Frederich Hayek identified the primary reason why tyrants fall: they rely on the poisoned cup of centralized knowledge. Elena answers: The intellectuals of this country should hear you, you and your colleagues. . 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. 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. 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. Print. That is why the people are fighting all over the country. Rebranding Christianity (The World of Information) After many people began to exit the square, Ceauescu shouted over the public address system for them to "remain seated". This speech was an annual event and carefully scripted by the regime to insure both success and the appearance of popular support. 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. You were not used to talking to the people. And the next moment he was lying in the dust. Fanatics, whom you are paying. Furnish proof! Are they the people, or are you paying them? For example, there isa silent falling away among American allies. You are faced with charges that you held really sumptuous celebrations on all holidays at your house. There is still shooting going on, the prosecutor says. You told us about it here. We have ensured an apartment for every citizen through corresponding laws. How can one say something like this? 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 speech was an annual event and carefully scripted by the regime to insure both success and the appearance of popular support. He was a cosignatory of an open letter harshly critical of the Ceauescu region which appeared last march. 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. However, he had badly misread the crowd's mood. PROSECUTOR: That is to say, as a deputy prime minister you did not know about the genocide? The palaces belong to the people. PROSECUTOR: Note: He does not recognize the points mentioned in the bill of indictment. Then he is treated like a normal citizen. 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. After an outage of transmission of Romanian television, the speaker announces the verdict in the trial of Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu is death sentence. No one was shot. All their property will be impounded. You are guilty of these offenses even if you do not want to admit it. Ceausescu refused to answer. ELENA CEAUESCU: Accounts in Switzerland? PROSECUTOR: Whether you have ever had a mental illness. The crimes against the people grew year by year. The Securitate had hidden food reserves on which Bucharest could have survived for months, the whole of Bucharest. . They used to fetch people from orphans' homes or from abroad whom they trained in special institutions to become murderers of their own people. I am a member and the chairwoman of the Academy of Sciences. 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. . Then follows the reading of the indictment. I do not recognize the court. Ceausescu relates his recent meeting with Dubcek in Prague in August 1968. And Elena says: It is incredible what they are inventing, incredible. They were given red flags, banners and large pictures of Ceauescu and his wife. Why did you starve the people? What defamation, what provocations! 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: Did you know about the genocide in Timisoara? I do not recognize the court. However, why are your programs not implemented? But we are not talking about people. PROSECUTOR: Yes, but you are paying the mercenaries. The prosecutor says: The world already knows what has happened here. He answers: I am the president of Romania, and I am the commander in chief of the Romanian army. This source is a part of the The Romanian Revolution of 1989 teaching module. PROSECUTOR: Do you not know anything about the order to shoot? Its not that we dont want to respect the commander-in-chief, one told me sadly. His country passed from traditional monarchy to troubled democracy to royal dictatorship to military control to occupied territory. I have no statement to make, and I will not sign one. 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. In addition, the law forbids the IRS from using its normal enforcement tools to collect unpaid penalties. You were the most important aide, the number two in the cabinet, in the government. PROSECUTOR: And who heads Securitate? 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. They were not really interested in the people. I have observed that she is not even able to read correctly, but she calls herself an university graduate. The prosecutor agrees, but stresses that they lived in them while the people suffered. 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. We live in a normal apartment, just like every other citizen. They obstructed the normal process of the economy. The people were slaves. I only recognize the working class and the Grand National Assembly -- no one else. But those who shot at the young people were the security men, the terrorists. His talks with Dubcek focused primarily on the events that had unfolded in Czechoslovakia over the last several months. 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. You were not used to talking to the people. Transcriptul "procesului" Nicolae si Elena Ceausescu. Therefore, it is a mistake for the two accused to refuse to cooperate with us. Tip Jar or Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the Belmont Club. One moment Ceauescu was in total control of Romania, determined to crush his enemies. 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. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: Her scientific papers were published abroad! Nobody has the right to abolish the Grand National Assembly. Nobody is likely to rise up and become a Man on Horseback. The archive focuses largely on the period from 1965, when Romania was ruled over by the Ceausescus, until. 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. