The counsel for the defense now takes the floor and instructs the Ceausescus once again that they have the right to defense and that they should accept this right. I am a member and the chairwoman of the Academy of Sciences. 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. In 1947, we assumed power, but under completely different circumstances. Free shipping for many products! Perhaps the biggest example of thisis a CBO report that while 30 million people will technically be liable to pay the Obamacare Individual Mandate fine but in practice all but 4 million will have their fines waived or exempted. Rebranding Christianity (The World of Information) You are guilty of these offenses even if you do not want to admit it. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I will not sign anything. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: What an obscene provocation. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I do not recognize this court. He also refuses to recognize the new forum. Therefore, it is a mistake for the two accused to refuse to cooperate with us. Who pays them? His security guard appears, disappears and, finally, hustles Ceausescu off the balcony. 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. PROSECUTOR: Will you sign the statement now or not? He then tried to placate the crowd by offering to raise workers salaries He did not realize, however, that a real revolution was starting before his eyes. A little noticed article in the, notes that Australia will support Japans effort to repeal its pacifist constitution. No one can deprive me of these functions. Are they the people, or are you paying them? CEAUSESCU: I will not answer this question. They were only busy enslaving the people and building up an apparatus of power. The mighty Law of the Land is exposed as all bark and no bite; a fine they cant enforce. I will only speak in front of it. I ask the chairman of the prosecutor's office to read 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. After an outage of transmission of Romanian television, the speaker announces the verdict in the trial of Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu is death sentence. They were given red flags, banners and large pictures of Ceauescu. 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. They cultivated the soil in line with your orders and had nothing to eat. For example, there isa silent falling away among American allies. PROSECUTOR: Did you know about the genocide in Timisoara? ELENA CEAUSESCU: Accounts in Switzerland? One in four of the population is believed to have a member. But by then there was nowhere to hide. I will not speak with you provocateurs anymore, and I will not speak with the organizers of the putsch and with the mercenaries. 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. A lie, a lie in my face. First their narratives become so infested with lies they go out of sync with their own administrators on the ground. Yet there is a big difference between grousing, which is endemic to the military, and actual rebellion. The Three Conjectures at Amazon Kindle for $1.99, reflections on terrorism and the nuclear age 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. At the beginning, Ceauescu claimed that it is a provocation to be asked whether he was sick. Any actual attempts to fine 30 million Americans would end in a political disaster. , Now career military personnel are speaking out through gritted teeth, insisting they speak for active-duty personnel who cannot talk without being punished. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I do not answer, I will only answer questions before the Grand National Assembly. And the next moment he was lying in the dust. Soon afterwards, Bucharest television reported that Mr Ceauescu and his wife were no longer in the country. We are all equal. The National Salvation Front is now our supreme body. We want a legal trial. In 1947, we assumed power, but under completely different circumstances. Not a single shot. But who gave the order to shoot? CEAUSESCU: I do not recognize this new forum. Suntem in fata unui tribunal al poporului. CEAUSESCU: I will not answer. As the other primary sources reveal, the Ceausescus were tried a few days later and executed as enemies of the new Romanian state. PROSECUTOR: That is to say, as a deputy prime minister you did not know about the genocide? 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. What do you think? 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 National Salvation Front is now our supreme body. PROSECUTOR: Let us now talk about the accounts in Switzerland, Mr. Ceauescu. Why did you starve the people? How can one say something like this? The atmosphere was one of jubilation, and the over-riding feeling among the thousands celebrating in the city centre before the shooting began was one of undiluted triumph. The day began as it ended with vehement anti-Ceauescu demonstrations. . Why did you starve the people? JUDECATORUL: Va rog sa luati loc. And who brought them into the country? 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As a result, the prosecutor says: Elena has always been talkative, but otherwise she does not know much. Who pays them? Why did you ruin the country so much: Why did you export everything? Please make a note that here it has been stated that all legal regulations have been observed, that this is a legal trial. . ELENA CEAUESCU: We will not sign any statement. The prosecutor says: The world already knows what has happened here. Shakespeare dramatized the turnabout in his famous scene. