Wednesday,
July 27, 2005
Unrest as Cuba notes anniversary
The Associated Press
HAVANA
— Cuba marked the 52nd anniversary of the
start of President Fidel Castro's revolution yesterday
under a cloud of growing social discontent.
Castro said the government was revolutionizing Cuba's
aging electrical system and asked a nation weary
of recent breakdowns to be patient while his government
fixes problems.
Temperatures in the 90s and long blackouts that
stop fans and cause refrigerated food to spoil have
increasingly irritated Cubans and led to reports
of sporadic protests.
"We will overcome. Have a little bit of faith,"
the Cuban leader said in an address of nearly four
hours marking the 52nd anniversary of his revolution.
It celebrated his 1953 attack on a military barracks,
though he did not come to power until Jan. 1, 1959.
The address before a select group of government
faithful and foreign supporters inside Havana's
Karl Marx Theater was an unusually controlled gathering
that contrasted with the mass rallies usually organized
for the July 26 celebration.
Castro said the island's economy grew 7.3 percent
in the first half of 2005 and that attempts to depict
Cuba as being in crisis were fabrications by the
communist nation's enemies.
He also defended the detentions of dozens of opponents
during two recent public protests. He said the government
would respond the same way "as long as traitors
and mercenaries go one millimeter beyond what the
revolutionary people — whose destiny and lives
are at risk going up against the most inhumane empire
— are willing to permit."
Material from Reuters is included in this report.
Copyright © 2005 The Seattle Times Company
