Cuba’s Fidel Castro no show at parade

HAVANA – Fidel Castro was a no-show on Saturday at a major military parade that doubled as his 80th birthday celebration, raising questions about whether the ailing leader will ever return to power as his public absence begins taking on a tone of permanence.

Many Cubans had hoped for at least a glimpse of the ailing leader at Saturday’s parade, where scores of olive-camouflaged tanks rumbled through Havana’s Plaza of the Revolution and jet fighters soared above. But it was Defence Minister Raul Castro, who Fidel Castro ceded his powers to four months ago, standing at the mahogany lectern reviewing troops on the 50th anniversary of Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces.The elder Castro’s absence came after he made no appearances all week during celebrations that he himself postponed from his actual birthday on August 13 to allow time to recover from intestinal surgery.Reading a half-hour speech that lacked his brother’s rhetorical flourishes, the uniformed Raul Castro reached out for dialogue with the US government in the latest sign he has consolidated his leadership during his brother’s absence.”We take this opportunity to once again state that we are willing to resolve at the negotiating table the long-standing dispute between the United States and Cuba,” as long as the US respects Cuba’s sovereignty, said Raul Castro, who turned 75 in June.”After almost half a century, we are willing to wait patiently until the moment when common sense prevails in Washington power circles,” he added.Meanwhile, the defence minister said, the Cuban people “shall continue to consolidate our nation’s military invulnerability” based on the island’s “War of All the People” doctrine calling on all able-bodied citizens to take up arms in the event of a foreign invasion.US State Department spokeswoman Janelle Hironimus said it is incumbent on the Cuban government to take democratic steps first.Nampa-APBut it was Defence Minister Raul Castro, who Fidel Castro ceded his powers to four months ago, standing at the mahogany lectern reviewing troops on the 50th anniversary of Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces.The elder Castro’s absence came after he made no appearances all week during celebrations that he himself postponed from his actual birthday on August 13 to allow time to recover from intestinal surgery.Reading a half-hour speech that lacked his brother’s rhetorical flourishes, the uniformed Raul Castro reached out for dialogue with the US government in the latest sign he has consolidated his leadership during his brother’s absence.”We take this opportunity to once again state that we are willing to resolve at the negotiating table the long-standing dispute between the United States and Cuba,” as long as the US respects Cuba’s sovereignty, said Raul Castro, who turned 75 in June.”After almost half a century, we are willing to wait patiently until the moment when common sense prevails in Washington power circles,” he added.Meanwhile, the defence minister said, the Cuban people “shall continue to consolidate our nation’s military invulnerability” based on the island’s “War of All the People” doctrine calling on all able-bodied citizens to take up arms in the event of a foreign invasion.US State Department spokeswoman Janelle Hironimus said it is incumbent on the Cuban government to take democratic steps first.Nampa-AP