PROSECUTOR: Let us now talk about the accounts in Switzerland, Mr. Ceausescu. PROSECUTOR: Please, ask Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu whether they have ever had a mental illness. 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. This is not possible. But we are not talking about people. PROSECUTOR: Note - He does not recognize the points mentioned in the bill of indictment. Nobody has opened an account. Teams of doctors with emergency medical supplies were being flown in from Geneva last night. 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. The great Ceauescu escape attempt came after it had become clear that most of the army had gone over to the people. PROSECUTOR: Well, Mr. Lech Walesa has openly accused president Obama as unable to lead in world. You were so impertinent as to cut off oxygen lines in hospitals and to shoot people in their hospital beds. We live in a normal apartment, just like every other citizen. Richard III of England rode into Bosworth Field relying on his ally Baron Stanely to come to his aid. We have ensured an apartment for every citizen through corresponding laws. Sections in italic type are from Austrian television comentary: Copyright 2023 PJMedia.com/Salem Media. One in four of the population is believed to have a member. PROSECUTOR: Whether you have ever had a mental illness. Another question to Ceausescu: Who ordered the bloodbath in Timisoara. Do you want to sign this statement? PROSECUTOR: In the same way he refused to hold a dialogue with the people, now he also refuses to speak with us. Ceausescu refused to answer. But who gave the order to shoot? I hope that you do not also work for the foreigners and for the destruction of Romania. ELENA CEAUESCU: Incredible. PROSECUTOR: The terrorists are from Securitate? At the beginning, Ceausescu claimed that it is a provocation to be asked whether he was sick. This year, the crowd begins to chant unscripted comments back at the dictator. JUDECATORUL: Va rog sa luati loc. His security guard appears, disappears and, finally, hustles Ceausescu off the balcony. Elena answers: The intellectuals of this country should hear you, you and your colleagues. If he no longer has a certain function, he cannot demand anything at all. Rebranding Christianity (The World of Information) Tell the people that I will answer all their questions. We have sacrificed all our lives to the people. The prosecutor turns to Elena: You have always been wiser and more ready to talk, a scientist. Elena and Nicolae reject this. 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. It gave no further details. Another question . It is simply an accumulation of multitudes ignoring the official line bit by bit and thereby gradually placing themselves unwittingly in opposition to it. His 1936 mugshot at age 18 still haunts the internet. CEAUSESCU: Nobody can change the state structures. ELENA CEAUESCU: I will not answer. At the moment the situation is rather uncertain. CEAUSESCU: I repeat: I am the president of Romania and the commander in chief of the Romanian army. The collapse of the narrative doesnt happen in a single big step, but through an accumulation of small, personal, often innocuous refusals. Ceausescu claims that the putsch was organized from abroad. The new committee declared its immediate aim was an end to the cult of personality which had developed around the Ceauescu family. I will not speak with you provocateurs anymore, and I will not speak with the organizers of the putsch and with the mercenaries. The charges are incorrect, and I will not answer a single question here. 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. A little noticed article in the Sydney Morning Herald notes that Australia will support Japans effort to repeal its pacifist constitution. 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. And you might perhaps have achieved the understanding of the Romanian people if you had now admitted your guilt. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: We will discuss this before the Grand National Assembly. However, why are your programs not implemented? 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. He did not realize, however, that a real revolution was starting right before his eyes. [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." Watch the exact moment when a brutal dictator realizes the - DeadState PROSECUTOR: Who ordered shooting into the crowd? The Land of Green Plums, Mller, Herta 9780312429942 | eBay At that very moment, many everyday Romanians saw the weakness of Ceauescu's regime for the first time. And so should such reports chill one to the bone. This is a legal trial, and I honor them by defending them. Elena keeps whispering to him. 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. Another question to Ceauescu: Who ordered the bloodbath in Timisoara. Mystery surrounded the whereabouts of the former President and his wife, Elena, last night. 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 Execution Spot of Nicolae Ceausescu - Dark Tourists 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. ELENA CEAUESCU: Accounts in Switzerland? Shakespeare dramatized the turnabout in his famous scene. It doesnt happen as one big wave. Workers from a Bucharest power plant started chanting "Ti-mi-oa-ra! The court notes that the investigations have been concluded. I am the president of the people. There is still shooting going on, the prosecutor says. CEAUSESCU: I do not recognize this court. Making use of Marxist-Leninist rhetoric, he delivered a litany of the achievements of the "socialist revolution" and Romanian "multi-laterally developed . CEAUSESCU: Her scientific papers were published abroad! 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. 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. You, as a scientist, did you know about it? Behind The Facade Of The Ceausescu Regime - Rferl.org You have destroyed the Romanian villages and the Romanian soil. What should he ask us? 