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News from the Caribbean as of
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Raul Castro calls his brother, Fidel 'irreplaceable'
Friday, December 22, 2006
HAVANA, Cuba (AFP): Cuba's interim leader Raul Castro said Fidel Castro was "irreplaceable" and that he had never tried to imitate his ailing brother in the five months since he was deputised.
Fidel Castro has been recovering in hospital since undergoing intestinal surgery on July 27, and has not been seen in public since.
"Fidel is irreplaceable," Raul Castro said of his 80-year-old brother. "I ought to know. I've known him since I've had the use of reason. We've not always had the best of relations, because, as he says, I am who I am."
Serving also as defense minister, Raul Castro has been known as a no-nonsense, hardline military leader.
Fidel Castro "is irreplaceable, unless he is replaced by all of us, together, each taking his corresponding place," Raul Castro told a meeting of the University Student Federation in Havana.
Only Cuba's communist party could replace Fidel Castro for "obvious reasons," he said.
In the five months since he was deputised by Fidel Castro, Raul said he has not tried to imitate his brother.
"From the first moment it was established that I would not be giving all the speeches," he said.
"On this we must be clear," said Raul Castro, saying he respected the role and the charisma of the leader of the Cuban revolution and that the president's various duties had been distributed among different officials.
The interim leader's comments came two days before the communist Caribbean nation's legislature meets Friday amid speculation about Fidel Castro's health and the country's political future.
It will be only the second time in its 30-year history that Fidel Castro will miss a session of the National Assembly of People's Power (ANPP).
Raul Castro also told the student audience that the revolutionary generation had a duty to pass the torch to a younger generation, whether "we want to or not."
He urged the students to debate current issues during what he called a "historic" moment in Cuba.
He described his brother as "perseverant, talented and guided by solid principles."
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