PROSECUTOR: In the same way he refused to hold a dialogue with the people, now he also refuses to speak with us. 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. Centralized regimes may seem to collapse suddenly, yet in reality they have been coming apart for a long time. Rebranding Christianity for $3.99, or why the truth shall make you free Another question . 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. I will only speak at the Grand National Assembly. They used to fetch people from orphans' homes or from abroad whom they trained in special institutions to become murderers of their own people. 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 must be cleared up whether Ceauescu wants to, should, must or can answer at all. Diane Dimond writes in Real Clear Politicsabout the low level grumbling that risen to detectable levels since the Bergdahl affair. They organized the putsch. PROSECUTOR: Please, make a note: Ceausescu does not recognize the new legal structures of power of the country. PROSECUTOR: Children cannot even buy plain candy, and you are living in the palaces of the people. Then he is treated like a normal citizen. By the way, I will not answer any more questions. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: Her scientific papers were published abroad! They are speaking about injustice, ineptitude and impeachment. After many people began to exit the square, Ceauescu shouted over the public address system for them to "remain seated". Ceauescu answers: As I said before, the people are fighting for their freedom and against this putsch, against this usurpation. The prosecutor asks the counsel for the defense to ask Ceausescu whether he knows that he is no longer president of the country, that Elena Ceausescu has also lost all her official state functions and that the government has been dissolved. 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. 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 Ceauescus to death. The charges are incorrect, and I will not answer a single question here. ELENA CEAUESCU: Incredible. A voice in the studio said that the army was wholly on the side of the people. The notorious programme of razing villages in the countryside would be halted. The details are known. At the beginning, Ceauescu claimed that it is a provocation to be asked whether he was sick. . Paper is patient. Ti-mi-oa-ra! They will receive a link in their email and it will automatically give them access to a Kindle reader on their smartphone, computer or even as a web-readable document. I hope that you do not also work for the foreigners and for the destruction of Romania. This shows again how false the charges are. The front rows of the assembly were made up of low-level Communist Party officials and members who acted as cheer-leaders. , 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. This demonstrates their lack of understanding. PROSECUTOR: Who gave the order to shoot in Bucharest, for instance? It must be cleared up whether Ceausescu wants to, should, must or can answer at all. 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. The collapse of the narrative doesnt happen in a single big step, but through an accumulation of small, personal, often innocuous refusals. 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. CEAUSESCU: I will not answer this question. Tell us! COUNSEL FOR THE DEFENSE: Even though he -- like her -- committed insane acts, we want to defend them. The people only received 200 grams per day, against an identity card. "This is the final battle," he said. The National Salvation Front is now our supreme body. We have sacrificed all our lives to the people. PROSECUTOR: Let us now talk about the accounts in Switzerland, Mr. Ceausescu. 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. These two defendants have robbed the people, and not even today do they want to talk. Nicolae Ceauescu had been making speeches for over a couple of decades. You were so impertinent as to cut off oxygen lines in hospitals and to shoot people in their hospital beds. We must not allow the slightest impression of illegality to emerge. You, as a scientist, did you know about it? And I also do not recognize the counsel for the defense. The Man at the Top increasingly pulls on disconnected controls, yet still imagines he is in charge. Tens of thousands of people gathered in the early hours in front of the Intercontinental Hotel in Bucharest, undeterred by armoured vehicles. We are all equal. In the uprising by people against Ceausescu during this speech and in subsequent days 1,058 people lost there lives. Elena and Nicolae reject this. Ceausescu and his wife were later captured, tried, and executed. We have data concerning both of them. Captive: My Time as a Prisoner of the Taliban What prevents him from doing so? Elena and Nicolae Ceauescu state: Well, you told us about it. Military base Tirgoviste - December 25th 1989. They were only busy enslaving the people and building up an apparatus of power. 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. They are not only accused of offenses committed during the past few days, but of offenses committed during the past 25 years. We have data concerning both of them. ELENA CEAUESCU: The terrorists are from Securitate. 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. 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. In response, the two laugh, and she says: We do not stay abroad. Whatever the reason, the result is that the penalty will raise $27 billion less over the next decade than the CBO had originally expected. Because of this indictment, I call for the death sentence and the impounding of the entire property of the two accused. They wanted to separate the people from the army. If you had had a mental illness and admitted this, you would not be responsible for your acts. 105). NICOLAE CEAUESCU: We had no account in Switzerland. From the archive, 23 December 1989: Celebration as a nation emerges from the dark, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I do not answer, I will only answer questions before the Grand National Assembly. ELENA CEAUSESCU: We will not sign any statement. 