Usa Forum - Raul Castro Says Fidel Is Recovering

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8/19/2006 2:21:00 AM

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Raul Castro Says Fidel Is Recovering

Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit

[The mainstream news twins, AP and Reuters, report on Raul's comments
as published in Granma Daily.]

Reuters via The New York Times - Aug 18, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-cuba-c...

Raul Castro Says Fidel Castro Recovering

By REUTERS

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban leader Fidel Castro is recovering gradually, acting
President Raul Castro said in an interview published on Friday, his first
statements since he took over from his ailing brother last month.

The younger Castro said he mobilized Cuba's armed forces and tens of
thousands of reservists to face the threat of a U.S. invasion in the crucial
hours after the July 31 handover.

"Absolute tranquillity is reigning in the country," he said in an interview
published in the Communist Party newspaper Granma.

Raul Castro, 75, said his brother's improvement has been "progressive."
Fidel Castro's physical and mental strength have helped his "satisfactory
and gradual recovery," the younger brother said.

Cuba announced on July 31 that Fidel Castro, who turned 80 on August 13,
underwent surgery for intestinal bleeding and delegated the presidency and
leadership of the Communist Party provisionally to his brother Raul, head of
the Cuban armed forces and his designated successor.

Raul Castro said there had been an outpouring of support for the government.
"It has been clear demonstration of the people's unbeatable unity and
revolutionary conscience, essential pillars of our country."

His appointment sparked speculation that Fidel Castro's 47-year rule on the
island just 90 miles from Florida might be ending. Rumors were fueled when
neither Raul nor Fidel Castro appeared in public until August 13, when Raul
appeared on state television and video images of Fidel were released.

"As a point of fact, I am not used to making frequent appearances in public,
except at times when it is required," Raul Castro said in the Granma
interview.

He said many of his activities as defense minister were best kept out of the
public light, adding, "Moreover, I have always been discreet, that is my
way, and in passing I will clarify that I am thinking of continuing in that
way."

Castro said he was gratified by the support expressed from around the world,
and expressed scorn for those who had expected chaos in Cuba, particularly
in arch-enemy the United State.

"We could not rule out the risk of somebody going crazy, or even crazier,
within the U.S. government," he said.

At dawn on August 1, Raul Castro said he raised Cuba's combat level and
mobilized tens of thousands of reservists and militia members, and informed
the country's main fighting units of the political and military situation.

Raul Castro said he did not want to exaggerate the dangers of U.S.
intervention faced by Cuba.

"So far the attacks have only been rhetorical, with the exception of the
substantial increase in subversive radio and television broadcasts against
Cuba," he said.

Copyright 2006 Reuters

***

AP vis S.Florida Sun-Sentinel - Aug 18, 2006
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/ats-ap_intl11aug18,0,235...

Raul Castro Says Fidel Is Recovering

By ANITA SNOW
Associated Press Writer

HAVANA -- In his first public comments since becoming Cuba's acting
president, Raul Castro said his brother Fidel is recovering and that
thousands of troops were mobilized soon after his illness was announced,
according to an interview published Friday.

Raul Castro, 75, thanked the doctors and others who have cared for his
brother, saying they "have attended to him in an excellent manner... with
much love and dedication. This has been a very important factor in Fidel's
progressive recovery."

Raul Castro, the nation's Defense Minister, said he mobilized the island
nation's troops in the hours after his brother's illness was announced July
31.

"We could not rule out the risk of somebody going crazy, or even crazier,
within the U.S. government," he told Lazaro Barredo, editor of the Communist
Party's Granma newspaper.

"I decided to substantially raise our combative capacity... including the
mobilization of several tens of thousands of reservists and militia
members," he said.

A noticeable but still discreet increase in the number of reservists on
Cuba's streets was evident in the first days after it was announced Fidel
had undergone intestinal surgery. Cubans were asked to affirm their
allegiance to the government and willingness to fight for it in the event of
an attack.

Raul Castro, has been at his brother's side since launching the revolution
with the attack on the Moncada military barracks in 1953 and fought with him
in the Sierra Maestra mountains against the dictatorship of Fulgencio
Batista. As No. 2 man in the government, the younger Castro is
constitutionally designated to replace his brother should he die or become
incapacitated.

The government has treated Fidel Castro's ailment, his exact condition and
the type of surgery he underwent as a "state secret."

While Fidel Castro recovers, "absolute tranquility is reigning in the
country," the younger brother said.

The younger Castro said that the Cuban people's calm manner in the more than
two weeks following his brother's illness "reminded me of the conduct of the
Cuban people during the heroic days of the so-called Missile Crisis in
October 1962."

Raul Castro noted that international media had commented on his absence from
public view in the days after he took provisional power, adding that "those
comments don't bother me in the slightest."

He said he did care about what the Cuban people are thinking, however, and
pointed out that he appeared on state television on Sunday, his brother's
80th birthday, to greet visiting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the
airport. He also appeared in photographs of a birthday gathering with his
brother and Chavez.

"As a point of fact, I am not used to making frequent appearances in public,
except at times when it is required," Raul Castro said in the interview.
"Many tasks related to defense should not be made public and have to be
handled with maximum care, and that has been one of my fundamental
responsibilities" as Defense Minister.

He also noted that "I have always been discreet, that is my way, and in
passing I will clarify that I am thinking of continuing in that way," Raul
Castro added. "But that has not been the fundamental reason why I don't
appear very often in the mass media; simply, it has not been necessary."

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