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I will answer any question, but only at the Grand National Assembly, before the representatives of the working class. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I do not recognize this new forum. Ceauescu refused to answer. Within hours Ceauescu was beseiged inside the Central Committee building by irate crowds. Paper is patient. The next he was a hunted man. He also refuses to recognize the new forum. Now we are making a last attempt. One of the fundamental defenses of a democracy is the truth. After an outage of transmission of Romanian television, the speaker announces the verdict in the trial of Elena and Nicolae Ceauescu is death sentence. PROSECUTOR: Please, make a note: Ceausescu does not recognize the new legal structures of power of the country. A little noticed article in the Sydney Morning Herald notes that Australia will support Japans effort to repeal its pacifist constitution. 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. However, why are your programs not implemented? Sudden realizations are like a crash; its not the fact of deceleration that is fatal so much as the suddenness of it. CEAUSESCU: I do not recognize this court. CEAUSESCU: I will not say anything more. I will only speak at the Grand National Assembly. Do you want to sign this statement? 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. PROSECUTOR: We now have another leading organ. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: Nobody can change the state structures. Furnish proof! ELENA CEAUSESCU: I will not answer. Copyright 2023 PJMedia.com/Salem Media. The charges are incorrect, and I will not answer a single question here. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: She was not a deputy prime minister, but the first deputy prime minister. As hard as it may be to believe, there was a time when . The president of the United States is the commander in chief over all branches of the military. 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. You need not admit your mistakes, mister. Dressed in a black Persian lamb hat with matching coat collar, Ceausesecu, 71, was . Usurpers have been punished severely during the past centuries in Romania's history. Only a president who is still confirmed in his position can demand to speak at the Grand National Assembly. "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. Frederich Hayek identified the primary reason why tyrants fall: they rely on the poisoned cup of centralized knowledge. We are all equal. It is as if, in that moment, everyday Romanian's saw the possibility, saw the reality of the weakness of Ceausescus regime. Fiction. The English translation is by the U.S. government's Foreign Broadcast Information Service. And we will not betray our people here. The workers were augmented by bystanders who were rounded up on Calea Victoriei. You held monologues and the people had to applaud, like in the rituals of tribal people. PROSECUTOR: Will you sign the statement now or not? By the way, I will not answer any more questions. Storming the Castle at Amazon Kindle for $3.99, why government should get small The administrations threats, so dire on paper, are toothless in practice because they actually cant afford to carry out the threat. At the moment the situation is rather uncertain. Stanley double-crossed Richard at the crucial moment. I do not recognize the court. 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. We will speak only at the National Assembly, because we have worked hard for the people all our lives. PROSECUTOR: Did you know about the genocide in Timisoara? 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! You, as a scientist, did you know about it? The front rows of the assembly were made up of low-level Communist Party officials and members who acted as cheer-leaders. 20072021 Roy Rosenzweig Center for History & New Media Transcriptul "procesului" Nicolae si Elena Ceausescu. 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. The Lion and the Unicorn: Gladstone vs. Disraeli Ceausescu claims that the putsch was organized from abroad. This year, the crowd begins to chant unscripted comments back at the dictator. I have no statement to make, and I will not sign one. COUNSEL FOR THE DEFENSE: Even though he like her committed insane acts, we want to defend them. PROSECUTOR: You claim to have taken measures so that every peasant is entitled to 200 kilograms of wheat. Her husband, Nicolae. The bill of indictment contains the following points: Genocide, in accordance with Article 356 of the penal code. ALISON SMALE December 21, 1989. You are guilty of these offenses even if you do not want to admit it. His talks with Dubcek focused primarily on the events that had unfolded in Czechoslovakia over the last several months. PROSECUTOR: In all district capitals, which you grandly called municipalities, there is shooting going on. The story ofCeauescus final speech is a textbook example. These two defendants procured the most luxurious foodstuffs and clothes from abroad. Recent items of interest by Belmont readers based on Amazon click-throughs. 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 (Romanian pronunciation: [nikola.e tea.uesku]; 26 January 1918 -- 25 December 1989) was a Romanian Communist politician. One momentCeauescu was in total control of Romania, determined to crush his enemies. Two: Armed attack on the people and the state power, in accordance with Article 163 of the penal code. Nobody has the right to abolish the Grand National Assembly. 