. Ceausescu begins his address to the people as he had in years past but this year the tide turned. They were not really interested in the people. The palaces belong to the people. Nobody has the right to abolish the Grand National Assembly. 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. In response, the two laugh, and she says: We do not stay abroad. I only recognize the working class and the Grand National Assembly -- no one else. How can one say something like this? It can go on for a long time shedding parts, but eventually the axle falls out. Some people will continue to believe the narrative, but even among the acolytes, the fatal smoke of doubt has entered the temple. PROSECUTOR: Who gave the order to shoot in Bucharest, for instance? 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. It gave no further details. I have no statement to make, and I will not sign one. 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.

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