2010-11-25 08:56:20 GMT2010-11-25 16:56:20
HAVANA, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- The reappearance of former Cuban leader
Fidel Castro after four years of absence from public life was one of the
most highlighted events in Cuba in 2010.
When he announced the provisional handover of power to his young brother
Raul Castro due to illness in June 2006, many people in and outside the
country had thought it would be the end of the political life of the
leader of the Cuban Revolution.
Thus, his first reappearance in public, an unexpected visit to a science
center in July, was a surprise to many Cubans and even stirred the world.
After having seen images of an ailing Castro: lying down, thin and
haggard as a result of a "serious and sudden illness" that had taken him
to the "edge of death" as he said in his own words, the Cuban leader
surprised everyone by his remarkable physical recovery: bright face and
fluent speech.
First in plaid shirts and sports jackets and later returning to his
traditional olive green uniform, though without his emblematic insignia
of Commander in Chief, Castro held a dozen public appearances over a month.
He visited research centers and the Havana Aquarium, gave interviews,
met Cuban ambassadors in foreign countries and with Cuba's outstanding
young artists and intellectuals.
He presented his new books - "The Strategic Victory" and "The Strategic
Counteroffensive" which detail the 1958 fight of Cuban guerrillas
against the army of dictator Fulgencio Batista in the Sierra Maestra.
On his 84th birthday on Aug. 13, Castro was full of energy and
revolutionary spirit, like an eternal youth, vigorous and passionate.
As the target of more than 600 assassination attempts according to
reports from the State Security Department, Castro has been seen as the
most important political figure in Cuba during the second half of the
20th century.
Though Castro's supporters and opponents disagree on his socialist ideas
and his constant battle against the United States, or the "Empire" in
his words, and its hegemonic policies, they all agree that the world
pays constant attention to Castro's judgments and predictions.
In the eyes of many Cubans, their leader has gained another victory in
the "battle" for his health and seems ready to continue his public
agenda as a true revolutionary warrior.
No comments:
Post a Comment