ceausescu last speech transcript

Elena and Nicolae Ceauescu should be punished in a really legal trial. 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 This is not possible. 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: Do you not know anything about the order to shoot? The crimes against the people grew year by year. I am a member and the chairwoman of the Academy of Sciences. Free shipping for many products! ELENA CEAUESCU: What genocide? 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 . What about the accounts? Eight minutes into the speech, some in the crowd actually began to scream because there was a shooting that occurred in the background. It is simply an accumulation of multitudes ignoring the official line bit by bit and thereby gradually placing themselves unwittingly in opposition to it. They were even worse than the king, the former king of Romania. I told you right at the beginning that I will not answer a single question. 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. And today you are acting in the same megalomaniac way. It should be stated once and for all that this military court is absolutely legal and that the former positions of the two Ceauescus are no longer valid. For example,the administration recently issued a new list of prisoners to be released from Guantanamo, citing theirpractice of yogaas proof they had reformed. The front rows of the assembly were made up of low-level Communist Party officials and members who acted as cheer-leaders. PROSECUTOR: We have always spoken of equality. This page was last modified on 10 April 2016, at 21:40. Nicolae Ceausescu delivers his last public speech in Bucharest on December 21, 1989. Ceauescu's speech of 21 August 1968 was a public address by Nicolae Ceauescu, General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party and President of the State Council of Romania, strongly condemning the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. Are they the people, or are you paying them? 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. This speech was an annual event and carefully scripted by the regime to ensure both success and the appearance of popular support. It is as if, in that moment, everyday Romanian's saw the possibility, saw the reality of the weakness of Ceausescus regime. Powered by Omeka, Roy Rosenzweig Center for History & New Media. 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. Elena and Nicolae Ceauescu must be held fully responsible for this. He refused to undergo a psychiatric examination. Quantum: Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate About the Nature of Reality One momentCeauescu was in total control of Romania, determined to crush his enemies. I will not speak with you provocateurs anymore, and I will not speak with the organizers of the putsch and with the mercenaries. . The next he was a hunted man. Print. 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. This is our home. No one can dissolve the National Assembly. ELENA CEAUSESCU: Accounts in Switzerland? All the world should know what is going on here. Why did you make the peasants starve? The bill of indictment contains the following points: Genocide, in accordance with Article 356 of the penal code. Usurpers have been punished severely during the past centuries in Romania's history. You were not used to talking to the people. This year, the crowd begins to chant unscripted comments back at the dictator. Its bulletins provide a dramatic account of the most important day in Romanias history since the Communist takeover in 1948. What happened was that he was misled by Centralized Information. As the other primary sources reveal, the Ceausescus were tried a few days later and executed as enemies of the new Romanian state. PROSECUTOR: Will you sign the statement now or not? 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. 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. I hope that you do not also work for the foreigners and for the destruction of Romania. Machine guns splattered against a background of church bells ringing in triumph. Sections in italic type are from Austrian television comentary: We have sufficient data on this period. It can go on for a long time shedding parts, but eventually the axle falls out. I ask the chairman of the prosecutor's office to read the bill of indictment. Captive: My Time as a Prisoner of the Taliban What prevents him from doing so? Ceauescu refused to answer. The English translation is by the U.S. government's Foreign Broadcast Information Service. A flight into peril, flashbacks to underground action. This shows again how false the charges are. Have you understood them? Free elections would be held as soon as possible, and independent media would be established. You held monologues and the people had to applaud, like in the rituals of tribal people. PROSECUTOR: Who ordered shooting into the crowd? Everybody should be paid according to his performance. The Times of Israel quotes Israeli oppositionists as accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of loathing Barack Obama so intensely it has endangering the Jewish states security. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: Her scientific papers were published abroad! PROSECUTOR: We now have another leading organ. A tyrant stops knowing the difference. The story of Ceauescu's final speech is a textbook example. This page was last edited on 8 October 2016, at 23:48. He answers: I am the president of Romania, and I am the commander in chief of the Romanian army. "Stenographic transcript of meeting of the Executive Committee of the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party," August 17, 1968, History . ELENA CEAUESCU: How can one tell us something like this? PROSECUTOR: Did you hear the charges? 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. Tax experts say the best it can do is withhold the penalty amount from any tax refund due. PROSECUTOR: Why do you think that people are fighting today? 