The star Online
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Havana - Cuba's ailing leader Fidel Castro yesterday told hundreds of admirers who had travelled here for his delayed 80th birthday celebration that he was not well enough to meet them.
In a message read to Latin American artists at the launch of his five-day birthday bash, Castro said: "I direct myself to you, intellectuals and prestigious personalities of the world, with a dilemma.
"I could not meet with you in a small locale, only in the Karl Marx Theatre where all the visitors would fit, and I was not yet in conditions, according to the doctors, to face such a colossal encounter."
Castro has been seen by the public only in photos and videos since his July 31 announcement that he was temporarily ceding power to his brother, 75-year-old Defence Minister Raul Castro, while he recovered from surgery for intestinal bleeding.
With or without Castro, more than 1 300 politicians, artists and intellectuals from around the globe are determined to honour the man who governed this communist-run island for 47 years.
"My very close friends, who have done me the honour of visiting our country, I sign off with the great pain of not having been able to personally give thanks and hugs to each and every one of you," Castro's announcement said The crowd responded with a massive standing ovation.
Presidents Evo Morales of Bolivia and Rene Preval of Haiti have confirmed their attendance, along with former Ecuadorean President Rodrigo Borja and Nicaraguan President-elect Daniel Ortega.
Also expected are Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona, South African singer Miriam Makeba and Colombian Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Details of Castro's ailment and his medical treatment are state secrets.
Despite periodic statements by Cuban officials that he is recovering, US officials are convinced he suffers from some kind of inoperable cancer and won't live through 2007.
The festivities were originally scheduled around Castro's actual birthday on August 13. After falling ill, Castro asked to postpone them to December 2 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the founding of Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces. - Sapa-AP