The health of Fidel and Cuba

Fidel Castro, Aug. 13.

An aide to the president of Cuba addres sed the Cuban people on national television July 31 to announce that President Fidel Castro had temporarily relinquished his government responsibilities.

Due to a severe intestinal problem that led to bleeding, Cuba’s president had to undergo surgery. According to President Fidel Castro’s statement, the surgery came on the heels of intense work and several trips—including one to Argentina—which brought on great stress.

For the first time since the triumph of the Revolution in 1959, Fidel—as he is affectionately referred to in Cuba and around the world—had to hand over his responsibilities to the first vice president of the country, Raúl Castro. This is in accordance with Cuba’s constitution.

All reports indicate that President Fidel is doing well. But he must take the time to rest and heal in order to carry out his work.

Fidel turns 80 on Aug. 13. The birthday celebrations planned by the Ecuadorian solidarity movement were rescheduled for Dec. 2, marking the 50th anniversary of the historic landing of the Granma ship in Cuba, which launched Fidel’s guerrilla war against the U.S.-backed Batista regime.

As soon as the news of Fidel’s illness was made public, the Bush administration issued hostile and dangerous statements in yet another example of U.S. imperialism’s long-standing desire to overturn the Cuban Revolution. It is this desire matched with persistent deeds that lead to the danger for the Revolution from imperialism. This danger is not rhetoric or fantasy.

U.S. presidents get boos, Fidel gets cheers

When revolutionaries and Cuba supporters around the world heard that President Fidel had taken ill, they were immediately concerned and anxious. This is a leader who is loved and respected not only in his country, but in every nation on the globe.

Fidel is the only leader who can get a standing ovation anywhere.

So it is no surprise that messages of support and wishes to get well were sent to Fidel from around the world. Those sending messages included Gabriel García Márquez; Bolivian President Evo Morales; the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia; General Secretary Hu Jintao of the Chinese Communist Party; Vene zue lan President Hugo Chávez; and Brazil’s President Lula da Silva, as well as countless activists and leaders.

Of special note were messages from the Cuban Five—Cuban political prisoners held in the U.S. for trying to defend their island country by monitoring CIA-backed right-wing terrorists in Miami.

From the U.S. government, there is quite another tone. The health issue of Cuba’s president is being used as a pretext for turning up an anti-Cuba tirade that is very dangerous. Indeed, Cuba’s leaders have warned that Fidel’s health is a major security issue for the island.

Imperialism can easily use the current situation as a pretext for intervention.

For example, in clear violation of Cuba’s sovereignty, White House spokesperson Tony Snow on Aug. 1, just one day after Cuba’s announcement, stated: “The one thing that [President George W. Bush] has talked about from the very beginning is his hope for the Cuban people finally to enjoy the fruits of freedom and democracy. For the dictator, Fidel Castro, to hand off power to his brother, who’s been the prison keeper, is not a change in that status. Raúl Castro’s attempt to impose himself on the Cuban people is much the same as what his brother did. So, no, there are no plans to reach out. The one thing we want to do is to continue to assure the people of Cuba that we stand ready to help.”

The actions of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ratcheted up the danger of U.S. intervention even more. According to news accounts, the secretary of state warned Cuba that Fidel must not be replaced by “a new dictator.” Rice urged Cubans to “stay on the island amid the political turmoil.”

She said on Meet the Press, which aired on Aug. 6: “This is a transition period for the Cuban people. We are going to stand with them for the proposition that there should not simply be the end of one dictatorship and the imposition of another dictatorship.

“The United States really feels very strongly and we’ve worked to tell the Cuban people that their future is at home. And, no, a mass exodus is not to be expected, nor would it be condoned,” Rice said. “What the United States has been giving is a message to the Cuban people that change is clearly underway. The United States stands clearly with people who want a more democratic future.”

Earlier, on Aug. 4, Rice—via U.S.-funded Radio Marti and TV Marti—called on “the world community” to press for “multi-party elections amid uncertainty over Castro’s fate.” She told Cubans, “We will stand with you to secure your rights—to speak as you choose, to think as you please, to worship as you wish and to choose your leaders, freely and fairly, in democratic elections.”

The Miami Herald of Aug. 7 reported that broadcasts to Cuba through TV Marti and Radio Marti have increased to six times a week. Radio Marti began in 1985 and TV Marti in 1990 in violation of Cuba’s sovereignty and international law. Radio Marti and TV Marti are tools used by the right wing in this country to spew anti-Fidel and counter-revolutionary messages.

The climate of hostility emanating from Washington has the solidarity movement on alert. In the last few days an international letter titled, “The sovereignty of Cuba must be respected,” has circulated around the world. It has been signed by such notables as José Saramago, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Desmond Tutu, Rigoberta Menchú, Nadine Gordimer, Noam Chom sky, Harry Belafonte, Mario Benedetti, Ignacio Ramonet, Danny Glover, Eduardo Galeano, Russell Banks, Alice Walker and Ramsey Clark.

The statement reads in part: “As a result of the communication of Fidel Castro on his state of health and the provisional delegation of his responsibilities, high-ranking U.S officials have formulated more explicit statements about the immediate future of Cuba. The Secretary of Com merce Carlos Gutierrez said that ‘the moment has arrived for a true transition towards a true democracy … .’

“Already the ‘Commission for Assis tance to a free Cuba,’ presided over by the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, pointed out in a report issued[in] June ‘the urgency of working today to ensure that the Castro regime’s succession strategy does not succeed’ and President Bush indicated that this document ‘demonstrates that we are actively working for change in Cuba, not simply waiting for change.’”

The statement concludes: “The Department of State has emphasized that the plan includes measures that will remain secret ‘for reasons of national security’ and to assure its ‘effective implementation.’ It is not difficult to imagine the character of such measures and the ‘announced assistance’ if one considers the militarization of the foreign policy of the present American administration and its performance in Iraq.

“In front of this increasing threat against the integrity of a nation, and the peace and the security of Latin America and the world, we the signatories listed below demand that the government of the United States respect the sovereignty of Cuba. We must prevent a new aggression at all costs.”

To sign on to this statement, visit www.porcuba.org or email [email protected].