Revolution will continue, say Cubans

Cuba said on Friday that acting President Raul Castro was running the country...

Cuba said on Friday that acting President Raul Castro was running the country, but provided no new details on the condition of ailing leader Fidel Castro four days after he handed over power temporarily.

8216;8216;Raul is firmly at the helm of the nation and the armed forces,8217;8217; the ruling Communist Party newspaper said.

Rejecting calls by President Bush for a transition to multi-party democracy, the newspaper said the situation in Cuba was totally calm.

8216;8216;The word transition does not exist in the vocabulary of Cubans here,8217;8217; Granma said.

But with neither of the Castro brothers appearing in public, uncertainty over Cuba8217;s political future was evident on the streets of Havana, where the hustle and bustle of more normal times was noticeably subdued. Many wondered when Raul, 75, would address the nation.

Cuban exiles, meanwhile, welcomed President Bush8217;s rallying of people on the island to push for democracy, but some wanted more.

William Sanchez, an attorney for the Cuban American National Foundation, urged the president to push for an elections timetable and allow Cuban-Americans go to the island by boat to help with a political transition. US policy halts such 8216;8216;flotillas8217;8217; before they enter Cuban waters.

Story continues below this ad

But there was no sense on the island that anything was going to change. 8216;8216;The revolution will continue8217;8217; was the mantra chanted in state media on Thursday.

8216;8216;Every Cuban trusts Raul, and every one of our leaders,8217;8217; an unnamed woman said on state television8217;s midday broadcast. 8216;8216;We are certain that the revolution will continue.8217;8217;

A US official, however, said Cubans in contact with the American mission in Havana expressed fear and unease as they awaited new developments. 8216;8216;We are seeing among the Cuban people a real sense that Fidel is never coming back to power 8212; there seems to be a growing consensus in that direction,8217;8217; said Drew Blakeney, US Interests Section spokesman.

Juanita Castro, who lives in Miami and has been estranged from her brother Fidel since 1963, said people in Havana had told her Fidel was released from intensive care on Wednesday, but she knew nothing more. 8216;8216;He8217;s very sick, that8217;s it,8217;8217; she said.

Story continues below this ad

Many on the island suspected Fidel Castro was still running the show, an impression supported by the younger Castro8217;s avoidance of the spotlight.

8220;Initially, I don8217; think Raul Castro is going to make any decisions on his own without the authorisation of his brother,8221; said Eloy Gutierrez-Menoyo, a former exile now living in Cuba as a moderate dissident.