Fidel Castro shoots down ‘birds of bad omen’

Published on 23/10/2012 02:27

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro dismissed reports that he was dead or near death in an article published in Cuba’s state-run press.

He accused news agencies and enemies of Cuba of spreading “stupidities” about him, particularly a report from a Spanish newspaper last week that said he had suffered a massive stroke and was in a vegetative state.

“Birds of bad omen! I don’t even remember what a headache is,” he wrote yesterday.

The article, ironically titled “Fidel is Dying”, in Communist Party newspaper Granma was accompanied by photographs showing him walking outside on a sunny day on what appeared to be a farm.

He wore a straw hat and red plaid shirt, used a walking cane and, in one photo, held a copy of Granma from Friday.

The photos, Castro said, were “proof of what liars they are”.

Social media has been alight in recent weeks with rumours about Castro, who is 86 and has been in declining health for several years.

He ruled Cuba for 49 years before resigning in 2008, citing age and infirmity. Younger brother Raul Castro succeeded him as president.

On blogs and Twitter, he has been declared dead or near dead numerous times, spurred by a long, unexplained absence from the public eye.

Elias Jaua, a former Venezuelan vice-president, said on Sunday that he had met the Cuban revolutionary leader over the weekend, showing reporters pictures of the meeting and saying Castro was in good health and lucid.

It was also reported that the former leader stopped and chatted with staff and guests at the Hotel Nacional on Saturday afternoon.

Castro had not written one of his “Reflections” opinion columns for state press since 19 June or been seen publicly since March, when he received the visiting Pope Benedict XVI.

His last few Reflections were also Twitter-like in their brevity and slightly oddball in content, which left Cubans wondering about their former leader’s mental state.

But Castro said he had decided to stop the columns for a practical reason.

“I stopped publishing Reflections because surely it is not my role to occupy the pages of our press, dedicated to other work the country requires,” he said.

As for how he spends his time now, Castro wrote, “I like to write and I write. I like to study and I study.”

Castro also used the article to defend his role in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which 50 years ago this month brought the world to the brink of nuclear war when the United States discovered that the Soviet Union had placed nuclear missiles in Cuba.

Castro said Cuba viewed the missiles as necessary to stopping a US invasion of the island 90 miles from Florida and had no regrets about its decision.

“Our conduct was ethically irreproachable. We will never apologise to anyone for what we did,” he said.

Cubans reacted with a mix of support and cynicism to Castro’s reappearance.

“He looks well to me and the truth is I’m happy, but one day he will die because at his age he’s on borrowed time,” said Camilo Fuentes, a 67-year-old Havana resident.

“I think it is a big show,” said Carina Rojo, a 57-year-old retiree. “People don’t care anymore ... there is much more interest in these things outside the country.”