Official paper publishes new statement from Castro

Official paper publishes new statement from Castro
Copyright by The Chicago Sun Times
August 13, 2006


On his 80th birthday, Fidel Castro cautioned Cubans he faced a long recovery from surgery but urged them to stay optimistic, while the Communist Youth newspaper published the first photographs of the Cuban leader since his illness.

Castro, whose illness forced him to step aside as president two weeks ago, said his health had improved, but warned he still faced risks.

"I feel very happy," said a statement attributed to Castro in the Juventud Rebelde newspaper. "For all those who care about my health, I promise to fight for it."

"To say that the objective stability has considerably improved is not making up a lie," the statement read. "To affirm that the recovery period will take a short time and that there is no risk would be absolutely incorrect.

"I ask you all to be optimistic, and at the same time to be ready to face any adverse news," it added.

"To the people of Cuba, infinite gratitude for your loving support. The country is marching on and will continue marching on perfectly well."

The online edition of the newspaper also published four photographs of Castro wearing what looked like a white and red running suit. In two of them he is talking on the telephone and in another is showing a copy of the Saturday edition of Granma, the Communist Party newspaper.

On Saturday, Granma carried a report saying that Castro was walking and talking again, and even working a bit in the most optimistic report yet since intestinal surgery forced him to cede power temporarily.

Meanwhile, his close friend and political ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, said Saturday that he would visit the Cuban leader.

"Tomorrow I will be with Fidel celebrating his 80th birthday," Chavez said at a news conference in Caracas after declaring his candidacy for re-election in December.

"I'll take him a nice gift, a good cake, and we'll be celebrating the 80 years of this great figure of America and our history," Chavez said.

Chavez also visited Castro in October 2004, two weeks after a fall that shattered the Cuban leader's kneecap and broke his right arm. A picture of the pair on the front page of Granma newspaper was the first image published of Castro after the accident.

Saturday's article in the Granma newspaper--though brief--was the most detailed statement Cuba's government has issued since Castro announced July 31 that he was temporarily ceding his powers to his younger brother Raul, No. 2 in the government.

Fidel Castro said his condition during his recovery would be treated as a "state secret," so as not to give any advantage to his enemies in the United States.

"Firm Like a Caguairan," the Granma headline read, comparing Castro to a hardwood tropical tree native to eastern Cuba.

"A friend tells us that just a few hours ago, upon visiting the Comandante who was briefly dispatching some business, he witnessed some good news that he enthusiastically summed up in one sentence: 'The Caguairan has risen,"' the paper said in a three-paragraph report.

"He said that he could appreciate how the Chief of the Revolution, after receiving a little physical therapy, took some steps in his room and then, seated in a chair, conversed animatedly," the report said, without identifying the friend.

While the news of Castro's progress will surely be embraced by his supporters, South Florida's Cuban exile community used it to criticize the island's government.

"Sadly, Granma's optimism of Fidel Castro's health is in sharp contrast to political prisoners who are rotting in Cuban prisons for simply disagreeing (with him)," said Alfredo Mesa, spokesman for the Cuban American National Foundation. "Dead or alive, change in Cuba must come now. The era of Fidel Castro must end."

Despite the optimistic assessment of Castro's progress, few believed that he would be making a public appearance on his 80th birthday Sunday.

No official events had been announced for Sunday, although Cuban musicians were staging a Saturday night concert in support of Castro and his government.

Latin American intellectuals had planned several days of parties, concerts and conferences on the legacy of Cuba's "Maximum Leader." But Castro was expected to spend the weekend in recovery. Celebrations have been postponed until Dec. 2, the 50th anniversary of the Revolutionary Armed Forces.

Cubans have cultivated a myth over the last half-century that Castro is invincible, but in recent days have had to face the reality that their leader is an elderly man who will someday die.

The Cuban president blamed an unspecified intestinal problem brought on by a heavy work schedule. He recently traveled to Argentina for a summit of the trade group Mercosur and gave two long speeches in eastern Cuba on July 26, the last time he was seen in public.