Americas News
Fidel Castro apparently stable after operation
By DPA
Aug 2, 2006, 19:00 GMT

Havana - Cuban leader Fidel Castro was apparently stable one day after an intestinal operation, according to official announcements in Havana.

In a statement read Tuesday evening on state television, attributed to the 80-year-old revolutionary figure, Castro apologized that he could not divulge any more details.

'I can say that I am in a stable condition, but in order to further my health, I really need time,' the statement said.

No video or still pictures have been published of Castro since the announcement late Monday that he had temporarily turned over power to his brother, Defence Minister Raul Castro, because of surgery for intestinal bleeding.

The statement emphasized a theme of Monday's statement, that the arch enemy of the United States was waiting to pounce in a perceived moment of weakness for the country. But Castro said the country was prepared to defend itself with its military and its people.

Castro urged his people 'to continue the fight.'

Until Tuesday afternoon, there had been no official pronouncements since Monday's revelation about the surgery.

Parliament President Roberto Alarcon broke the silence first on Tuesday, saying: 'The last moment of President Fidel Castro is still a long way off.'

Alarcon, a member of the politburo of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), also lashed out at the large celebrations on the streets of Miami in southern Florida, heavily populated with Cubans who fled Castro's regime just 150 kilometres across the Caribbean. Many hoped that he would soon die and others speculated that the Cuban government might be hiding his death.

Alarcon said he was sickened by the demonstrators, whom he called 'mercenaries and terrorists.'

'The (Cuban exiles) believe that they can just pack their suitcases and return to Cuba, just like they have done so often in the past - with no success,' he said ironically.

Western diplomats and other foreigners said that life continued as normal in Cuba. Most people went to work. Some attended rallies of solidarity with their ill leader and his brother.

The United States said it will not talk to Raul Castro to explore whether he wants to bring change to the communist island while filling in for his ailing brother, saying the brother had imposed himself on the Cuban people, 'much the same as what his brother did.'