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: We will discuss this before the Grand National Assembly. PROSECUTOR: Will you sign the statement now or not? The prosecutor quotes Ceausescu, Ceausescu's program. The English translation is by the U.S. government's Foreign Broadcast Information Service. Only a president who is still confirmed in his position can demand to speak at the Grand National Assembly. A lie, a lie in my face. In the footage, Romanian president Nicolae Ceausescu can be seen delivering a speech from the balcony of the Central Committee building overlooking Palace Square, now know as "Revolution Square," where he praised the achievements of Romania's socialist regime and its "multi-laterally developed socialist society." From Wikipedia: 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. quotes Israeli oppositionists as accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of loathing Barack Obama so intensely it has endangering the Jewish states security. It was one of the most pivotal moments in the Romanian Revolution of 1989. Nicolae Ceausescu delivers his last public speech in Bucharest on December 21, 1989. 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. What do you say as a citizen? The destruction of buildings and state institutions, undermining of the national economy, in accordance with Articles 165 and 145 of the penal code. PROSECUTOR: So you know the new forum. 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. The prosecutor says: The world already knows what has happened here. ELENA CEAUSESCU: I will not answer. The National Salvation Front is now our supreme body. Why do the peasants then buy their bread in Bucharest? For example, George Ciampa, an 89-year old D-Day veteran refused an invitation to meet with President Obama at the White House. Share . 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. All Rights Reserved. This is where President Ceausescu gave his final speech in December 1989, before fleeing Bucharest. And we will not betray our people here. The prosecutor quotes Ceauescu, Ceauescu's program. 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. Tens of thousands of people gathered in the early hours in front of the Intercontinental Hotel in Bucharest, undeterred by armoured vehicles. I ask the chairman of the prosecutor's office to read the bill of indictment. PROSECUTOR: The people are fighting against you, not against the new forum. I am now talking to you as simple citizens, and I hope that you will tell the truth. One day Obama may wake up and find the alliances just gone. I hope that you do not also work for the foreigners and for the destruction of Romania. What about the accounts? No one wanted to do anything for you anymore. The Ceauescu administrations Prime Minister, Mr Constantin Dsclescu, and his government were said to have resigned. And today you are acting in the same megalomaniac way. No, no, he says. "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. This demonstrates their lack of understanding. But rebellion begins involuntarily, at the Hayekian level. Have you understood them? George thought about it for awhile and concluded he just couldnt. I will not say anything here. Finally, I would like to refer once more to the genocide, the numerous killings carried out during the past few days. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: We had no account in Switzerland. The Three Conjectures at Amazon Kindle for $1.99, reflections on terrorism and the nuclear age The story of Ceauescu's final speech is a textbook example. Captive: My Time as a Prisoner of the Taliban His security guard appears, disappears and, finally, hustles Ceausescu off the balcony. These two defendants procured the most luxurious foodstuffs and clothes from abroad. PROSECUTOR: Well, Mr. , Now career military personnel are speaking out through gritted teeth, insisting they speak for active-duty personnel who cannot talk without being punished. I told you right at the beginning that I will not answer a single question. 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: 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 CEAUESCU: I will not answer. They were given red flags, banners and large pictures of Ceauescu. This is not possible. The notorious programme of razing villages in the countryside would be halted. [3], From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core, The former headquarters of the Central Committee of the, File:Ceausescu Final Speech - Former Central Committee Building - Bucharest - Romania.jpg, Video of Ceausescus Last Speech, December 1989, Nicolae Ceauescu LAST SPEECH (english subtitles) 1/2, https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Ceauescu%27s_final_speech&oldid=714636674, Articles with Romanian-language external links, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, About Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core. 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. As a result, the prosecutor says: Elena has always been talkative, but otherwise she does not know much. CEAUSESCU: No, the people are fighting for freedom and against the new forum. At that moment Elena says to Nicolae: Forget about them. 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. The crimes against the people grew year by year. Tell the people that I will answer all their questions. And we will not betray our people here. Tax experts say the best it can do is withhold the penalty amount from any tax refund due. Now we are making a last attempt. The prosecutor asks the counsel for the defense to ask Ceauescu whether he knows that he is no longer president of the country, that Elena Ceauescu has also lost all her official state functions and that the government has been dissolved. What do you think? Ceausescu's last speech was interrupted but not by the shouts of the masses. 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. The details are known. I will not answer any question. Later reports suggested the couple had been captured. PROSECUTOR: Let us now talk about the accounts in Switzerland, Mr. Ceausescu. It is as if, in that moment, everyday Romanian's saw the possibility, saw the reality of the weakness of Ceausescus regime. At the beginning, Ceausescu claimed that it is a provocation to be asked whether he was sick. 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. Elena keeps whispering to him. [1] The crowd, now totaling up to 80,000, were given orders on where to stand, when to applaud and what to sing. 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`. Furnish proof! At the moment the situation is rather uncertain. Ti-mi-oa-ra!a chant that was soon picked up by others in the crowd. PROSECUTOR: Note - He does not recognize the points mentioned in the bill of indictment. