ceausescu last speech transcript ceausescu last speech transcript

We live in a normal apartment, just like every other citizen. He was Secre. I am now talking to you as simple citizens, and I hope that you will tell the truth. Since the old government has been dissolved and Ceauescu has lost his functions, he no longer has the right to be treated as the president. 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. You were the most important aide, the number two in the cabinet, in the government. 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. What prevents him from doing so? When the crisis comes the Leader Maximus discovers to his absolute surprise that all support has vanished. We will speak only at the National Assembly, because we have worked hard for the people all our lives. ELENA CEAUSESCU: The intelligentsia of the country will hear what you are accusing us of. 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: You as officers should know that the government cannot give the order to shoot. Copyright 2023 PJMedia.com/Salem Media. It must be cleared up whether Ceausescu wants to, should, must or can answer at all. 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. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I do not recognize this court. At the moment the situation is rather uncertain. Usurpers have been punished severely during the past centuries in Romania's history. This shows again how false the charges are. The video- shown live on Romanian television-- shows his confusion and consternation and the barely audible comments. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Mr. President, I would like to know something: the accused should tell us who the mercenaries are. Elena says: Look, and that they are calling genocide. About The bill of indictment contains the following points: Genocide, in accordance with Article 356 of the penal code. Paper is patient. 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. I am a member and the chairwoman of the Academy of Sciences. Elena says: Look, and that they are calling genocide. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: She was not a deputy prime minister, but the first deputy prime minister. They not only killed children, young people and adults in Timisoara and Bucharest; they allowed Securitate members to wear military uniforms to create the impression among the people that the army is against them. 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. The people only received 200 grams per day, against an identity card. This is not possible. The palaces belong to the people. All their property will be impounded. PROSECUTOR: In all district capitals, which you grandly called municipalities, there is shooting going on. PROSECUTOR: The people are fighting against you, not against the new forum. PROSECUTOR: So you know the new forum. Elena Ceauescu's last moments were as pathetic as one could imagine. 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. The crowd, now totaling up to 80,000, were given orders on where to stand, when to applaud and what to sing. This is our home. The defendant has not recognized us. Tell us! 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. They not only killed children, young people and adults in Timisoara and Bucharest; they allowed Securitate members to wear military uniforms to create the impression among the people that the army is against them. , 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. 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. His security guard appears, disappears and, finally, hustles Ceausescu off the balcony. We will speak only at the National Assembly, because we have worked hard for the people all our lives. At the beginning, Ceausescu claimed that it is a provocation to be asked whether he was sick. This is where President Ceausescu gave his final speech in December 1989, before fleeing Bucharest. 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. 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. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I do not recognize you. He still considers himself to be the country's president and the commander in chief of the army. 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. They cultivated the soil in line with your orders and had nothing to eat. PROSECUTOR: We now have another leading organ. I will not answer any question. They wanted to separate the people from the army. This gang will be destroyed. But we are not talking about people. They wanted to separate the people from the army. Ceauescu claims that the putsch was organized from abroad. They are speaking about injustice, ineptitude and impeachment. What prevents him from doing so? At that moment Elena says to Nicolae: Forget about them. Stanley double-crossed Richard at the crucial moment. What do you think? All Rights Reserved. Yet there is a big difference between grousing, which is endemic to the military, and actual rebellion. I ask the chairman of the prosecutor's office to read the bill of indictment. Two: Armed attack on the people and the state power, in accordance with Article 163 of the penal code. In the early evening, it was announced that a National Democracy Committee had been formed, made up of uncompromised military commanders, students and intellectuals. Elena and Nicolae Ceauescu state: Well, you told us about it. However, they will be indicted, and a sentence will be passed on the basis of the new legal system. ELENA CEAUESCU: Accounts in Switzerland? PROSECUTOR: Will you sign the statement now or not? PROSECUTOR: We have always spoken of equality. They not only deprived the people of heating, electricity and foodstuffs, they also tyrannized the soul of the Romanian people. They were even worse than the king, the former king of Romania. As a result, the prosecutor says: Elena has always been talkative, but otherwise she does not know much. ALISON SMALE December 21, 1989. I told you right at the beginning that I will not answer a single question. ELENA CEAUSESCU: How can one tell us something like this? Ceausescu answers: As I said before, the people are fighting for their freedom and against this putsch, against this usurpation. PROSECUTOR: Note the following: The defendant refuses to sign this statement. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: We will discuss this before the Grand National Assembly. 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. Tell the people that I will answer all their questions. Why do the peasants then buy their bread in Bucharest? PROSECUTOR: The Grand National Assembly has been dissolved. The two defendants should also know that they are entitled to a counsel for defense, even if they reject this. Any actual attempts to fine 30 million Americans would end in a political disaster. A caretaker government was announced within an hour of the dictators capture. In the uprising by people against Ceausescu during this speech and in subsequent days 1,058 people lost there lives. This is a vulgar provocation. Ceauescu's final speech is a speech delivered by Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauescu on 21 December 1989. No one can deprive me of these functions. 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. Sudden realizations are like a crash; its not the fact of deceleration that is fatal so much as the suddenness of it. 