Post by diurpaneus on Dec 21, 2007 3:50:13 GMT -5
18 years have passed since the start of the Romanian Revolution in which the communist government was overthrown.
On the morning of December 21, Ceauşescu addressed a mass assembly of a hundred thousand people to condemn the uprising of Timişoara. Speaking from the balcony of the Central Committee building in the usual "wooden laguage", Ceauşescu delivered a litany of the achievements of the "socialist revolution" and Romanian "multi-laterally developed socialist society". The people, however, remained apathetic, and only the front rows supported Ceauşescu with cheers and applause. His lack of understanding of the events and his incapacity to handle the situation were further demonstrated as he offered, as an act of desperation, to raise the salaries for workers by the ridiculous amount of 100 Lei (about 4 $ USA at the time) per month and kept praising the achievements of the Socialist Revolution, still unable to realize that a revolution was unfolding right in front of his eyes.
As he was addressing the crowd from the balcony of the Central Committee building, sudden movement coming from the outskirts of the mass assembly and the sound of what various sources have reported as fireworks, bombs, or guns broke the orderly manifestation into chaos. Scared at first, the crowds tried to disperse. Bullhorns were used to spread the news that the Securitate was firing on them and that a "revolution" was unfolding, and finally the people were persuaded to join in. The rally turned into a protest demonstration and in the end a revolution emerged.
Ceauşescu, his wife, as well as other officials and CPEx members panicked, and finally Ceauşescu went into hiding inside the building. The live transmission of the meeting was interrupted, but the people who were watching had seen enough to realise that something unusual was going on.
The reaction of Ceauşescu couple is memorable, as they were staging futile attempts to regain control over the convulsing crowd using phone conversation formulas such as "Alo, Alo" ("Hello, Hello") or Ceauşescu's wife "advising" him how to contain the situation: "Vorbeşte-le, vorbeşte-le" ("Talk to them, talk to them") and to the crowd "Stati liniştiti la locurile voastre" ("Sit quiet in your places"); finally Ceauşescu allowed himself to be directed inside the Central Committee building by his underlings.
The jeers and whistles erupted into riot; the people fled the immediate location, but took to the streets, placing the capital, like Timişoara, in turmoil. People were chanting anti-communist and anti-Ceauşescu slogans: "Jos dictatorul!" ("Down with the dictator"), "Moarte criminalului!" ("Death to the criminal"), "Noi suntem poporul, jos cu dictatorul!" ("We are the People, down with the dictator").
Helicopters were spreading manifestos, which as a matter of fact didn't reach the crowd, due to unfavourable wind — instructing people not to fall victim to the latest "diversion attempts", but to go home instead and enjoy the Christmas feast. The rioters forced open the doors of the Central Committee building in an attempt to get Ceauşescu in their grip, but the dictator managed to reach the helicopter waiting for him on the roof of the building; why he chose to flee by helicopter, instead of using the intricate tunnel system beneath the Central Committee building, also remains a mystery.
Nicolae Ceauşescu and his wife were caught, tried and executed on the 25th of December 1989.
The last speech of the dictator and the start of the Revolution
An impressive slideshow with images from the Revoution
On the morning of December 21, Ceauşescu addressed a mass assembly of a hundred thousand people to condemn the uprising of Timişoara. Speaking from the balcony of the Central Committee building in the usual "wooden laguage", Ceauşescu delivered a litany of the achievements of the "socialist revolution" and Romanian "multi-laterally developed socialist society". The people, however, remained apathetic, and only the front rows supported Ceauşescu with cheers and applause. His lack of understanding of the events and his incapacity to handle the situation were further demonstrated as he offered, as an act of desperation, to raise the salaries for workers by the ridiculous amount of 100 Lei (about 4 $ USA at the time) per month and kept praising the achievements of the Socialist Revolution, still unable to realize that a revolution was unfolding right in front of his eyes.
As he was addressing the crowd from the balcony of the Central Committee building, sudden movement coming from the outskirts of the mass assembly and the sound of what various sources have reported as fireworks, bombs, or guns broke the orderly manifestation into chaos. Scared at first, the crowds tried to disperse. Bullhorns were used to spread the news that the Securitate was firing on them and that a "revolution" was unfolding, and finally the people were persuaded to join in. The rally turned into a protest demonstration and in the end a revolution emerged.
Ceauşescu, his wife, as well as other officials and CPEx members panicked, and finally Ceauşescu went into hiding inside the building. The live transmission of the meeting was interrupted, but the people who were watching had seen enough to realise that something unusual was going on.
The reaction of Ceauşescu couple is memorable, as they were staging futile attempts to regain control over the convulsing crowd using phone conversation formulas such as "Alo, Alo" ("Hello, Hello") or Ceauşescu's wife "advising" him how to contain the situation: "Vorbeşte-le, vorbeşte-le" ("Talk to them, talk to them") and to the crowd "Stati liniştiti la locurile voastre" ("Sit quiet in your places"); finally Ceauşescu allowed himself to be directed inside the Central Committee building by his underlings.
The jeers and whistles erupted into riot; the people fled the immediate location, but took to the streets, placing the capital, like Timişoara, in turmoil. People were chanting anti-communist and anti-Ceauşescu slogans: "Jos dictatorul!" ("Down with the dictator"), "Moarte criminalului!" ("Death to the criminal"), "Noi suntem poporul, jos cu dictatorul!" ("We are the People, down with the dictator").
Helicopters were spreading manifestos, which as a matter of fact didn't reach the crowd, due to unfavourable wind — instructing people not to fall victim to the latest "diversion attempts", but to go home instead and enjoy the Christmas feast. The rioters forced open the doors of the Central Committee building in an attempt to get Ceauşescu in their grip, but the dictator managed to reach the helicopter waiting for him on the roof of the building; why he chose to flee by helicopter, instead of using the intricate tunnel system beneath the Central Committee building, also remains a mystery.
Nicolae Ceauşescu and his wife were caught, tried and executed on the 25th of December 1989.
The last speech of the dictator and the start of the Revolution
An impressive slideshow with images from the Revoution