But who gave the order to shoot? Mystery surrounded the whereabouts of the former President and his wife, Elena, last night. Now the counsel for the defense, who was appointed by the court, asks whether Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu know the aforementioned facts -- that he is no longer president, that she has lost all official functions. 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. "a chant that was soon picked up by others in the crowd. I have nothing to do with them. Sooner or later an administration neuters itself from sheer implausibility. I will only speak at the Grand National Assembly. 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`. Ceauescu claims that the putsch was organized from abroad. As the other primary sources reveal, the Ceausescus were tried a few days later and executed as enemies of the new Romanian state. Quantum: Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate About the Nature of Reality The Times of Israel quotes Israeli oppositionists as accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of loathing Barack Obama so intensely it has endangering the Jewish states security. CEAUSESCU: Nobody can change the state structures. Thousands of workers were bussed into the square under threat of being fired. 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. , 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. Elena answers: The intellectuals of this country should hear you, you and your colleagues. The details are known. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Mr. President, I would like to know something: The accused should tell us who the mercenaries are. You were the most important aide, the number two in the cabinet, in the government. How can one say something like this? All their property will be impounded. 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. Dressed in a black Persian lamb hat with matching coat collar, Ceausesecu, 71, was . It must be cleared up whether Ceausescu wants to, should, must or can answer at all. In 1947, we assumed power, but under completely different circumstances. One of the most decisive moments in the Romanian Revolution of 1989 was Ceausescus December 21st speech (or lack thereof). 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. And Elena says: It is incredible what they are inventing, incredible. And the next moment he was lying in the dust. Are they the people, or are you paying them? They are not only accused of offenses committed during the past few days, but of offenses committed during the past 25 years. ELENA CEAUSESCU: We will not sign any statement. 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. I guaranteed that every village has its schools, hospitals and doctors. Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu must be held fully responsible for this. PROSECUTOR: Whether you have ever had a mental illness. Did you know that you can purchase some of these books and pamphlets by Richard Fernandez and share them with you friends? 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.. I only recognize the working class and the Grand National Assembly -- no one else. In the early evening, it was announced that a National Democracy Committee had been formed, made up of uncompromised military commanders, students and intellectuals. 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. What about the accounts? Elena keeps whispering to him. Fiction. [1], His security guard appeared, disappeared and, finally, hustled Ceauescu off the balcony. I will not speak with you provocateurs anymore, and I will not speak with the organizers of the putsch and with the mercenaries. At the moment the situation is rather uncertain. I am talking to you as simple citizens at the least, as simple citizens, and I tell you: I am the president of Romania. The people were slaves. Shakespeare dramatized the turnabout in his famous scene. PROSECUTOR: Who ordered shooting into the crowd? I will not answer you putschists, Ceauescu says. I do not recognize this court. The prosecutor turns to Elena: You have always been wiser and more ready to talk, a scientist. The details are known. 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. You were not used to talking to the people. Sections in italic type are from Austrian television comentary: NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I only recognize the Grand National Assembly. This is a vulgar provocation. All their property will be impounded. The court notes that the investigations have been concluded. 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. PROSECUTOR: And who heads Securitate? PROSECUTOR: Did you know about the genocide or did you, as a chemist, only deal with polymers? This shows again how false the charges are. All Rights Reserved. Suntem in fata unui tribunal al poporului. PROSECUTOR: Please, make a note: Nicolae Ceausescu refuses to cooperate with the court-appointed counsel for the defense. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: This is not possible at all. Ceauescu was finally cornered in a small town, where he and his wife were subjected to a summary trial, taken out to the courtyard and shot. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: No, we had no palaces. The prosecutor agrees, but stresses that they lived in them while the people suffered. