Saturday, January 27, 2007

by Patrick Moser

HAVANA, Cuba (AFP): Cuban President Fidel Castro last appeared in public six months ago, but the seclusion forced upon him by intestinal surgery has not kept him from the international limelight he cherishes.

The 80-year-old revolutionary leader has not been seen in the flesh since July 26, one day before he underwent intestinal surgery.

Since then, authorities have shared a few photographs and brief video footage that shows him convalescing in bed or taking a few slow steps. The pictures were released on October 28.

Shortly after the operation, Castro, who has survived a number of assassination attempts, said his condition had to remain a "state secret." He also announced, in a statement read on his behalf, that he "provisionally" handed over power to his brother Raul, Cuba's defense minister and longtime number two.

Communist authorities in this one-party state say the bearded leader is recovering steadily but have given only scant details about his condition.

This has fueled intense speculation in Cuba and abroad, once again placing the charismatic leader under the world spotlight in which he thrives.

Castro's ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, has helped keep him in the headlines with occasional statements about the veteran revolutionary's recovery.

After recently stating his Cuban friend was battling for his life, Chavez was more upbeat on Wednesday, saying Castro - nicknamed "the horse" since the days when he led the 1959 revolution - was walking regularly and "almost trotting."

And on Thursday night, Cuban Parliamentary President Ricardo Alarcon said Castro is recovering "very well" and that his return to power would depend on his post-operation" progress."

His statements contrasted with recent claims by top US intelligence officials that the communist leader was terminally ill and had only weeks, or even days, to live.

Alarcon offered no details on Castro's ailment.

US officials have speculated he suffered from cancer, while a recent report by the Spanish daily El Pais said the Cuban president suffered intestinal hemorrhaging last year and a severe infection caused by inflammation of the large intestine.

Alarcon ridiculed the speculation but pointed out that "even those who are inventing the news" admit Cuba has stayed the course and maintained stability over the past months.

In the streets of Havana, a number of people said they were still trying to come to grips with the absence from public life of the towering revolutionary who for almost five decades had taken an interest in even the most minute details of life on the Caribbean island.

"I miss him a lot. We were used to seeing him everyday, so it's logical we would miss him," said Jose Garcia, 65, as he swept a street of the city's historic old town.

Cubans, the majority of who have known no other leader, are anxious for news of "El Comandante," and some are skeptical of the official statements.

"Why so much silence?" a 41-year-old garage employee asked, insisting that Cubans will not believe the official statements until they see Castro on television. "Me, until I see him, I won't believe," he said.

The six months marked Castro's longest absence from the public stage in the 48 years in which he has ruled the country with an iron grip.

But a boy in his early teens marched Friday in the streets of Havana, sporting a fake Castro-like beard and olive-green fatigues similar to those favored by the revolutionary leader.

He was among the thousands of schoolchildren who paraded in the capital to mark the 154th anniversary of the birth of Cuban independence hero Jose Marti, whom Castro claims as an inspiration.

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