http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7253491.stm

 

US urges reform as Castro quits

 

Fidel Castro has not been seen in public since his operation in July

US President George W Bush has called on Cuba to prepare for free elections after Fidel Castro's announcement that he is retiring on health grounds.

The ailing communist leader, who is 81 and has not been seen in public since surgery in July 2006, said he would not accept a new term as president.

 

Mr Castro's brother Raul, the 76-year-old acting leader, is strongly tipped to replace him.

 

The US state department has said its embargo on Cuba remains in place.

 

This should be a period of democratic transition for the people of Cuba

 

US President George W Bush

 

 

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Cold War to thaw?

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It would probably not be lifted "any time soon", one senior official said.

 

The European Union said it hoped to revive ties with Cuba while China described Mr Castro as an old friend and said it would maintain co-operation with Havana.

 

Beijing has taken over as one of Havana's key economic partners, the BBC's Nick Miles reports.

 

Moscow used to fulfil that role but it was noticeably silent on the end of the Fidel era, he adds.

 

No demonstrations calling for change were reported on the streets of Havana - in contrast to muted celebrations by anti-Castro exiles in Miami, Florida.

 

'Blessings of liberty'

 

Speaking on a tour of Africa, Mr Bush said he regarded Mr Castro's departure as "a period of transition, and it should be the beginning of the democratic transition in Cuba".

 

The US, he added, was ready to help the "people of Cuba realise the blessings of liberty".

 

FIDEL CASTRO

 

Born in 1926 to a wealthy, landowning family

Took up arms in 1953, six years before coming to power

Brother Raul was deputy and Che Guevara third in command

Has outlasted nine American presidents

Target of many CIA assassination plots

Daughter is a dissident exile in Miami

 

 

Castro's life in pictures

 

In the UK, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman said Mr Castro's departure opened the way for a peaceful transition to a pluralist democracy.

 

China described Mr Castro as an old friend and said it would maintain co-operation with Cuba.

 

Mr Castro announced his resignation in a letter published on the website of the Cuban Communist Party's newspaper Granma in the middle of the night, Cuban time.

 

He said he was "not in a physical condition" to continue as president and commander-in-chief but promised to remain "a soldier of ideas", writing essays entitled Reflections of Comrade Fidel.

 

The National Assembly is widely expected to elect Raul Castro as Fidel's successor. He has mooted major economic reforms and "structural changes".

 

But some analysts see a possible generational jump, with Vice-President Carlos Lage Davila, 56, a leading contender.

 

Raul Castro has worked to ensure a smooth political transition, keeping the army loyal to the regime and strengthening the Communist Party's hold by introducing reforms and weeding out corrupt officials.

 

He has also had the advantage of continued economic support from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in the form of millions of barrels of cheap oil.

 

 

 

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He is old now .

"Speaking on a tour of Africa, Mr Bush said he regarded Mr Castro's departure as "a period of transition, and it should be the beginning of the democratic transition in Cuba".

 

The US, he added, was ready to help the "people of Cuba realise the blessings of liberty"."

 

*coughjustlikeiraqcough*

 

Not that I'm against democracy in Cuba, obviously. But Bushy's not the guy to spread love & liberty,lol.

 

These are going to very interesting times for Cuba indeed.

 

I don't think much will change without a popular revolution. Knowing that Castro has been dying for years, the Govt. will have made sure provisions are in place to prevent change. Don't be looking for 'Bay Of pigs II' anytime soon.

Viva Castro:)

Viva Castro:)

 

oh, you mean "long live the mass-murdering communist dictator"? nice sentiment.

oh, you mean "long live the mass-murdering communist dictator"? nice sentiment.

 

 

These days who defend his country called terrorist and who attacking and

Occupying the others called freedom fighter.

 

If Castro a mass-murdering as you say, so what you call Mr. Bush and the other Zionists.

Karma and carmel.

 

Castro's bad in some ways, and so are Bush and the extreme right in Israel as well! Castro likes to put people in jail (under horrible conditions, virtually forever) who go against his policy, or who speak out against his rule. He's a dictator. Bush is misguided, arrogant, a liar and a manipulator; gets into messy wars that cause more pain and suffering than they solve, and alienates the world from the US. He is un-American, because he defiles our most intelligent beliefs as a people, enshrined in our constitution. And the Israel lobby does more harm than good to Israel by backing harsh actions, which ultimately fly back in people's faces, as it only bolsters support for extremists in Palestine and elsewhere. It's simple - it's bad Karma to treat others as though they have no rights.

If the people of Cuba were allowed to be free to speak their minds, I'm sure they would want to get rid of Castro (and Raul). It's just not probable, when the dictator has had a lock on everything for so long.. I think the Cuban people needed a fair-trade deal, and to have real competition, not the monopoly they had (US Sugar) back in the 40's and 50's; they needed a representative type government; what they had then (40's and 50's) was a dictatorship we supported. Then along came Fidel. He was a revolutionary first, and only converted to Communism because the US spurned him in favor of the "stable business partner" running Cuba at the time. His brother Raul talked him into Communism, and ties to the USSR were established, which allowed Cuba to be free of American control. But, had we had our wits about us in the 50's, we should have backed Castro, and I think at the time, he would have desired to have free elections in Cuba. Once again, we chose to back the business interests' desires to keep a stable dictator in power, whom the people wanted out. We could have changed history, and helped Cuba gain a better standard of living, as well as free elections - a republic. But, the money obscured wiser thinking, and in the end, US Sugar lost Cuba; the Cuban people lost their democracy; and Castro went communist. No body fared better, except Castro got to be dictator for life, and his henchmen controlled the Island.

I do think the embargo does not help matters - if the Cuban people are given access to better living standards by available trade goods, and in kind have greater tourism dollars and other trade dollars, they will begin to realize more the benefits of trade, and a free society. This will encourage change, as when one gets a taste of freedom, one does not want to go back! So, even if Raul is essentially an extension of Castro, I think the Cuban people deserve a chance for improvement, and the more they see that a better way is possible, the more they will move towards that change.

oh, you mean "long live the mass-murdering communist dictator"? nice sentiment.

i agree with that sentence.

 

but unfortunatelly he is not the only mass-murdering dictator that we have had in History, communism is very different of what people think, well any extremism is bad for people.

 

about the topic of the thread; i hope that things in Cuba will change for better now.

 

Eliécer was right. Why are they even forbidden to travel? :(

Eliécer estamos contigo.