SABC News Online
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Raul Castro clapping at the Fidel Castro 80th Birthday in Cuba
December 02, 2006, 17:15
Thousands of troops marched through the streets of Havana today in a massive military parade marking Fidel Castro's 80th birthday, but there was no sign of the ailing leader.
The event, expected to last perhaps 1 hour 30 minutes, is being closely watched to see if Castro is well enough to appear in public for the first time since he had intestinal surgery in late July and temporarily turned over power to his brother Raul Castro, defense minister .
Raul Castro gave a speech to the several thousand people gathered in Havana's Revolution Square, but only quoted from a past speech by his brother and at the end shouted "Viva Fidel." He said nothing about his absence or his state of health, but praised the Cuban people for showing "maturity" the past four months.
Raul Castro blasts US
Raul Castro also blasted the US for, among other things, its decades-long trade embargo and general hostility towards Cuba. "We take this opportunity to once again state that we are willing to resolve at the negotiating table the longstanding dispute between the US and Cuba." said Raul Castro
Castro's health and questions about his future have overshadowed the military display that experts say is a show of muscle to anyone who thinks communist Cuba is vulnerable because of uncertainty about the man who has led it for 47 years. The parade began with Raul Castro riding on a jeep through Havana's main square after a 21-gun salute.
Loss of Soviet aid
Raul Castro's speech was followed by long columns of soldiers and civilians estimated to number about 300 000 and a replica of the Granma, the leaking yacht that carried Castro and his small band of rebels from Mexico to Cuba on December 2, 1956 to start the revolution that put him in power in 1959.
The event included tanks, rocket launchers and MiG jet fighters provided by the Soviet Union, which was Cuba's biggest benefactor before its collapse in 1991. The loss of Soviet aid forced the Revolutionary Armed Forces to cut its troop strength by 80%. It is now believed to have no more than 60 000 active-duty soldiers - Reuters