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Mass Rallies Planned As Cuba Mourns Castro

RFE/RL November 27, 2016

Cubans are being called to converge on Havana's Revolution Square on November 28 as the communist island nation mourns the death of longtime leader Fidel Castro.

The 90-year-old former revolutionary leader's death was announced on November 26, and is being followed by nine days of official mourning.

Flags are flying at half-staff on government buildings and shows and concerts have been canceled as Cuba absorbs the loss of Castro, who ruled the communist island nation for nearly half a century after seizing power in 1959.

Usually red, the Communist Party daily Granma was printed in black to mourn Castro, and the national baseball federation said top-level games of the sport he loved will not be played during the mourning period.

Mass rallies are planned for the coming days to honor Castro. The urn containing his ashes is to be carried around the country and taken to the eastern city of Santiago to be laid to rest on December 4.

The announcement of Castro's death prompted glowing tributes from some world leaders and prominent figures, condemnation from others including U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, and mixed reactions from many to the death of a man U.S. President Barack Obama said would be judged by history.

In a statement, Trump said: "While Cuba remains a totalitarian island, it is my hope that today marks a move away from the horrors endured for too long, and toward a future in which the wonderful Cuban people finally live in the freedom they so richly deserve."

Meanwhile, thousands of Cuban exiles living in the U.S. city of Miami took to the streets to celebrate Castro's demise.

Castro was admired by many leftists around the world, who saw him as a visionary who stood up to U.S. domination of Latin America, and brought healthcare and education to the poor, inspiring socialist movements across the world.

But his critics accused him of being an autocrat who cracked down on dissent with brutal force.

Trump, who takes office in January, had taken a tough line on Cuba during the campaign, when he threatened to reverse the historic rapprochement between the United States and the island nation if Castro did not allow "religious and political freedom for the Cuban people and the freeing of political prisoners."

'History Will Judge Him'

Obama offered his condolences to Castro's family in a statement and added that history would judge the communist leader's impact on Cuba and around the world.

"At this time of Fidel Castro's passing, we extend a hand of friendship to the Cuban people," Obama said. "History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and world around him."

Castro lived long enough to see Obama visit Cuba earlier this year, the first trip by a U.S. president in 88 years.

Castro did not meet Obama and wrote a scathing column condemning his "honey-coated" words and reminding Cubans of the numerous U.S. efforts to overthrow and weaken Cuba's communist government.

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Castro as the "symbol of an era" in a telegram to Raul Castro, and later called the Cuban president to offer condolences on the death of his brother, the Kremlin said.

Putin called Fidel Castro a "distinguished statesman," a "sincere and reliable friend of Russia," and a "patriot who selflessly served his country and won the love of the Cuban people and the respect of the entire international community."

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev hailed Castro for "strengthening" his island nation.

"Fidel stood up and strengthened his country during the harshest American blockade, when there was colossal pressure on him and he still took his country out of this blockade to a path of independent development," the Interfax news agency quoted Gorbachev as saying.

Venezuela's socialist President Nicolas Maduro said that "revolutionaries of the world must follow his legacy."

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Castro "one of the most iconic personalities of the 20th century," in a tweet.

"I lament the death of Fidel Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban revolution and emblematic reference of the 20th century," Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said on Twitter.

French President Francois Hollande said Castro embodied the "hopes and disappointments" of the Cuban revolution, noting concerns over human rights abuses under the Castro regime.

Rights Violations

Over the years, Castro's regime has been regularly criticized by human rights groups and Western governments for persecuting dissidents and jailing them without trial.

Hollande met Castro in May 2015 during the first ever visit by a French head of state to Cuba since the Cuban revolution.

South African President Jacob Zuma thanked the Cuban leader for his support in the struggle to overthrow apartheid.

"President Castro identified with our struggle against apartheid. He inspired the Cuban people to join us in our own struggle," Zuma said. Chinese President Xi Jinping, in a message read out during the country's main TV channel newscast, said, "Comrade Castro will live forever."

Suffering from an unspecified serious intestinal illness, Castro temporarily stepped down in July 2006 before formally handing over power to his brother in 2008. He ruled the island as a one-party state for nearly 50 years.

In his final years, Castro wrote opinion columns for the state media but rarely made public appearances.

He made his most extensive public appearance in years, on the final day of the country's Communist Party congress in April.

"Soon I'll be like all the others. The time will come for all of us, but the ideas of the Cuban communists will remain as proof that on this planet, if one works with fervor and dignity, they can produce the material and cultural goods that human beings need and that need to be fought for without ever giving up," Castro said.

Limited Economic Reform

A central figure in the Cold War, Castro's rule was marked by the U.S-backed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 and the Cuban missile crisis a year later, which brought the world the closest it has been to nuclear war.

Under Castro, Cuba survived a crippling U.S. trade embargo, as well as dozens of assassination plots.

Several years after Castro stepped down, in December 2014, Raul Castro agreed to reestablish diplomatic ties and end decades of hostility with the United States.

Castro's death seems unlikely to trigger a crisis, as his brother has maintained a firm hold on power in the last decade. He has kept dissidents largely in check and economic reform limited.

Raul Castro has vowed to step down when his term ends in 2018. He has anointed First Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel, 56, as his favored successor.

With reporting by AFP, the BBC, AP, and Reuters

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/castro-death-cuba- rallies-mourning/28142419.html

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Mass Rallies Planned As Cuba Mourns Castro