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Mr. President, I would like to know something: the accused should tell us who the mercenaries are. Military base Trgovite - December 25th 1989. CEAUSESCU: I do not recognize this court. "Video of Ceausescus Last Speech, December 1989," Making the History of 1989, Item #696, https://chnm.gmu.edu/1989/items/show/696 (accessed May 28 2021, 3:24 pm). PROSECUTOR: This would serve your defense. CEAUSESCU: I repeat: I am the president of Romania and the commander in chief of the Romanian army. , Now career military personnel are speaking out through gritted teeth, insisting they speak for active-duty personnel who cannot talk without being punished. PROSECUTOR: The Grand National Assembly has been dissolved. PROSECUTOR: In all district capitals, which you grandly called municipalities, there is shooting going on. 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. Elena and Nicolae Ceasescu state: Well, you told us about it. Finally, I would like to refer once more to the genocide, the numerous killings carried out during the past few days. The prosecutor wants to find out on which basis the trial can be continued. Two: Armed attack on the people and the state power, in accordance with Article 163 of the penal code. What about the accounts? ALISON SMALE December 21, 1989. As hard as it may be to believe, there was a time when . I will not say anything here. If he no longer has a certain function, he cannot demand anything at all. You cannot talk to me in such a way! By the way, I will not answer any more questions. PROSECUTOR: Nicolae Ceauescu should tell us why he does not answer our questions. They obstructed the normal process of the economy. However, they will be indicted, and a sentence will be passed on the basis of the new legal system. Within hours Ceauescu was beseiged inside the Central Committee building by irate crowds. Its not that we dont want to respect the commander-in-chief, one told me sadly. But their triumph was marred by the first confused reports of fresh bloodshed in the early evening following heavy machine-gun fire in Bucharests Republic Square. This shows again how false the charges are. The mighty Law of the Land is exposed as all bark and no bite; a fine they cant enforce. 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 answers: As I said before, the people are fighting for their freedom and against this putsch, against this usurpation. Its provisional leader is the 73-year-old former Foreign Minister, Mr Corneliu Mnescu. We have sufficient data on this period. CEAUSESCU: I do not recognize this court. Thousands of workers were bused into the square under threat of being fired. PROSECUTOR: The terrorists are from Securitate? Nobody has opened an account. Not a single shot. One day Obama may wake up and find the alliances just gone. His 1936 mugshot at age 18 still haunts the internet. 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. Sections in italic type are from the austrian television comentary: PROSECUTOR: That is to say, as a deputy prime minister you did not know about the genocide? PROSECUTOR: In the same way he refused to hold a dialogue with the people, now he also refuses to speak with us. You are faced with charges that you held really sumptuous celebrations on all holidays at your house. Only the front rows supported Ceauescu with cheers and applause, with most of the crowd remaining impassive. 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. We have sacrificed all our lives to the people. As a result, the prosecutor says: Elena has always been talkative, but otherwise she does not know much. There is still shooting going on, the prosecutor says. Have you understood them? Ceausescu sprinkles snow on his wife's head during yet another hunting trip in 1976. Nicolae Ceausescu delivers his last public speech in Bucharest on December 21, 1989. It is simply an accumulation of multitudes ignoring the official line bit by bit and thereby gradually placing themselves unwittingly in opposition to it. A little noticed article in the, notes that Australia will support Japans effort to repeal its pacifist constitution. CEAUSESCU: We will discuss this before the Grand National Assembly. The day began as it ended with vehement anti-Ceauescu demonstrations. The workers were augmented by bystanders who were rounded up on Calea Victoriei. The catastrophic situation of the country is known all over the world. Furnish proof! The people only received 200 grams per day, against an identity card. Here Nicolae Ceausescu steps in and defends her. As the crowd becomes more unruly, Ceausescu becomes more confused and he begins arguing with the unseen hecklers. 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. Furnish proof! I have no statement to make, and I will not sign one. PROSECUTOR: Note the following: The defendant refuses to sign this statement. That is why the people are fighting all over the country. The front rows of the assembly were made up of low-level Communist Party officials and members who acted as cheer-leaders. This was a coup d'etat. The crimes against the people grew year by year. You told us about it here. 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. 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: No one recognizes that. 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: Note the following: the defendant refuses to sign this statement. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I repeat: I am the president of Romania and the commander in chief of the Romanian army. This speech was an annual event and carefully scripted by the regime to ensure both success and the appearance of popular support. Bundled in drab winter clothing, she was shoved around by armed guards inside a cold, empty building. 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. They are cowards. 