Posted : Tue, 18 Dec 2007 16:01:02 GMT
Author : DPA
Category : US (World)
Washington - The United States will continue to push for democratic rule
in Cuba, the White House said Tuesday, following suggestions by Cuban
leader Fidel Castro that he may be ready to step aside. Castro, 81,
issued a letter late Monday on Cuban television saying it might be time
for a younger generation of leaders on the communist island and that he
did not want to stand in their way.
The United States has maintained its hardline position on Cuba since
Castro temporarily ceded power to his younger brother, Raul, after he
became ill.
"It was an interesting letter," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino
said. "It's hard to make out what he is saying or what he means, as is
not unusual. So we are continuing to work from democracy on the island
and we believe that that day will come soon."
Raul Castro, 76, has been running Cuba since his brother underwent
emergency surgery in July 2006. Fidel has made few public appearances since.
Castro's letter was read on television during a roundtable news
programme Monday night.
"My fundamental duty is not to cling onto positions, and much less to
block the path of younger people, but rather to contribute my
experiences and ideas, the modest value of which corresponds to the
exceptional era that I lived in," Castro said in the text.
The statement was seen as opening the door to an eventual, permanent
power change.
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