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. 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. 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. And who brought them into the country? . Transcript of the closed trial of Nicolae and Elena Ceauescu, https://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Transcript_of_the_closed_trial_of_Nicolae_and_Elena_Ceauescu&oldid=6470911, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. After an outage of transmission of Romanian television, the speaker announces the verdict in the trial of Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu is death sentence. Plenara Comitetului Central al Partidului, Consiliul de Stat, Guvernul, repr. PROSECUTOR: Let us now talk about the accounts in Switzerland, Mr. Ceauescu. Nobody is likely to rise up and become a Man on Horseback. But we are not talking about people. I am talking to you as simple citizens at the least, as simple citizens, and I tell you: I am the president of Romania. But we are not talking about people. PROSECUTOR: This is how you worked with the people and exercised your functions! The Lion and the Unicorn: Gladstone vs. Disraeli Elena answers: The intellectuals of this country should hear you, you and your colleagues. PROSECUTOR: In all district capitals, which you grandly called municipalities, there is shooting going on. You, as a scientist, did you know about it? Ti-mi-oa-ra!a chant that was soon picked up by others in the crowd. Thousands of workers were bused into the square under threat of being fired. 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. I do not recognize this court. CEAUSESCU: I will not answer. Sections in italic type are from the austrian television comentary: The truth shall set you free, even if it makes you miserable. Richard is soon unhorsed on the field at the climax of the battle, and cries out, A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse! But wags through the ages have rewritten the lines perhaps less poetically, but more accurately as a hearse, a hearse, my kingdom for a hearse. That sad funereal vehicle is always drawn by teams of corrupt information. 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. The prosecutor cites all academic titles she had always claimed to have. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Mr. President, I would like to know something: The accused should tell us who the mercenaries are. 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, the people are fighting for freedom and against the new forum. 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. Storming the Castle at Amazon Kindle for $3.99, why government should get small 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. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: You as officers should know that the government cannot give the order to shoot. The prosecutor wants to find out on which basis the trial can be continued. You have information about it. Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu must be held fully responsible for this. It is surpassingly perilous not only for the country, but also for the ruler who relies on it. What about the accounts? This speech was an annual event and carefully scripted by the regime to insure both success and the appearance of popular support. 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. We are all equal. I have nothing to do with them. It is a lie that I made the people starve. Another question to Ceausescu: Who ordered the bloodbath in Timisoara. We live in a normal apartment, just like every other citizen. a silent falling away among American allies. I guaranteed that every village has its schools, hospitals and doctors. The story of Ceauescu's final speech is a textbook example. PROSECUTOR: But not of our army, you are not the commander in chief of our army. PROSECUTOR: Please, ask Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu whether they have ever had a mental illness. Centralized Information as Hayek points out, eventually becomes the Official Lie. You have information about it. A photo of a television screen of Nicolae Ceauescu delivering his last public speech from the balcony of the Romanian Communist Party headquarters, 21 December 1989. 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. 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. PROSECUTOR: Did you hear the charges? PROSECUTOR: We now have another leading organ. PROSECUTOR: So you know the new forum. Please make a note that here it has been stated that all legal regulations have been observed, that this is a legal trial. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: No, we had no palaces. Ceauescu refused to answer. Who are these fanatics? The Rise of Ceausescu Nicolae was a member of the communist youth movement. You held monologues and the people had to applaud, like in the rituals of tribal people. You need not admit your mistakes, mister. CEAUSESCU: I repeat: I am the president of Romania and the commander in chief of the Romanian army. A later article shows that Australia is moving toward purchasing Japanese submarines to replace its existing fleet. It can go on for a long time shedding parts, but eventually the axle falls out. 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. About PROSECUTOR: Who ordered shooting into the crowd? The story ofCeauescus final speech is a textbook example. 