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. Thousands of workers were bused into the square under threat of being fired. These two defendants have robbed the people, and not even today do they want to talk. CEAUSESCU: You as officers should know that the government cannot give the order to shoot. I have done everything to create a decent and rich life for the people in the country, like in no other country in the world. Bucharests Broadcasting House was the main source of information yesterday for Romanians about the countrys liberation and the means by which politicians, military officers and dissidents tried to influence the situation. Only a president who is still confirmed in his position can demand to speak at the Grand National Assembly. Ceauescu refused to answer. By the way, I will not answer any more questions. Ceausescu relates his recent meeting with Dubcek in Prague in August 1968. I will only speak in front of it. The defendant has not recognized us. PROSECUTOR: But not of our army, you are not the commander in chief of our army. Nobody is likely to rise up and become a Man on Horseback. 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. Some people will continue to believe the narrative, but even among the acolytes, the fatal smoke of doubt has entered the temple. PROSECUTOR: This situation is known. Only a president who is still confirmed in his position can demand to speak at the Grand National Assembly. 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. 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. He was arrested and imprisoned multiple times. Why did you ruin the country so much: Why did you export everything? You were the most important aide, the number two in the cabinet, in the government. PROSECUTOR: So you know the new forum. Why do the peasants then buy their bread in Bucharest? Nobody has the right to abolish the Grand National Assembly. 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. PROSECUTOR: The people are fighting against you, not against the new forum. These two defendants procured the most luxurious foodstuffs and clothes from abroad. I am a member and the chairwoman of the Academy of Sciences. Here Nicolae Ceauescu steps in and defends her. If you had had a mental illness and admitted this, you would not be responsible for your acts. Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway 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 speech was an annual event and carefully scripted by the regime to insure both success and the appearance of popular support. NICOLAE CEAUESCU: I do not recognize this court. I have nothing to do with them. Rebranding Christianity for $3.99, or why the truth shall make you free Ceausescu answers: As I said before, the people are fighting for their freedom and against this putsch, against this usurpation. has openly accused president Obama as unable to lead in world. I am the president of the people. As a result, the prosecutor says: Elena has always been talkative, but otherwise she does not know much. CEAUSESCU: No, we will not sign. Please make a note that here it has been stated that all legal regulations have been observed, that this is a legal trial. You are guilty of these offenses even if you do not want to admit it. The day began as it ended with vehement anti-Ceauescu demonstrations. 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. And who brought them into the country? NICOLAE CEAUESCU: What an obscene provocation. 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. Ceauescu claims that the putsch was organized from abroad. It is a lie that I made the people starve. Not a single shot was fired in Palace Square. The prosecutor wants to find out on which basis the trial can be continued. Ceauescu's final speech is a speech delivered by Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauescu on 21 December 1989. 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. I am talking to you as simple citizens at the least, as simple citizens, and I tell you: I am the president of Romania. Its not that we dont want to respect the commander-in-chief, one told me sadly. They are not only accused of offenses committed during the past few days, but of offenses committed during the past 25 years. At the beginning, Ceauescu claimed that it is a provocation to be asked whether he was sick. He still considers himself to be the country's president and the commander in chief of the army. We are all equal. What prevents him from doing so? Yet there is a big difference between grousing, which is endemic to the military, and actual rebellion. 600K views 3 years ago Nicolae Ceauescu (Romanian pronunciation: [nikola.e ta.uesku]; 26 January 1918 25 December 1989) was a Romanian politician who was the Secretary General of the Romanian. In 1947, King Michael showed more dignity than you. Tell us! PROSECUTOR: We have always spoken of equality. The crimes against the people grew year by year. The video- shown live on Romanian television-- shows his confusion and consternation and the barely audible comments. 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. Paper is patient. You were not used to talking to the people. We will speak only at the National Assembly, because we have worked hard for the people all our lives. Tens of thousands of people gathered in the early hours in front of the Intercontinental Hotel in Bucharest, undeterred by armoured vehicles. The entire intelligentsia of the country ran away. He refused to undergo a psychiatric examination. They cultivated the soil in line with your orders and had nothing to eat. The truth shall set you free, even if it makes you miserable. PROSECUTOR: Will you sign the statement now or not? Elena and Nicolae Ceasescu state: Well, you told us about it. I have observed that she is not even able to read correctly, but she calls herself an university graduate. Despite this, I ask the court to make a decision which we will be able to justify later as well. Then follows the reading of the indictment. Not a single shot. Queen Victoria and Her Prime Ministers The Ceauescu administrations Prime Minister, Mr Constantin Dsclescu, and his government were said to have resigned. Romanian demonstrators gathered in front of the headquarters of the Romanian Communist Party in Bucharest during the 1989 anti-communist revolution, 22 December 1989. Centralized regimes may seem to collapse suddenly, yet in reality they have been coming apart for a long time. They obstructed the normal process of the economy. 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. CEAUSESCU: No, the people are fighting for freedom and against the new forum.
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