Posted on 10/08/2006 9:13:00 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
HAVANA - The ailing Fidel Castro is not dying but is recovering from an illness, his younger brother and Cuba's acting president said Sunday in response to rumors that the leader was on his deathbed.
Raul Castro, who has been standing in for his brother since July 31, was responding to recent reports including one in Time magazine that said Castro apparently has terminal cancer. Castro is recovering from intestinal surgery but the lack of details from the Cuban government regarding the nature of his illness has sparked a number of rumors about his health.
"He is not dying like some of the press in Miami is saying," Raul Castro told a youth congress in Havana. "He is constantly getting better."
The younger Castro said Fidel has a telephone next to him "and he's using it more and more every day." He said he had a long working session with his brother just two days ago.
Fidel, 80, has not appeared publicly since July 26, and no new photographs of the leader have been released in three weeks. He was last shown receiving private visits by world leaders during the Nonaligned Movement summit in mid-September, which was hosted by Cuba.
In late September, the elder Castro did not meet with visiting Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, whose two-day trip to Cuba marked the highest-level visit from Russia since President Vladimir Putin came to the island in 2000.
Last week, local media reported Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque told Cubans that Castro will return to his post as maximum leader, but he did not say when.
"This takes time, but he's right there," Raul Castro said Sunday. "Little by little, he's working."
The acting president presided over the closing session of a state-sponsored youth congress, which brought together 900 schoolchildren aged 6 to 12 — an age group known as "pioneers" on the communist-run island.
The children gave their support to the ailing Castro in a message published Sunday on a government-run newspaper's Web site, saying his presence was felt at the event.
They also said they would defend the island's revolution against any assault by the U.S. government, calling President Bush and his supporters "cockroaches."
"To Bush and his followers, we say stop being foolish, and that they are truly a bunch of cockroaches," they said in their message. "Don't mess with us, because the pioneers are also ready to defend the Revolution."
Picture of Cuban President Fidel Castro published 05 September 2006 in the official daily Granma in Havana. Castro is believed to have terminal cancer and is unlikely to return to power, a magazine reported, citing US government officials.(AFP/ESTUDIOS REVOLUCION/HO)
A follow-up rebuttal from Raul Castro of media reports of imminent demise of Fidel due to terminal cancer.
So what is his illness? Why does not the open society of Cuba, the shinning example of freedom and democracy tell us what is the problem with their beloved leader? (extreme sarcasm).
Got news for him... WE ALL ARE!
There is no cure for birth, it is a disease (Just ask any Abortion Advocate)
TT
With the great,great,great Cuban health care system no one ever dies!
This is another lie from the pro-America media.
Let me guess -- he's simply pining for the fjiords.
"Raaaaaaaaaoooooooooooooooolll uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...."
Sorry, I couldn't help myself. :o)
LOL... some idiots on the Left bring this "Cuban health care" system to beat up our free capitalist market economy. Yep they have a crappy universal health care system where they lack the basic medical equipments to conduct simple surgeries but no need to have advanced medical system since the vast majority of them are starving.
Well Raul, he's not looking very good these days. In fact, in this picture, he looks like a skeleton in pajamas. Seems to me he's wasting away to nothing, which is what he always was anyway...nothing.
Back in the days of Stalin in Russia, people who brought uncle Joe bad news were sometimes dispatched with a single pistol shot to the head from Joe's ever-present side arm. People learned not to be the bearers of bad tidings. Maybe Tio Castro's doc is unwilling to give the true diagnosis of terminal illness due to the potential of suffering a similar fate. Best to lie. "Take two aspirin and you'll feel better mañana.
Lots of pictures on "the real cuba"
http://therealcuba.com/Page10.htm
I guess the real question here is, will the rich college brats replace their Che' T-shirts with Fidel T-shirts?
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