The leader of plaid cymru says he expects a referendum on welsh independence within a decade, and says he sees the nations future as a member of the eu. Adam price told his partys annual conference in swa nsea his partys annual conference in swansea but they need to look beyond brexit and he offered disillusioned voters a new political home. Wales will live and thrive as a european nation, or it will die as a british backwater. That is the choice we face, and on that choice our fate depends. Meanwhile, the green party have gathered in newport with their c0 have gathered in newport with their co leader, jonathan bartley, opening the party conference. In his speech, he stated the green party would abolish the home office and replace it with a ministry for sanctuary. Before setting out the pa rtys sanctuary. Before setting out the partys position on another brexit referendum. We may disagree with those on the other side of the debate over europe. We may disagree with the corruption of the referendum. But that is not a reason to ignore and sideline those who voted to leave. Applause. We have a lwa ys voted to leave. Applause. We have always said that the referendum must be the start, not the end of the democratic process. If we want to stay in europe we must win the argument on europe. Now on bbc news, witness. Hello, and welcome to witness history with me at the Royal Academy in london. Today we will hear from five people who have witnessed incredible moments in history. Coming up, the soldiers who fought for the british but were not allowed to settle in britain. The last days of the sri lankan civil war. The first latin american coup, backed by the us. And when the soviet union banned alcohol. But first to a story of love, hope and sacrifice. From 1938 until the start of the Second World War in 1939, thousands of jewish children were sent from europe to the uk. Most of them travelled without their parents, fleeing the rise of the nazis. Dame Stephanie Shirley was only five yea rs old Stephanie Shirley was only five years old when she said goodbye to her mother. Never knowing if she would see her again. 200 boys and girls waive a greeting to england, land of the free. They are between the ages of five and 17, the advance guard of the first 5000 jewish and non aryan child refugees from germany to be provided with a temporary home here while arrangements are made for them to immigrate. Everybody always sort of sad, arent you lucky, arent you lucky . And indeed, we were. Sort of said. Sometimes when i have been asked date of birth, i have said 1939. Because to me, my life started them. Then. The kindertransport was an amazing rescue mission set up by christian and jewish activists who brought nearly 10,000 mainly jewish children out of nazi europe. I was five years old and i was one of those children. My family was a sort of secularjewish family. We had moved over quite a bit of europe, starting from dortmund, where my father was a judge, and had been fired in 1933, and finished up in vienna, which was my mothers home city. I think it was clear that duesin home city. I think it was clear that dues in Central Europe faced catastrophe. The jewish in Central Europe. There was an announcement that there had been a concession from the nazis to allow children up to the age of 16 to leave without their parents, so we knew something was afoot, and that we we re knew something was afoot, and that we were going to england. I can rememberthe we were going to england. I can remember the scene at the station of many, many families, mostly weeping, some ina many, many families, mostly weeping, some in a sort of wailing. I believe most parents did not expect to see the children again. My mother didnt cry, nor did we. The children again. My mother didnt cry, nordid we. I the children again. My mother didnt cry, nor did we. I was with my sister, who was ten years old. I clutched her, you know, because i was scared. We had an overnight crossing to harwich and then another train to Liverpool Street station. When we got off the train, the platform was sile nt. When we got off the train, the platform was silent. Youve got a thousand children, tired and smelly after two and a half days, just absolutely exhausted. And there was no chatter, no noise. Eventually children were called and off we went with our new parents. We were among the last to be claimed. We were fostered by a lovely english couple in the midlands of england, who had seen in the midlands of england, who had seena in the midlands of england, who had seen a photograph in the local paper of my sister and i withjust seen a photograph in the local paper of my sister and i with just a few lines underneath, saying two sisters, well brought up, seeking a home, can you help . They can speak a word of german, i couldnt speak a word of english. I was traumatised. They were nervous. It was pretty grim. My feelings were just of being disturbed, being with strange people, not understanding what was going on. When was by going to see my mother again . We were reunited after about 12 months or so, and we lived with our natural parents when i was lived with our natural parents when iwas in lived with our natural parents when i was in my teens. But, as i think happens quite often with separated families, i never really bonded with them again, and that, i really mourned. The act of sending your children away is a fantastic act of love. It didnt seem like it at the time, but it is the most loving thing a parent can do. The former child refugees, dame Stephanie Shirley. Next, we hear the story of the first latin american