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 charges are incorrect, and I will not answer a single question here. One announcer called it the heart of our nation. Elena keeps whispering to him. 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. PROSECUTOR: You claim to have taken measures so that every peasant is entitled to 200 kilograms of wheat. Why did you make the peasants starve? We want a legal trial. All Rights Reserved. They wanted to separate the people from the army. PROSECUTOR: Note the following: the defendant refuses to sign this statement. I will not speak with you provocateurs anymore, and I will not speak with the organizers of the putsch and with the mercenaries. These two defendants procured the most luxurious foodstuffs and clothes from abroad. Thousands of workers were bused into the square under threat of being fired. The balcony where Ceauescu delivered his last speech, taken over by the crowd during the Romanian Revolution of 1989 The speech was typical of most of Ceauescu's speeches over the years. 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 and Nicolae Ceauescu state: Well, you told us about it. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for The Land of Green Plums, Mller, Herta at the best online prices at eBay! The Securitate had hidden food reserves on which Bucharest could have survived for months, the whole of Bucharest. ELENA CEAUSESCU: Such impudence! 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You, as a scientist, did you know about it? PROSECUTOR: And who heads Securitate? 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. Only a few hours before the Genius of the Carpathians had been in apparently complete command. And you might perhaps have achieved the understanding of the Romanian people if you had now admitted your guilt. But who gave the order to shoot? Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu should be punished in a really legal trial. 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. Almost none of the uninsured will end up paying the ObamaCare mandate penalty, according to an updated analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, which found that 87% will be able to claim an exemption. CEAUSESCU: I will not answer this question. Ceausescu answers: As I said before, the people are fighting for their freedom and against this putsch, against this usurpation. [1], His security guard appeared, disappeared and, finally, hustled Ceauescu off the balcony. One of the most decisive moments in the Romanian Revolution of 1989 was Ceausescus December 21st speech (or lack thereof). The prosecutor agrees, but stresses that they lived in them while the people suffered. You were so impertinent as to cut off oxygen lines in hospitals and to shoot people in their hospital beds. This source is a part of the The Romanian Revolution of 1989 teaching module. As the other primary sources reveal, the Ceausescus were tried a few days later and executed as enemies of the new Romanian state. Please make a note that here it has been stated that all legal regulations have been observed, that this is a legal trial. Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway 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. One moment Ceauescu was in total control of Romania, determined to crush his enemies. It doesnt happen as one big wave. They obstructed the normal process of the economy. Within hours Ceauescu was beseiged inside the Central Committee building by irate crowds. 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. What do you think? I am a member and the chairwoman of the Academy of Sciences. PROSECUTOR: Whether you have ever had a mental illness. But we are not talking about people. 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. CEAUSESCU: I will not say anything more. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: No, the people are fighting for freedom and against the new forum. 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. It is as if, in that moment, everyday Romanian's saw the possibility, saw the reality of the weakness of Ceausescus regime. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: No, we had no palaces. COUNSEL FOR THE DEFENSE: Even though he -- like her -- committed insane acts, we want to defend them. The defendant has not recognized us. ELENA CEAUSESCU: Incredible. Stanley double-crossed Richard at the crucial moment. These two defendants have robbed the people, and not even today do they want to talk. quotes Israeli oppositionists as accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of loathing Barack Obama so intensely it has endangering the Jewish states security. The court notes that the investigations have been concluded. You, as a scientist, did you know about it? At some point the entire structure of governance becomes a system of workarounds with all real power devolved to the man on the ground. However, why are your programs not implemented? 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. I will not say anything here. 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. You held monologues and the people had to applaud, like in the rituals of tribal people. Nobody has the right to abolish the Grand National Assembly. 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. PROSECUTOR: The Grand National Assembly has been dissolved. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: She was not a deputy prime minister, but the first deputy prime minister. Whatever the reason, the result is that the penalty will raise $27 billion less over the next decade than the CBO had originally expected. PROSECUTOR: Note: He does not recognize the points mentioned in the bill of indictment. I am talking to you as simple citizens at the least, as simple citizens, and I tell you: I am the president of Romania. Because of this indictment, I call for the death sentence and the impounding of the entire property of the two accused. PROSECUTOR: But not of our army, you are not the commander in chief of our army. At that moment Elena says to Nicolae: Forget about them. Who pays them? These two defendants procured the most luxurious foodstuffs and clothes from abroad. Military base Tirgoviste - December 25th 1989. Ceauescu's final speech is a speech delivered by Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauescu on 21 December 1989. PROSECUTOR: That is to say, as a deputy prime minister you did not know about the genocide? PROSECUTOR: The terrorists are from Securitate? Two: Armed attack on the people and the state power, in accordance with Article 163 of the penal code. Military base Trgovite - December 25th 1989. 