Witness History: Archive 2014

In June 2001 the Crown Prince of Nepal killed both his parents and other members of his family in a shooting at the royal palace. Witness speaks to his cousin, who survived the massacre.(Photo: Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, Crown Prince of Nepal. Credit: Getty Images)

In May 1991, the brutal Ethiopian dictator, Colonel Mengistu and his miltary regime were on the verge of collapse, as rebel forces advanced on the capital Addis Ababa. We hear from an American diplomat who witnessed the end of Ethiopia's civil war. Photo: EPRDF rebels in Addis Ababa, 28 May, 1991.

In 1971 the first refuge for women escaping domestic violence opened in Britain.Witness speaks to one young mother who suffered years of abuse before finding safety in the Chiswick Women's Aid refuge.Photo: An overcrowded refuge for battered women in Chiswick, west London. (Evening Standard/Getty Images).

In May 1959, for the first time America sends two monkeys into space and brings them back alive.It's a watershed moment for the US space agency, Nasa, and paves the way for future manned space missions.Photo: Keystone\Getty Images(Originally broadcast in May 2012)

In May 1964 India's first prime minister and the man who led India to independence died. His niece, the writer Nayanatara Seghal, remembers her famous uncle. Photo: Indira Gandhi paying her respects at the body of her father, Jawaharlal Nehru.(AFP/Getty Images)

In the 1990s teams of students from one of America's top universities - MIT - used card counting techniques to win millions of dollars in the casinos of Las Vegas.(Photo: Getty Images)

In April 1986 Pope John Paul II made a historic visit to a Rome synagogue - aimed at healing centuries of deep wounds between Jews and Catholics.(Photo: AFP)

In May 1995 a brutal war raged in the Russian republic of Chechnya. As Russian forces fought to retain control of the capital, Grozny, thousands of young conscripts were sent to the front lines to confront the Chechen separatists.(Photo: Russian Soldiers. Credit: AP/ Misha Japaridze)

In 1991 the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. The grandson of the founder of modern India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was blown up by Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels while campaigning for the general election. We hear from a journalist who was with him just moments before the attack.(Photo: Funeral procession of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi 24 May 1991. Credit: Douglas E. Curran/AFP/Getty Images)

In May 1980 the South Korean military put down a popular uprising in the city of Gwangju. Armed students had taken over large parts of the city and were demanding an end to military rule. Witness speaks to two people who were in Gwangju during the violence.(Photo: Soldier wields a baton while stopping a student. Credit: AP)

Four students from the elite Trisakti university in Jakarta were shot dead during a protest against the rule of President Suharto. Their deaths triggered days of deadly rioting. Just over a week later, the regime fell. We hear from one of the students who was there.(Photo: Rioter in Jakarta, May 1998 Credit: Associated Press)

The activist Steve Biko led the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa before he was killed in police custody in 1977. We hear from one of the early members of the movement, Mamphela Ramphele who had a relationship with Steve Biko.Photo: Anti-apartheid activist attending the burial ceremony of Steve Biko, October 1977. (Photo credit STF/AFP/GettyImages)

In 1957 the Chinese Communist leader Chairman Mao made a speech encouraging criticism of his Communist system saying 'Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend'. We hear from Harry Wu, who made his views known and ended up in prison for nearly twenty years.(Photo: Harry Wu with portrait of Chairman Mao. Credit: AFP/Getty)

In 1964, rival youth gangs clashed at the English resort of Brighton over the Bank Holiday weekend. The fighting sparked moral panic about a generation of apparent juvenile delinquents. Witness speaks to Alfredo Marcantonio, a Mod who was caught up in the clashes.(Photo: Mods confined to Brighton beach by the police. Credit: Getty Images)

In May 1939 more than 900 Jews, many of them young children, fled Nazi Germany aboard a luxury cruise liner. They were trying to get to Cuba and the USA, but the ship was turned away in Havana and its passengers sent back to Europe. Witness speaks to two people who survived the journey.

In May 1974, the West German chancellor Willy Brandt was forced to resign after it was revealed that one of his aides was a spy for the East German secret police. Witness speaks to his son Matthias, who was twelve at the time, and to his private secretary Wolf-Dietrich Schilling. (Photo: Willy Brandt, president of German Socialist Party (SPD) addresses press 05 July 1977 in Helsinki. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

In 1974 the Swedish pop group Abba finally made it to international pop stardom. Their song Waterloo won the Eurovision Song Contest and they went on to top the charts across Europe. Hear from Mike Batt who was at the Eurovision Song Contest that night and who met the group on the verge of fame.Photo: Abba (with their conductor dressed as Napoleon) Copyright BBC.

On 9 May 1979 a prominent businessman was executed in Iran. He was just one of hundreds of Iranians killed on the orders of revolutionary courts which targeted people with links to the former Shah. But the death of Habib Elghanian in particular sent fear through the country's Jewish community. His cousin Fereshteh Victory remembers.(Photo: Habib Elghanian)

In May 1958 the great African-American singer performed at Carnegie Hall. For the previous eight years, because of his left-wing politics and civil rights activism, he had been banned from performing in most American concert halls. We hear from his granddaughter Susan Robeson.