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. Another question . The truth shall set you free, even if it makes you miserable. By the morning of 22 December, the rebellion had already spread to all major cities across the country. Why do the peasants then buy their bread in Bucharest? What do you say as a citizen? Tip Jar or Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the Belmont Club, George Ciampa, an 89-year old D-Day veteran, Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway, Faithless Execution: Building the Political Case for Obamas Impeachment, Captive: My Time as a Prisoner of the Taliban, Quantum: Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate About the Nature of Reality, The Idiot Vote: The Democrats Core Constituency, Rebranding Christianity (The World of Information), The Lion and the Unicorn: Gladstone vs. Disraeli, How to Debate Leftists and Destroy Them: 11 Rules for Winning the Argument, The FBI Targeted Patriotic Conservatives Exercising Their First Amendment Rights: Theyre All Bleeping Terrorists, Watch: Russell Brand OBLITERATES MSNBC in Hack's Face on 'Real Time With Bill Maher', New York Times Discovers a New Source of Racism, and This One Could Be the Most Ridiculous Yet, Young Man Does His Own Taxes for First Time, Rage and Mirth Ensue, California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. CEAUSESCU: I will not answer. This speech was an annual event and carefully scripted by the regime to insure both success and the appearance of popular support. PROSECUTOR: By now, there have been 34 casualties. CEAUSESCU: Is it possible that we are facing such charges? PROSECUTOR: In all district capitals, which you grandly called municipalities, there is shooting going on. The English translation is by the U.S. government's Foreign Broadcast Information Service. 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. 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. The president of the United States is the commander in chief over all branches of the military. 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. Ceausescu claims that the putsch was organized from abroad. No one can deprive me of these functions. It can go on for a long time shedding parts, but eventually the axle falls out. You, as a scientist, did you know about it? 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. I am the president of the people. This year, the crowd begins to chant unscripted comments back at the dictator. . The prosecutor quotes Ceauescu, Ceauescu's program. PROSECUTOR: And who heads Securitate? The prosecutor cites all academic titles she had always claimed to have. No one can ask Bergdahl, since he is now reported as being unable to speak to anyone including his family. Everybody should be paid according to his performance. PROSECUTOR: We have wonderful programs. . O voce: Un pahar cu apa! 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. Workers from a Bucharest power plant started chanting Ti-mi-oa-ra! 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. If he no longer has a certain function, he cannot demand anything at all. I am the president of the people. This is our home. CEAUSESCU: Nu recunosc nici un tribunal in afara de Marea Adunare Nationala. This is a legal trial, and I honor them by defending them. Nicolae Ceauescu had been making speeches for over a couple of decades. Romanian demonstrators gathered in front of the headquarters of the Romanian Communist Party in Bucharest during the 1989 anti-communist revolution, 22 December 1989. How to Debate Leftists and Destroy Them: 11 Rules for Winning the Argument. But rebellion begins involuntarily, at the Hayekian level. Who pays them? One in four of the population is believed to have a member. Tens of thousands of people gathered in the early hours in front of the Intercontinental Hotel in Bucharest, undeterred by armoured vehicles. It is as if, in that moment, everyday Romanian's saw the possibility, saw the reality of the weakness of Ceausescus regime. No one was shot. Free shipping for many products! It must be cleared up whether Ceauescu wants to, should, must or can answer at all. They are shooting at children; they are shooting arbitrarily into the apartments. You should have stayed in Iran where you had flown to. You need not admit your mistakes, mister. Faithless Execution: Building the Political Case for Obamas Impeachment A later article shows that Australia is moving toward purchasing Japanese submarines to replace its existing fleet. [2], 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 "wooden language." Usurpers have been punished severely during the past centuries in Romania's history. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: You as officers should know that the government cannot give the order to shoot. 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. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: Her scientific papers were published abroad! NICOLAE CEAUESCU: She was not a deputy prime minister, but the first deputy prime minister. The bill of indictment contains the following points: Genocide, in accordance with Article 356 of the penal code. Another question to Ceausescu: Who ordered the bloodbath in Timisoara. 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. He was a cosignatory of an open letter harshly critical of the Ceauescu region which appeared last march. You told us about it here. 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. I will not answer any more. 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. PROSECUTOR: You claim to have taken measures so that every peasant is entitled to 200 kilograms of wheat. 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: Did you know about the genocide in Timisoara? PROSECUTOR: Who gave the order to shoot in Bucharest, for instance? No truth, no survival. I told you right at the beginning that I will not answer a single question. As the other primary sources reveal, the Ceausescus were tried a few days later and executed as enemies of the new Romanian state. 