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. They are cowards. PROSECUTOR: Did you hear the charges? ELENA CEAUSESCU: The terrorists are from Securitate. . As a result, the prosecutor says: Elena has always been talkative, but otherwise she does not know much. We must not allow the slightest impression of illegality to emerge. A caretaker government was announced within an hour of the dictators capture. What about the accounts? The collapse of the narrative doesnt happen in a single big step, but through an accumulation of small, personal, often innocuous refusals. These two defendants procured the most luxurious foodstuffs and clothes from abroad. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: We had no account in Switzerland. PROSECUTOR: Let us now talk about the accounts in Switzerland, Mr. Ceausescu. ELENA CEAUESCU: Accounts in Switzerland? 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. A lie, a lie in my face. 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. As the other primary sources reveal, the Ceausescus were tried a few days later and executed as enemies of the new Romanian state. When the crisis comes the Leader Maximus discovers to his absolute surprise that all support has vanished. PROSECUTOR: That is to say, as a deputy prime minister you did not know about the genocide? PROSECUTOR: But not of our army, you are not the commander in chief of our army. Then follows the reading of the indictment. They organized the putsch. 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. You told us about it here. Dressed in a black Persian lamb hat with matching coat collar, Ceausesecu, 71, was . Not a single shot was fired in Palace Square. This is a legal trial, and I honor them by defending them. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Mr. President, I would like to know something: The accused should tell us who the mercenaries are. It must be cleared up whether Ceauescu wants to, should, must or can answer at all. Now we are making a last attempt. The notorious programme of razing villages in the countryside would be halted. [1], His security guard appeared, disappeared and, finally, hustled Ceauescu off the balcony. 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. Nobody has the right to abolish the Grand National Assembly. The hardship exemption rules, for example, let anyone who experienced domestic violence avoid the mandate, without providing any documentation of abuse. Ceauescu's final speech is a speech delivered by Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauescu on 21 December 1989. It is a lie that I made the people starve. You are faced with charges that you held really sumptuous celebrations on all holidays at your house. 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 is the final battle," he said. Thirty years on, will the guilty pay for horror of Ceauescu orphanages? 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. In addition, the law forbids the IRS from using its normal enforcement tools to collect unpaid penalties. The destruction of buildings and state institutions, undermining of the national economy, in accordance with Articles 165 and 145 of the penal code. Sections in italic type are from the austrian television comentary: NICOLAE CEAUSESCU: I only recognize the Grand National Assembly. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: No, the people are fighting for freedom and against the new forum. You were the most important aide, the number two in the cabinet, in the government. They are shooting at children; they are shooting arbitrarily into the apartments. PROSECUTOR: Who ordered shooting into the crowd? I will not say anything here. 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 answers: As I said before, the people are fighting for their freedom and against this putsch, against this usurpation. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: You as officers should know that the government cannot give the order to shoot. [1] The crowd, now totaling up to 80,000, were given orders on where to stand, when to applaud and what to sing. I have observed that she is not even able to read correctly, but she calls herself an university graduate. The bill of indictment contains the following points: Genocide, in accordance with Article 356 of the penal code. And who brought them into the country? Ceausescu refused to answer. CEAUSESCU: I do not recognize you. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I will not answer this question. PROSECUTOR: Who gave the order to shoot in Bucharest, for instance? Tell the people that I will answer all their questions. PROSECUTOR: The people are fighting against you, not against the new forum. I do not recognize this court. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Mr. President, I would like to know something: the accused should tell us who the mercenaries are. In response, the two laugh, and she says: We do not stay abroad. Everybody should be paid according to his performance. 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. The following is a transscript of the closed trial of Romanian Dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, as shown on Romanian and Austrian television. PROSECUTOR: Please, ask Nicolae and Elena Ceauescu whether they have ever had a mental illness. No, no, he says. The process usually follows this path. He was arrested and imprisoned multiple times. CEAUSESCU: I will answer any question, but only at the Grand National Assembly, before the representatives of the working class.