coup organised by the us government. President hakobo arbenz of guatemala had proposed land reforms which were seen as a had proposed land reforms which were seen as a threat to americas united fruit company. He was labelled a communist and the company wanted him removed. His son, also called jacobo, remembers when his mothers government was overthrown in 195a. Translation i was only seven years old when my father was overthrown in the coup organised by the caa. Cia. I remember having to hide under the bed during the bombing. My pa rents the bed during the bombing. My parents did their best not to worry us. Parents did their best not to worry us. But we soon realised how serious things were around the dangers that we face. Guatemala was a very backward country, based on a colonial, almost feudal system. One of the first things that my father, coloneljacobo arbenz commented as president , was to bring in reforms to modernise farming. Jacobo arbenz, did as president. Americas united fruit company, which had Enormous Economic power in guatemala at the time, didnt like the changes. They became very upset when they saw that their monopoly was being affected. This was the time of the cold war, so they took advantage of this to label my father a communist, which was totally untrue. And that is how they promoted and justified to the idea of an invasion. Aircraft parachute meagre supplies to the airstrip as the rebel drive to oust the red government box down. The shabbily clad, poorly trained troops overrun the sleepy town. The basic plan of the sleepy town. The basic plan of the cio was to promote an invasion from neighbouring honduras. Cia. They trained mercenaries in the us and in honduras as well. But at first, when they crossed into guatemala, the army managed to beat them back. My father spent most of them back. My father spent most of the time in the ministry of defence. I remember him always looking very worried, pacing up and down, smoking, trying to work out what to do next. When aeroplanes started bombing guatemala city, my father moved us out of the president ial palace, and then his fellow officers got scared and told him, colonel, we can no longer support you. Carrying anti communist banners, jubilant soldiers celebrate a victory following the two week revolt in guatemala. My father resigned as president on june 20 guatemala. My father resigned as president onjune 201954. June 27, 1954. I have taken a momentous decision for our country in the hope that it will halt the invasion and bring peace back to guatemala. That it will halt the invasion and bring peace back to guatemalalj remember bring peace back to guatemala. remember that my sisters and i were only allowed to take a few toys with us only allowed to take a few toys with us when we left. Unfortunately, the invasion and the coup had a terrible lasting effect on our family, but also on the guatemalan people. My sisters to it all very badly, and resented what had happened. Took it. As a result, in 1965, one of them took her own life and the other one did the same in 2004. My father died a very bitter man, disappointed that what he had tried to do for guatemala had been so misunderstood. Jacobo arbenz, with his memories of the first latin american coup, organised by the cia. Now to south asia, and the final days of the civil war in sri lanka. For more than two decades, the army had fought the tamil tiger rebels, but in 2009 the Government Forces began to close in on them. Thousands of civilians were trapped alongside rebel fighters beyond the reach of journalists, aid workers, and independent witnesses. Former United Nations official thought advice remembers it as one of the worst situations he had ever encountered. United nations official gordon vice. Sri lankas government says it is close to winning the islands civil war after 25 years. The fighting has been intense and bloodied. Body. Fighting has been intense and bloodied. Body. In a 25 year civil war that had been many, many terrible episodes. At this final few months of the war was by far the most bitter and the most vicious. 250,000 people caught in the middle, hungry, frightened, tired, many of them on the run from fighting up to a year, some of them have been displaced ten or 15 times. I had worked in a number of conflicts zones before, and since that war in sri lanka. But the sri lankan experience was unique. The conflict on the island has pitted to the government, based in colombo and dominated by the sinhalese majority, against the tamil tigers. They have been fighting in the north for a state for ethnic minority tamils. The tamil tigers, or ltte, have been ruthless, pioneers in suicide bombings. They also stand accused of constructing child soldiers. But the government has been using brittle methods of its own. The offensive opened with a very heavy bombardment breaking up the tamil tiger positions and rolling the civilian population back. United nations had fairly good access to these areas, but then in september 2008, the un was told no Uncertain Terms that it needed to move its International Offices out of the cg area. The purpose, of course, was to ensure that they were not independent witnesses to what was going to happen. This footage was released by pro tamil groups yesterday. It claims to show the carnage caused when a shell centre clinic. It is impossible to know for sure when or where the footage was shot. The tigers claimed the army is using heavy weapons, but the government says but is a lie, and these images arejust propaganda. On says but is a lie, and these images are just propaganda. On one particular