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. The prosecutor says: The world already knows what has happened here. I have observed that she is not even able to read correctly, but she calls herself an university graduate. In 1947, King Michael showed more dignity than you. ELENA CEAUESCU: We will not sign any statement. Please make a note that here it has been stated that all legal regulations have been observed, that this is a legal trial. PROSECUTOR: We have wonderful programs. No, no, he says. The destruction of buildings and state institutions, undermining of the national economy, in accordance with Articles 165 and 145 of the penal code. Bucharest television said that they had left the country. 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. In the second stage their edicts become unenforceable from sheer impracticability. CEAUSESCU: No, we had no palaces. What do you say as a citizen? NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I will not answer this question. 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). The charges are incorrect, and I will not answer a single question here. 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. You should have stayed in Iran where you had flown to. PROSECUTOR: You claim to have taken measures so that every peasant is entitled to 200 kilograms of wheat. The bill of indictment contains the following points: Genocide, in accordance with Article 356 of the penal code. Here Nicolae Ceausescu steps in and defends her. PROSECUTOR: This is how you worked with the people and exercised your functions! I am the president of the people. The court notes that the investigations have been concluded. Later reports suggested the couple had been captured. "Stenographic transcript of meeting of the Executive Committee of the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party," August 17, 1968, History . What happened was that he was misled by Centralized Information. No, no, he says. 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. By the way, I will not answer any more questions. Sooner or later an administration neuters itself from sheer implausibility. 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. . But rebellion begins involuntarily, at the Hayekian level. The Three Conjectures at Amazon Kindle for $1.99, reflections on terrorism and the nuclear age 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. He was a cosignatory of an open letter harshly critical of the Ceauescu region which appeared last march. CEAUSESCU: I do not recognize you. CEAUSESCU: I repeat: I am the president of Romania and the commander in chief of the Romanian army. As the other primary sources reveal, the Ceausescus were tried a few days later and executed as enemies of the new Romanian state. PROSECUTOR: The terrorists are from Securitate? He did not realize, however, that a real revolution was starting right before his eyes. Who are these fanatics? But who gave the order to shoot? I am talking to you as simple citizens at the least, as simple citizens, and I tell you: I am the president of Romania. 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. Despite this, I ask the court to make a decision which we will be able to justify later as well. 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. PROSECUTOR: Children cannot even buy plain candy, and you are living in the palaces of the people. Thousands of workers were bussed into the square under threat of being fired. PROSECUTOR: And who wrote the papers for you, Elena? We must not allow the slightest impression of illegality to emerge. The hardship exemption rules, for example, let anyone who experienced domestic violence avoid the mandate, without providing any documentation of abuse. Diane Dimond writes in Real Clear Politicsabout the low level grumbling that risen to detectable levels since the Bergdahl affair. PROSECUTOR: This is how you worked with the people and exercised your functions! ELENA CEAUSESCU: Incredible. 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. And I also do not recognize the counsel for the defense. In 1947, we assumed power, but under completely different circumstances. You are faced with charges that you held really sumptuous celebrations on all holidays at your house. 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 story of Ceauescu's final speech is a textbook example. 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. Sections in italic type are from Austrian television comentary: This shows how little patriotism there is, how many treasonable offenses were committed. Military base Trgovite - December 25th 1989. One momentCeauescu was in total control of Romania, determined to crush his enemies. 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. These two defendants procured the most luxurious foodstuffs and clothes from abroad. But by then there was nowhere to hide. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I do not recognize this court. You held monologues and the people had to applaud, like in the rituals of tribal people. 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. If he no longer has a certain function, he cannot demand anything at all. A tyrant stops knowing the difference. 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. It is as if, in that moment, everyday Romanian's saw the possibility, saw the reality of the weakness of Ceausescus regime. I am a member and the chairwoman of the Academy of Sciences. , 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. 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. PROSECUTOR: This situation is known. PROSECUTOR: Yes, but you are paying the mercenaries. We want a legal trial. I do not recognize this court. I will not say anything here. And Elena says: It is incredible what they are inventing, incredible. His talks with Dubcek focused primarily on the events that had unfolded in Czechoslovakia over the last several months. Only the front rows supported Ceauescu with cheers and applause, with most of the crowd remaining impassive. I am the president of the people. The front rows of the assembly were made up of low-level Communist Party officials and members who acted as cheer-leaders. COUNSEL FOR THE DEFENSE: Even though he -- like her -- committed insane acts, we want to defend them. 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 entire intelligentsia of the country ran away. The defendant has not recognized us. ELENA CEAUESCU: Incredible. You told us about it here. Storm Over the South China Sea $0.99, how China is restarting history in the Pacific The people were slaves. Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu should be punished in a really legal trial. "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. 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. A little noticed article in the, notes that Australia will support Japans effort to repeal its pacifist constitution. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: No one recognizes that. One of the first acts of the new leadership was to place the security forces, the dreaded Securitate, under control of the army. It was one of the most pivotal moments in the Romanian Revolution of 1989. The streets and squares of Bucharest were littered with torn portraits and shattered busts of the President and his wife. 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.. PROSECUTOR: Do you not know anything about the order to shoot? I have no statement to make, and I will not sign one. Paper is patient. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: No, the people are fighting for freedom and against the new forum. If you had had a mental illness and admitted this, you would not be responsible for your acts. 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. CEAUSESCU: I will not say anything more. 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