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. No one wanted to do anything for you anymore. You should have stayed in Iran where you had flown to. The English translation is by the U.S. government's Foreign Broadcast Information Service. PROSECUTOR: The Grand National Assembly has been dissolved. After an outage of transmission of Romanian television, the speaker announces the verdict in the trial of Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu is death sentence. Soon afterwards, Bucharest television reported that Mr Ceauescu and his wife were no longer in the country. We have sacrificed all our lives to the people. He was a cosignatory of an open letter harshly critical of the Ceauescu region which appeared last march. 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. This is where President Ceausescu gave his final speech in December 1989, before fleeing Bucharest. We have data concerning both of them. 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. This shows how little patriotism there is, how many treasonable offenses were committed. As the crowd becomes more unruly, Ceausescu becomes more confused and he begins arguing with the unseen hecklers. Ceauescu answers: As I said before, the people are fighting for their freedom and against this putsch, against this usurpation. At the moment the situation is rather uncertain. Ceausescu and his wife were later captured, tried, and executed. You cannot talk to me in such a way! PROSECUTOR: Please, make a note: Ceausescu does not recognize the new legal structures of power of the country. 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. Rebranding Christianity for $3.99, or why the truth shall make you free The charges are incorrect, and I will not answer a single question here. A voice in the studio said that the army was wholly on the side 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. This shows again how false the charges are. PROSECUTOR: By now, there have been 34 casualties. Ceausescu's last speech was interrupted but not by the shouts of the masses. The trial of Nicolae and Elena Ceauescu was held on 25 December 1989 by an Exceptional Military Tribunal, a drumhead court-martial created at the request of a newly formed group called the National Salvation Front. If he no longer has a certain function, he cannot demand anything at all. You told us about it here. 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. 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. Tell us! When the crisis comes the Leader Maximus discovers to his absolute surprise that all support has vanished. Recent items of interest by Belmont readers based on Amazon click-throughs. Another question to Ceauescu: Who ordered the bloodbath in Timisoara. Therefore, it is a mistake for the two accused to refuse to cooperate with us. PROSECUTOR: We have always spoken of equality. The palaces belong to the people. 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. PROSECUTOR: Who ordered shooting into the crowd? We are all equal. We have ensured an apartment for every citizen through corresponding laws. The prosecutor wants to find out on which basis the trial can be continued. Not a single shot. Now we finally saw your villa on television, the golden plates from which you ate, the foodstuffs that you had imported, the luxurious celebrations, pictures from your luxurious celebrations. Elena says: Look, and that they are calling genocide. Now we are making a last attempt. Last modified on Sun 29 Mar 2020 07.01 EDT 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. I do not recognize the court. You cannot talk to me in such a way! The truth shall set you free, even if it makes you miserable. The destruction of buildings and state institutions, undermining of the national economy, in accordance with Articles 165 and 145 of the penal code. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: 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. Elena answers: The intellectuals of this country should hear you, you and your colleagues. After many people began to exit the square, Ceauescu shouted over the public address system for them to "remain seated". CEAUSESCU: We had no account in Switzerland. I will only speak at the Grand National Assembly. We will speak only at the National Assembly, because we have worked hard for the people all our lives. And we will not betray our people here. What defamation, what provocations! Why do the peasants then buy their bread in Bucharest? The streets and squares of Bucharest were littered with torn portraits and shattered busts of the President and his wife. You need not admit your mistakes, mister. The video- shown live on Romanian television-- shows his confusion and consternation and the barely audible comments. This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Mr. President, I would like to know something: the accused should tell us who the mercenaries are. This speech was an annual event and carefully scripted by the regime to insure both success and the appearance of popular support. Its just that he makes it so hard to do so.. PROSECUTOR: And who wrote the papers for you, Elena? I am the president of the people. Ti-mi-oa-ra! Workers from a Bucharest power plant started chanting Ti-mi-oa-ra! 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 Nobody is likely to rise up and become a Man on Horseback. Rhodesian Mercenary Mike Rousseau, Freightliner Color Code Location, Articles C