Georgetown: Fidel Castro, the Cuban revolutionary leader who outlived 10 US Presidents and 600 assassination attempts died on Friday at the age of 90. He will be widely respected in parts of the world that had struggled against colonial rule.
The Guyana-Cuba Solidarity Movement (GCSM) has expressed its condolence on the passing of a great world leader who was in poor health since an intestinal ailment nearly killed him in 2006. He formally ceded power to his younger brother Raul Castro two years later.
President of GCSM Haleem Khan describing Castro as Cuba's David to Americas Goliath said he is a towering figure of the second half of the 20th Century, Castro stuck to his ideology beyond the collapse of Soviet communism and remained widely respected in many parts of the world. Although he did not meet Barack Obama when he visited Havana earlier this year, Khan said it was the first time a U.S. president had stepped foot on Cuban soil since 1928 Castro's diplomacy is like no other. Khan said Castro's body will be cremated, according to his wishes. Cuba declared nine days of mourning, during which time the ashes will be taken to different parts of the country. A burial ceremony will be held on Dec. 4. The bearded Fidel Castro took power in a 1959 revolution and ruled Cuba for 49 years with a mix of charisma and iron will, creating a one-party state and becoming a central figure in the Cold War. He was demonized by the United States and its allies but admired by many leftists around the world, especially socialist revolutionaries in Latin America and Africa. Nelson Mandela, once freed from prison in 1990, repeatedly thanked Castro for his firm efforts in helping to weaken apartheid.
In April, in a rare public appearance at the Communist Party conference, Fidel Castro shocked party officials by referring to his own imminent mortality. Castro was last seen by ordinary Cubans in photos showing him engaged in conversation with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang earlier this month. Transforming Cuba from a playground for rich Americans into a symbol of resistance to Washington, Castro crossed swords with many U.S. presidents while in power, and outlasted several. His alliance with Moscow helped trigger the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, a 13-day showdown with the United States that brought the world the closest it has been to nuclear war. Castro's death – which would once have thrown a question mark over Cuba's future – seems unlikely to trigger a crisis as Raul Castro is firmly ensconced in power. In his final years, Khan said Fidel Castro no longer held leadership posts. He wrote newspaper commentaries on world affairs and occasionally met with foreign leaders but he lived in semi-seclusion.
Still, the passing of the man known to most Cubans as "El Comandante" – the commander – or simply "Fidel" leaves a huge void in the country he dominated for so long. It also underlines the generational change in Cuba's communist leadership. Raul Castro vows to step down when his term ends in 2018 and the Communist Party has elevated younger leaders to its Politburo, including 56-year-old Miguel Diaz-Canel, who is first vice-president and the heir apparent.
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