Finally tonight to Spain, where the Basque separatist group ETA announced a permanent ceasefire earlier this year, the decision sparked hopes of a breakthrough in a long running conflict that has claimed hundreds of lives. But when David O'Shea turned up to film one of ETA's heroes being released from jail, he found passions are still running as high as ever.
REPORTER: David O’Shea
These Basque nationalists are on their way to the far south of Spain to pick up the man they call the Nelson Mandela of the Basque country. He is due to be released at first light after 31 years in prison.
MALE SUPPORTER (Translation): He is very important to us, a very important person.
To his supporters – Jose Sagardui - or Gatza – is Europe’s longest serving political prisoner.
FEMALE SUPPORTER (Translation): He is someone who has been a victim of the Spanish state’s repressive policy of incarceration. And that form of repression is finally over for him.
To many Spaniards though, Gatza is an unrepentant ETA killer who was convicted of two assassinations and the attempted murder of a police chief and he should never be freed.
REPORTER (Translation): But he killed people and all that, didn’t he?
FEMALE SUPPORTER (Translation): But he has been punished enough. He’s served his sentence.
We arrive at the prison to a hostile reception by the Association of Victims of Terrorism - a very powerful lobby group here in Spain.
CROWD (Translation): Sons of bitches! Murderers! Rot in prison ETA, sons of bitches! Die in prison ETA, sons of bitches! Without guns, you’re pieces of shit!
Gatza, the people are with you! Go Gatza! The people are with you!
Over the three decades Gatza has been in 14 different prisons. Much of the time spent in maximum security, he's been on 13 hunger strikes and he's tried to escape but failed. With an acknowledgement to his supporters it's into a waiting car and he's on his way back to the Basque country.
CROWD (Translation): Murderer!
REPORTER (Translation): How did he look to you?
Someone lets off a firecracker to mark the beginning of celebrations.
REPORTER (Translation): This is a big day for you, isn’t it?
MAN (Translation): Yes really big - Gatza represents the collective of Basque political prisoners – he is a survivor.
An hour's drive away, Gatza stops at a roadside cafe and has his first taste of freedom.
REPORTER (Translation): Not much of that inside prison.
GATZA (Translation): No, nothing at all. 0.0% alcohol in there - non-alcoholic beer. Cheers!
It’s difficult – very difficult – so difficult you… couldn’t even put it all in a book. Each day that passed – my time with fellow prisoners… It’s a bit complicated for me to describe now. A thousand different things happened during those years. People died in prison.
From the moment he was arrested Gatza had to learn quickly how to survive.
GATZA (Translation): When they knock on your door or smash your door down – it all starts from there. And then… as a person, you have to go into self defence mode in order to put up with all that. I’ve been very lucky.
But after so many years locked away, how will he go on the outside? Gatza's old ETA friends, who haven't been out long out of prison themselves, offer advice on how to deal with what comes next.
GATZA (Translation): If you went through it I will too – It’s difficult.
FRIEND (Translation): Of course of course. The relationships you have inside and out…. people visit you inside but this is different, you are not in your environment, it’s difficult to talk to people.
GATZA (Translation): Of course.
FRIEND (Translation): We will tell him as we go along – bit by bit.
GATZA (Translation): He’ll see how things go now. He has to forget the past and get on with it.
FRIEND (Translation): It’s not easy.
GATZA (Translation): No- letting go isn’t easy. That’s right.
Gatza is nervous about the homecoming. The Spanish Government has banned any public events to celebrate Gatza's release. But a few days later a spring fair is called in his home town, the festivities are clearly a way of bypassing the ban. Early in the day Gatza is out and about mingling with old friends.
GATZA (Translation): It was wonderful – the solidarity of the ex prisoners who came to see me. I recognised them all. I hadn’t forgotten any of them. They were all very welcome.
Several hundred more people arrive in the afternoon and the mood changes. Visitors to the unlikely spring fair walk forward in unison to occupy the park in front of Gatza's home. This is now an illegal political rally.
CROWD (Translation): IN-DE-PEN-DEN-CE!
To the crowd’s approval, Gatza appears on the balcony alongside his family. The police show little sympathy. One man tries to negotiate a compromise with police - telling them they will stay half an hour, sing the Basque anthem and then disperse.
MAN (Translation): It’s our right and we’ll do it, whether they like it or not.
REPORTER (Translation): What did they say?
MAN (Translation): They’ll check first. But like it or not, it’s our right and we’re going to sing it.
Where’s your chief? What’s going on here? Shit democrats! What’s going on?
Come and see what’s happening. Give them orders, damn it!
GATZA (Translation): Today, after so many years, there’s still no respect, not even a tribute to someone who has been in prison for 31 years. It shows that there’s no… there is still a lot of pressure - with all those people - they don’t won’t us anywhere near the people - they won’t let us go near them.
CROWD (Translation): Go away – leave us alone!
In the end they do get to sing the anthem.
CROWD (Translation): Let’s go, all the soldiers, under the Basque flag. Go ETA army!
REPORTER (Translation): Do you feel comfortable being treated as a hero?
GATZA (Translation): No, I don’t believe it. I never will. Many of my fellow prisoners remain inside and at the very least share my values, or even loftier ones. So it’s not all that important. But their being inside is. Some have put up with things for many years they are almost catching up with me.
JOE DOHERTY, IRA: It takes a long time to get yourself acclimatised.
One man who understands exactly what Gatza is going through is the IRA's Joe Doherty, who served 24 years in prison.
JOE DOHERTY: He will have his problems, be will be touching on a sense of post traumatic stress, because it's not just being in prison. He went through a lot of torture as well. You know, the Spanish system is not there to make the Basques prisoners happy or to be comfortable.
Doherty has been invited to the Basque country to speak about his own experience as a former combatant who is now working in peace and reconciliation.
JOE DOHERTY: Here we are on the very beginning of a process that might or may involve negotiations with former combatants who were at war with the Spanish State and of course many of these victims were people who were part of the Spanish State so it is going to take time.
I contacted the Spanish group association of victims of terrorism who maintain a hardline stance against ETA but they chose not to respond.
JOE DOHERTY: It is 13 years and still to this day many of our victims groups cannot come to terms that people like myself, former combatants are in the government but there is more acceptance and that takes time.
Whether or not there is a role for former prisoners like Gatza in any future peace process is still unclear. He is not about to give up on demands for independence and is still in the self defence survival mode that got him through the 31 long years.
GATZA (Translation): Our rights in the Basque Country have always been violated and trampled on. We’ve always struggled for those rights and I don’t know if they’ll ever be recognised.
REPORTER (Translation): So this is no easy matter?
GATZA (Translation): Today … at the present moment there is a lot of pain and I don’t know, maybe some day... When they start respecting our rights, rights which we’re still denied and which should be recognised, one could be capable of a lot of things.
Back at the spring fair police are clearing the stragglers and Gatza and his family make their move. With the wife he met while in prison and the daughter he barely knows, it's off to the countryside for a few days rest and relaxation.
GATZA (Translation): My passion for life hasn’t been extinguished in spite of how difficult it’s been. I’ve been able to…live, within those constraints. It’s been incredible for me - but it’s something I had to go through. It’s almost unimaginable.
Reporter/Camera
DAVID O'SHEA
Producer
VICTORIA STROBL
Editors
WAYNE LOVE
NICK O’BRIEN
Translations/Subtitling
PILAR BALLESTEROS
CLAUDIANNA BLANCO
ERIKA GONZALEZ
Original Music composed by
VICKI HANSEN
Dedicated to the memory of Cathy Carey, whose work as a Dateline researcher established contact with ETA.
5th June 2011