Yuri Meshkov, who was elected president of Crimea in 1994, shares his memories of losing office a year later when the Ukrainian government accused him of being a separatist working in the interests of Moscow.(Photo: Yuri Meshkov in 1995. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

In 1994, 'The Crow' was released in cinemas, despite lead actor Brandon Lee dying after an accident on set before filming was complete. New computer technology was used to place his character in missing scenes. Hear from the film's special effects supervisor, Andrew Mason.(Photo: Brandon Lee as Eric Draven in 'The Crow'. Credit: Rex Features)

On 2 May 1982, the Argentine cruiser the General Belgrano was sunk by a British submarine during the war over the Falkland or Malvinas Islands. More than 300 Argentinians died. It was the single biggest loss of life of the war, and its sinking remains one of the most controversial actions of the conflict. We hear from one of the survivors of the Belgrano.(Photo: the General Belgrano sinks in the South Atlantic watched by survivors from orange life-rafts. Credit: Associated Press)

In 1934 Mao Zedong led some eighty-six thousand communist followers on an epic journey across China to escape the nationalist forces of Chiang Kai-Shek. Tens of thousands died on the year-long retreat, which became known as the Long March. We hear from Zhong Ming, one of the few survivors still alive. (Photo: Communist leader Mao Zedong (left) during the Long March. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images)

In April 2004, photographs were leaked to the US media showing American soldiers abusing Iraqi detainees at the military prison of Abu Ghraib. Witness hears BBC interviews with Lynndie England, who featured in many of the photos, and Joe Darby, the whistleblower who revealed the abuse.Photo: Image obtained by The Associated Press which shows Pfc. Lynndie England holding a leash attached to a detainee in late 2003 at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo)

In April 1945, thousands of Italians crowded into a Milan square to see the body of the wartime fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini. He, his mistress and his close associates had been shot by partisans, and their corpses strung up by their feet for all to see. We talk to the poet Franco Loi, who was in the crowd that day, and to an American journalist who has documented Mussolini's last days. (Photo: Benito Mussolini (right) and Adolf Hitler (left) give the fascist salute at the Tomb of the Fascist Martyrs, Florence, 1938. Credit: Getty Images)

In April 1996, lone gunman Martin Bryant killed 35 people in the Australian town of Port Arthur. The deaths shocked the nation and resulted in major changes to the country's gun laws. Hear from John and Gaye Fidler, who survived the massacre, but lost three friends.(Photo: The Broad Arrow Café, where the Port Arthur Massacre began. Credit: AP)

In 1930 protestors gathered in Qissa Khwani Bazaar to object to the the arrest of independence activist Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan - also known as The Frontier Gandhi. The gathering in Peshawar was a non-violent one, but British soldiers opened fire and hundreds of people were killed. We dip into the archives for a recording of a British colonial officer, Olaf Caroe, who gave his account of this violent episode in the story of Indian independence to the BBC in the 1970s.Picture: Mahatma Gandhi with Pashtun leader Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, 1938 in Peshawar, during a political meeting. Courtesy of OFF/AFP/Getty Images

On 25 April 1974 a coup carried out by left-leaning army officers led the way to democracy in Portugal. The largely peaceful handover of power became known as the Carnation Revolution. Hear from Adelino Gomes, who was a young journalist in Lisbon at the time.(Photo: A wall covered with murals and the words 25 April 1974 - 2014, marking the 40 year anniversary of the Carnation Revolution. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

In April 1980, Robert Mugabe became the first prime minister of Zimbabwe - formerly Rhodesia. He had just won historic elections, ending years of white minority rule. We hear from Wilf Mbanga who was once part of Mr Mugabe's inner circle.(Photo: Wilf Mbanga (centre) tells joke to Robert Mugabe (L) and Julius Nyrere of Tanzania (R) , Delhi, 1984. Credit: Bester Kanyama)

Senator Joseph McCarthy made it his mission to purge communists from American public life - but in April 1954 he was the subject of his own congressional hearing, after allegations that he had tried to blackmail the US Army into giving preferential treatment to one of his aides. Witness speaks to Norman Dorsen, one of the Army's junior legal advisors in the Army-McCarthy hearings.(Photo: American politician Joseph McCarthy, Republican senator from Wisconsin, testifies against the US Army during the Army-McCarthy hearings, Washington DC, 9 June, 1954. McCarthy stands before a map which charts communist activity in the United States. Credit: Getty Images)

In April 1967, seven years of military dictatorship began in Greece. Thousands of people were arrested and tortured during the rule of the Colonels. Witness speaks to Gerasimos Nortaras, who was part of the armed resistance to the military. He was captured, but refused to give away his fellow fighters, even under brutal torture.