day we had very graphic descriptions from the doctors who we re descriptions from the doctors who were managing the hospitals inside the cg zone, about a very heavy bombardment that had taken place, in which dozens and dozens of civilians had been killed and injured. The siege zone. And that was the day that we declared there had been a bloodbath. The government was very unhappy with us. They began to threaten to expel various un officers, myself included. s 5 my opinion was that even if only a fraction of those reports were true, the impact on civilians was high. This was a classic siege. The tamil tigers had an interest in not allowing civilians to cross the front lines into government territory because that was the one thing that was standing between them and defeat. The International Community had a great deal of ambivalence about what was going on because they wanted to see the tamil tigers destroyed as well. The tamil tigers destroyed as well. The tamil tigers were a listed terrorist organisation. In the last few days, more and more civilians were able to escape the siege zone and the area became smaller until it was just a patch of a few hundred square metres. A symbolic moment. Sri lankan units meeting today and cutting the tamil tiger s last hope of escape. We had been caught between these two opposing sides, enemies who were bitterly intent on destroying each other and the un was stuck in the middle. It was an experience that never leaves you. That was the former United Nations official gordon vice. You can watches every on bbc news or catch up watches every on bbc news or catch up on all our norms along with over a thousand radio programmes in our online archive stop Search Online for bbc witness history. Now to a story of triumph over injustice. For over 200 years, soldiers from the small south asian country of nepal fought and died for the British Armed first forces. The soldiers are known as gurkhas and over 200,000 ford in the two world wars that it only in 2009 that they were given the right to settle in the uk. Them we remember the Long Campaign for equal treatment for gurkhas. Outside parliament, the gurkhas and Joanna Lumley listened as the home secretary finally rain up the white flag sto p secretary finally rain up the white flag stop government surrender on the terms of the gurkhas. All gurkhas who retired before 1997 and who have served more than four years will now be eligible to apply for settlement in the uk full of when the announcement was made into thousand and nine everyone felt very happy. It was very good news. But i would call it a half baked victory. I served for 31 years. Nepal allows recruitment to enlist gurkhas into the british army. Nowhere else in the british army. Nowhere else in the world we see this arrangement. The gurkha motto means better to die than be a coward. The gurkhas have fought and died for the british army since 1814. Fought and died for the british army since1814. More fought and died for the british army since 1814. More than a fought and died for the british army since1814. More than a hundred thousand fought in the great wall suffering 20,000 casualties. We are an integral part of the British Armed forces. But we have never been treated equal. We have our own terms and conditions of service. The way we are ordered, family life, barracks, it is totally different. The pay was about one third of what the british received. We had no right to settle in the uk. We felt like second class citizens, having served the british army loyally. People were being deported. And that was really scary. They were living in fear. Day and night, while living in the uk because they did not have any status. Last weekend i former gurkha was deported by 13 years of service in the british army. It is a disgraceful the bravest soldiers we have ever served the way the government has treated them is disgraceful. The newspapers got involved and we received massive support from the media and the british public. It has been a long battle. Five yea rs british public. It has been a long battle. Five years ago that the government ruled only gurkhas who returned after 1997 would settle in britain. They took their battles to the doors of downing street with a quarter of a million signatures on the petition. Still the government resisted until Joanna Lumley the petition. Still the government resisted untilJoanna Lumley took command. When joanna got involved she was instrumental. Her celebrity status help campaign. Herfather served with my regiment. He was in officer in the sixth worker rifles. There was no gurkha present during the closed door meeting. We fought so the closed door meeting. We fought so hard for nine years and to be less out was a big letdown in itself. Our campaign was for equality, equal pension and settlement. And to see and hear what was discussed. And why did they come to the conclusion of settlement only . We are glad and thankful that the government did change the policy. We achieved what we thought would be impossible, that is settle m e nt would be impossible, that is settlement rights for all gurkhas across the world. The gurkha fight now carries on for equal pension and thatis now carries on for equal pension and that is the last stand. This is the final chapter in the gurkha history. It meant we were now considered equal to the rest of the British Armed forces. Our final witness remembers a brief moment in soviet history. In 1985, communist authorities restricted the sale of alcohol in the ussr to fight rising addiction. Three years later, the campaign was abandoned as the soviet economy