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. As hard as it may be to believe, there was a time when . I will not speak with you provocateurs anymore, and I will not speak with the organizers of the putsch and with the mercenaries. 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. He also refuses to recognize the new forum. These two defendants have robbed the people, and not even today do they want to talk. Tax experts say the best it can do is withhold the penalty amount from any tax refund due. He was arrested and imprisoned multiple times. All strategic points in the country were said to be under the control of the people. 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. PROSECUTOR: Please, make a note: Ceauescu does not recognize the new legal structures of power of the country. PROSECUTOR: Who ordered shooting into the crowd? 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. At that moment Elena says to Nicolae: Forget about them. Watching the "Video of Ceausescu's Last Speech" on the Making the History of 1989 website, a speech which Nikolae Ceausescu made on 21 December 1989, I was curious to see what the disturbance was that so rattled Ceausescu because by the end of the speech it appears a semblance of order had returned. PROSECUTOR: Nicolae Ceauescu should tell us why he does not answer our questions. Earlier, joyful crowds had paraded through the city after reports that Mr Ceauescu had been arrested after trying to flee from the roof of the party headquarters by helicopter. The prosecutor turns to Elena: You have always been wiser and more ready to talk, a scientist. Elena keeps whispering to him. He refused to undergo a psychiatric examination. Please make a note that here it has been stated that all legal regulations have been observed, that this is a legal trial. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: Nobody can change the state structures. ELENA CEAUSESCU: I will not answer. A little noticed article in the Sydney Morning Herald notes that Australia will support Japans effort to repeal its pacifist constitution. 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. At that moment Elena says to Nicolae: Forget about them. Military base Trgovite - December 25th 1989. They obstructed the normal process of the economy. Are they the people, or are you paying them? 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. PROSECUTOR: By now, there have been 34 casualties. PROSECUTOR: Did you know about the genocide or did you, as a chemist, only deal with polymers? 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. You were the most important aide, the number two in the cabinet, in the government. PROSECUTOR: Note: He does not recognize the points mentioned in the bill of indictment. Elena keeps whispering to him. 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. Machine guns splattered against a background of church bells ringing in triumph. Quantum: Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate About the Nature of Reality NICOLAE CEAUESCU: No, we will not sign. This is a legal trial, and I honor them by defending them. 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 problem with the Narrative is that it suppresses the dispersed information by insisting on the centralized knowledge, on stories the elite make up themselves. ELENA CEAUSESCU: Incredible. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: No, no. No one wanted to do anything for you anymore. And Elena says: It is incredible what they are inventing, incredible. , Now career military personnel are speaking out through gritted teeth, insisting they speak for active-duty personnel who cannot talk without being punished. Elena answers: The intellectuals of this country should hear you, you and your colleagues. But who gave the order to shoot? ELENA CEAUESCU: I will not answer. PROSECUTOR: We have always spoken of equality. I will not answer anymore. 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. This year, the crowd begins to chant unscripted comments back at the dictator. And Elena says: It is incredible what they are inventing, incredible. Not a single shot was fired in Palace Square. PROSECUTOR: Whether you have ever had a mental illness. The people were slaves. ELENA CEAUESCU: Accounts in Switzerland? CHIEF PROSECUTOR: Esteemed chairman of the court, today we have to pass a verdict on the defendants Nicolae Ceausescu and Elena Ceausescu who have committed the following offenses: Crimes against the people. CEAUSESCU: We had no account in Switzerland. This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content. Furnish proof! Elena and Nicolae Ceauescu should be punished in a really legal trial. The destruction of buildings and state institutions, undermining of the national economy, in accordance with Articles 165 and 145 of the penal code. This page was last modified on 10 April 2016, at 21:40. I am the president of the people. CEAUSESCU: This is not possible at all. That is why the people are fighting all over the country. He refused to undergo a psychiatric examination. PROSECUTOR: Did you know about the genocide or did you, as a chemist, only deal with polymers? ELENA CEAUESCU: We will not sign any statement. However, why are your programs not implemented? The mighty Law of the Land is exposed as all bark and no bite; a fine they cant enforce. No, no, he says. The Defence Minister, General Vasile Milea, was said to have committed suicide although it is equally possible he was shot by a member of the Ceauescu retinue. This source is a part of the The Romanian Revolution of 1989 teaching module. The palaces belong to the people. I only recognize the working class and the Grand National Assembly no one else.
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ceausescu last speech transcript