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I repeat: I am the president of Romania and the commander in chief of the Romanian army. Here Nicolae Ceauescu steps in and defends her. He then tried to placate the crowd by offering to raise workers' salaries by 200 lei per month (about 18 U.S. dollars at the time, yet a 10%-20% raise for a modest salary) and student scholarships from 100 to 110 lei while continuing to praise the achievements of the past 42 years. If you had had a mental illness and admitted this, you would not be responsible for your acts. I am the president of the people. As hard as it may be to believe, there was a time when . O voce: Un pahar cu apa! Another question to Ceausescu: Who ordered the bloodbath in Timisoara. Military base Trgovite - December 25th 1989. The entire intelligentsia of the country ran away. "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). 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. We have sacrificed all our lives to the people. You were so impertinent as to cut off oxygen lines in hospitals and to shoot people in their hospital beds. They organized the putsch. Because of this indictment, I call for the death sentence and the impounding of the entire property of the two accused. PROSECUTOR: Please, make a note: Nicolae Ceausescu refuses to cooperate with the court-appointed counsel for the defense. ELENA CEAUSESCU: How can one tell us something like this? He had been falling for a long time, and proved the last to know. By the morning of 22 December, the rebellion had already spread to all major cities across the country. 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: Nobody can change the state structures. 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. Ceausescu answers: As I said before, the people are fighting for their freedom and against this putsch, against this usurpation. They not only deprived the people of heating, electricity and foodstuffs, they also tyrannized the soul of the Romanian people. "Stenographic transcript of meeting of the Executive Committee of the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party," August 17, 1968, History . This gang will be destroyed. ELENA CEAUSESCU: The terrorists are from Securitate. This shows how little patriotism there is, how many treasonable offenses were committed. This is not possible. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I do not recognize this new forum. 20072021 Roy Rosenzweig Center for History & New Media Military base Tirgoviste - December 25th 1989. If he no longer has a certain function, he cannot demand anything at all. But by then there was nowhere to hide. PROSECUTOR: This is how you worked with the people and exercised your functions! 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. 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 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. Who are these fanatics? I am a member and the chairwoman of the Academy of Sciences. 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. The English translation is by the U.S. government's Foreign Broadcast Information Service. 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. It is as if, in that moment, everyday Romanian's saw the possibility, saw the reality of the weakness of Ceausescus regime. But who gave the order to shoot? 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. 105). Eight minutes into the speech, some in the crowd actually began to scream because there was a shooting that occurred in the background. Please make a note that here it has been stated that all legal regulations have been observed, that this is a legal trial. This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content. This shows how little patriotism there is, how many treasonable offenses were committed. PROSECUTOR: You have never been able to hold a dialogue with the people. I guaranteed that every village has its schools, hospitals and doctors. CEAUSESCU: No, no. We must not allow the slightest impression of illegality to emerge. A later article shows that Australia is moving toward. PROSECUTOR: Did you hear the charges? The prosecutor turns to Elena: You have always been wiser and more ready to talk, a scientist. He would be executed a few days later. What defamation, what provocations! PROSECUTOR: This situation is known. It is a lie that I made the people starve. Eight minutes into the speech, some in the crowd actually began to jeer, boo and whistle at hima reaction considered unthinkable for most of Ceauescus 24 years in power. . 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. 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. The catastrophic situation of the country is known all over the world. Everybody should be paid according to his performance. Ceauescu claims that the putsch was organized from abroad. I have so many issues with the presidents policies, including the most recent ones, he told me ruefully. 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. Answer this question! No one was shot. You see, there is no use in talking to these people. You told us about it here. They are speaking about injustice, ineptitude and impeachment. Elena and Nicolae Ceauescu should be punished in a really legal trial. Ceauescu's final speech is a speech delivered by Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauescu on 21 December 1989. PROSECUTOR: In all district capitals, which you grandly called municipalities, there is shooting going on. 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 essay The Use of Knowledge in Society, Hayek argued that in complex systems the relevant facts are dispersed among many people. As the crowd becomes more unruly, Ceausescu becomes more confused and he begins arguing with the unseen hecklers. Its provisional leader is the 73-year-old former Foreign Minister, Mr Corneliu Mnescu. I do not recognize this court. Paper is patient. I will not answer you putschists, Ceausescu says. 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. Only the front rows supported Ceauescu with cheers and applause, with most of the crowd remaining impassive. Workers from a Bucharest power plant started chanting Ti-mi-oa-ra!
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