began to fail. We spoke to a former adviser to the Central Committee of the communist party. He helped to put the law in place. There used to be just one image of the soviet worker, and this was it stop young, efficient and above all, sober. But now there is another. Half asleep and halfway to dips the mania. Translation a quarter of all workers would have a glass of vodka before work. This was widespread among the working class. The russians call alcohol the green snake and opening time wolf hour. Put the two together and result can be disastrous. Translation isil clearly that in a country where one quarter of all workers are alcoholics, this country survives by killing its own people. That was very clear to me. The state makes billions in alcohol tax but the state has ordered its people to sober up. Translation as someone who spoke to gorbachev often, i can tell that he did not understand what the ussr was about. Of all the soviet freedoms, only one was always there, the freedom to drink. All russians love vodka. For years, ambulances have patrolled city streets, taking people to special drying out centres. But medical facilities are now to be improved. The Authorities Say they will fight this ugly phenomenon and remove it from soviet life. As pa rt of as part of the campaign, alcohol sales were limited 22 pm and seven p. M. Many one shops were closed and most importantly, only one bottle of vodka or sold per person. So if you had a birthday party, you had to show your passport to prove that it was really your birthday. Translation by about 1988, 1989 it became clear that the campaign was damaging. Translation the soviet system simply collapsed. Millions of people lost theirjobs. In the soviet days, ifa lost theirjobs. In the soviet days, if a worker had a drink before going to work, at least there were some restraints on him in the work base. With the collapse of the ussr, there we re with the collapse of the ussr, there were no social structures anymore and alcoholic Nothing Holding him back. Gorbachev did not understand it. That was alexanders occur remembering Interesting Times with former president Mikhail Gorbachev to dissolve from us this month here at the Royal Academy. We will be back next month with more first hand accou nts back next month with more first hand a ccou nts of back next month with more first hand accounts of extraordinary moments in history. For now from me in the west of the team, and the rest of the team, good night. As one weather system clears, another comes in from the atlantic. It does notjust sum up the weekend weather across the uk but pretty the next 7 10 days out there. This is next weather system coming in as we go into sunday. Here is the next one that will come in on monday. More rain to come this weekend. Not a washout, there will be some dry and bright skies either side of an area of rain that will be heavy at times as it spreads its way eastwards. This is how we start on saturday morning. Chilly across the eastern side of the uk where we have had skies overnight and perhaps a touch of frost on the coldest parts of north east scotland. And where it has been clear there could be mist and fog patches, dense in a few spots, through the morning. The in the east with replaced with cloud as the weather system comes in from the atlantic. Light rain feeds further east notice heavy rain coming in towards western parts as we go on through the afternoon. This is a look at things at four oclock. You can pick a temperature near you and the wind speed as well. Strengthening south easterly wind as well and are north east is still dry with only spills around into the Northern Isles but a wetter picture through Northern Ireland and much of western scotland and some outbreaks of rain with heavy burst into western parts of england and wales. Again, patchy rain feeding east ahead of that. That rain will get heavier still as we go on through saturday night and into sunday. Some brighter colours showing up on the rainfall forecast. Reasonably high rain totals going into sunday. And that becomes more widespread, pushing further east. It will be a mild night going into sunday morning. The big picture then for part two of the weekend shows the frontal system with the rain, heavy at times, right across us and in no hurry to clear away eastwards on sunday although behind it where it is clear, the ridge of High Pressure briefly coming in before the next system turns wet and windy again on monday. This is how sunday is looking and the yellow triangles indicating the warnings for rain from the met office. Scotland, the eastern side of england. Will be 15 30 millimetres, perhaps a bit more and wetter spots on the risk of flooding and travel disruption in a few places. This weather system eases a bit through sunday afternoon but still giving outbreaks of rain. Most likely breaking out into bright skies on sunday in Northern Ireland, wales and south west england. I mentioned next weather system coming in on monday. More to come next week. Often windy and wet at times, not all the time but there will be occasional sunshine as well but basically autumn full throttle. This is bbc news. Im Lewis Vaughan jones. Our top stories. A president under pressure democrats issue a legal demand to the president s chief of staff for documents relating to an impeachment inquiry. Thousands join unplanned protests in hong kong and defy a government ban on face masks. Prince harry launches legal action against the owners of two british newspapers over alleged phone hacking. And. The revolutionary technology thats allowed a paralysed man to move again