Cuban exiles, backed by the US government, tried to overthrow Fidel Castro in April 1961. But their mission ended in disaster. Witness speaks to Alfredo Duran, one member of the Bay of Pigs invasion force.Photo: A group of anti-government rebels after their capture by Castro forces (Getty Images)

In the Soviet Union Christians were discouraged from celebrating their main religious festival, Easter. For decades, the atheist state was formally opposed to Christianity, but many believers worshipped in secret. Dina Newman reports. Photo: Easter procession, Credit: AFP

In April 1989 the Polish trade union Solidarity was legalised once again, after eight years operating underground. It was a key step towards Solidarity’s defeat of the Moscow-backed communist authorities at elections later that year. Witness hears from Solidarity's former spokesman, Janusz Onyszkiewicz.Photo: Polish Solidarity spokesmen Janusz Onyszkiewicz (L) and Jozef Slisz (R) look on as advisor Bronislaw Geremek calls for the legalisation of independent political parties on 6 June, 1989. (Credit: Getty Images)

An explosion at a train station in North Korea killed around 170 people and destroyed thousands of homes in April 2004. In a rare moment of openness, authorities in Pyongyang asked the United Nations for help. Hear from a Western aid worker who travelled to Ryongchon to assess the damage.(Photo: North Koreans clear rubble after the Ryongchon train explosion. Credit: Gerald Bourke/World Food Programme/Getty Images)

In post-war Orange County, California, children of Mexican descent were schooled separately from white children until one family took on the system. Photo: Hoover Elementary School (Mexican only) courtesy of the Mendez family.

American scientists announced they had discovered an effective vaccine against polio in April 1955. It would save millions of children from disability and death. The doctor who led the research was Jonas Salk. Hear from his son Peter and a nurse who worked with him.Photograph courtesy of March of Dimes: Dr Jonas Salk innoculating his son, Peter.

In April 1979 the brutal Ugandan ruler, Idi Amin, was ousted by invading Tanzanian troops and members of the Ugandan opposition. It was the culmination of a six month conflict between the two countries, which had been triggered by Amin's ill-fated invasion of northern Tanzania.Idd Lubega, a young sports journalist, recalls those final days. Photo: Idi Amin with a rocket launcher, April 1979. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

On 9 April, 1989, Soviet troops and tanks crushed a mass demonstration in Georgia's capital Tbilisi. Hear from two demonstrators on the streets of the capital that night.(Photo: Large crowd of demonstrators in Tbilisi. Credit: Giorgi Tsagareli)

The great American contralto, Maria Anderson, sang outdoors to a vast crowd in Washington DC on 9 April, 1939. She had been barred by one of the city's main concert halls because she was black.(Photo: Marian Anderson. Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The mass killing of minority ethnic Tutsis in Rwanda began on 7 April 1994. Early that morning, the Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana and her family, sought shelter with neighbours. Hear from the prime minister's daughter, Marie-Christine Umuhoza, and from one of those neighbours - a UN aid worker.(Photo: Refugees flee the killing in Kigali. Credit: Associated Press)

In 1942, Gandhi called on all Indians to rise up in non-violent resistance to British rule, in what became known as the Quit India movement. Witness speaks to SP Vittal, a veteran of the campaign.Photo: Mahatma Gandhi (R) sits with Jawaharlal Nehru, during a Congress Party meeting in Bombay, 9 August, 1942, Credit: AFP/Getty Images

After World War Two, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor - formerly King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson - settled in Paris. Hear archive accounts of their life in effective royal exile, after the Duke gave up his crown to marry divorcee Simpson. Plus royal historian Hugo Vickers.(Photo: The Duke and Duchess of Windsor in June 1967. Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

In April 2004 the death of a 23-year-old student provoked a wave of protests in Argentina. The demonstrators demanded a tough government response to rising crime. The protests were led by Juan Carlos Blumberg, father of the murdered student.(Photo: Posters bearing the photo of Axel Blumberg. Credit: AFP)

On April 1st 1957 a team of BBC journalists played an April Fool's joke on the British public. They used a serious news programme to air a feature about the 'harvesting' of spaghetti in Switzerland.

On March 31 1995, rising Latino superstar Selena was shot dead by her fan club manager in a Texas motel. The Grammy-award-winning singer was just 23 years old at the time. Her husband, Chris Perez, tells Witness about the day he lost his wife.(Photo: AP)

In August 1976 the first outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus was registered in a small village in northern Zaire. Almost 300 people died before the outbreak was eventually contained.Witness speaks to two doctors who helped deal with the health crisis.(Photo: Science Photo Library)

In March 1999 a former pathologist called Jack Kevorkian was convicted of murder in the US state of Michigan. He had become notorious for performing euthanasia on patients who had asked him to end their lives. Lucy Burns speaks to his lawyer, Geoffrey Fieger.

On March 26th 1989, Soviet citizens were given their first chance to vote for non-communists in parliamentary elections. Democrats led by Boris Yeltsin, won seats across the country. Sergei Stankevich was one of the successful candidates.(Photo: Boris Yeltsin on the campaign trail. Credit: Vitaly Armand. AFP/Getty Images)

In 1984 a Maori language song got to number one in New Zealand for the first time. The song Poi E remained top of the pops for four weeks. It reinvigorated the Maori language and changed the way they saw themselves. (Photo: Courtesy of Patea Maori Club)