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. For example, there isa silent falling away among American allies. The crimes against the people grew year by year. 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. PROSECUTOR: Did you hear the charges? The palaces belong to the people. You have information about it. This page was last modified on 10 April 2016, at 21:40. This speech was an annual event and carefully scripted by the regime to insure both success and the appearance of popular support. In addition, the law forbids the IRS from using its normal enforcement tools to collect unpaid penalties. Please make a note that here it has been stated that all legal regulations have been observed, that this is a legal trial. ELENA CEAUSESCU: Incredible. I hope that you do not also work for the foreigners and for the destruction of Romania. [1] The crowd, now totaling up to 80,000, were given orders on where to stand, when to applaud and what to sing. The archive focuses largely on the period from 1965, when Romania was ruled over by the Ceausescus, until. After an outage of transmission of Romanian television, the speaker announces the verdict in the trial of Elena and Nicolae Ceauescu is death sentence. The great Ceauescu escape attempt came after it had become clear that most of the army had gone over to the people. Tyrannies are buried by the shovel of self-deception. What do you think? The front rows of the assembly were made up of low-level Communist Party officials and members who acted as cheer-leaders. He still considers himself to be the country's president and the commander in chief of the army. There is still shooting going on, the prosecutor says. We must not allow the slightest impression of illegality to emerge. I have observed that she is not even able to read correctly, but she calls herself an university graduate. PROSECUTOR: Please, ask Nicolae and Elena Ceauescu whether they have ever had a mental illness. CEAUSESCU: No, the people are fighting for freedom and against the new forum. At the beginning, Ceauescu claimed that it is a provocation to be asked whether he was sick. The charges are incorrect, and I will not answer a single question here. Richard III of England rode into Bosworth Field relying on his ally Baron Stanely to come to his aid. What prevents him from doing so? Former President Donald Trump speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, on March 4, 2023. This is not possible. I told you right at the beginning that I will not answer a single question. Ceauescu answers: As I said before, the people are fighting for their freedom and against this putsch, against this usurpation. PROSECUTOR: This is how you worked with the people and exercised your functions! 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. I will not answer anymore. Only the front rows supported Ceauescu with cheers and applause, with most of the crowd remaining impassive. These two defendants have robbed the people, and not even today do they want to talk. His talks with Dubcek focused primarily on the events that had unfolded in Czechoslovakia over the last several months. The Man at the Top increasingly pulls on disconnected controls, yet still imagines he is in charge. A later article shows that Australia is moving toward. CEAUSESCU: I will not answer this question. 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. 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. "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. President Nicolae Ceauescu was overthrown yesterday and became a fugitive in the country he has ruled for 24 years as remnants of his personal troops fought bitter last battles with regular soldiers and demonstrators in the streets of the Romanian capital. ELENA CEAUSESCU: I will not answer. ELENA CEAUESCU: I will not answer. For example, George Ciampa, an 89-year old D-Day veteran refused an invitation to meet with President Obama at the White House. In 1947, King Michael showed more dignity than you. Ceauescu's final speech is a speech delivered by Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauescu on 21 December 1989. This is our home. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I will answer any question, but only at the Grand National Assembly, before the representatives of the working class. You held monologues and the people had to applaud, like in the rituals of tribal people. It is a lie that I made the people starve. He answers: I am the president of Romania, and I am the commander in chief of the Romanian army. And we will not betray our people here. 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. 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. Fuelled by the events taking place in Berlin (the wall had come down just a few weeks before) and the ripple impact of the weakening Iron Curtain, Romanians had taken to the streets in . PROSECUTOR: So you know the new forum. The court notes that the investigations have been concluded. A tyrant stops knowing the difference. I ask the chairman of the prosecutor's office to read the bill of indictment. Fanatics, whom you are paying. Plenara Comitetului Central al Partidului, Consiliul de Stat, Guvernul, repr. Everybody should be paid according to his performance. However, they will be indicted, and a sentence will be passed on the basis of the new legal system. 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. The story of Ceauescu's final speech is a textbook example. CEAUSESCU: No, no. 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. I do not recognize the court.