- Title: Cuba's dissidents confront the unimaginable-- Fidel Castro's death
- Date: 26th November 2016
- Summary: HAVANA, CUBA (NOVEMBER 26, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CUBAN DISSIDENT, AND LEADER OF THE "WE ARE THE OPPOSITION+", ELIECER AVILA, WATCHING TELEVISION REPORTS OF FIDEL CASTRO'S DEATH (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CUBAN DISSIDENT, AND LEADER OF THE "WE ARE THE OPPOSITION+", ELIECER AVILA, SAYING: "I feel that this is the first step in a major change. I think that today is a day that was awaited with jubilation. They are surely toasting with champagne. Others are afraid about what is going to happen, and the immense majority of the Cuban people feel an uncertainty about this future, that has not been made clear during the government of Raul (Castro) who announced that in February of 2018 he will leave his post. But I wouldn't expect any clear definition of the future on the horizon from the communist party. So we can't waste this historic opportunity to open the doors to all voices, and all the children of the Cuban nation, including the young who want to contribute to the country, and I think that is a moment for a great goodbye and a great hug." (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CUBAN DISSIDENT COORDINATOR SATS PROJECT, ANTONIO RODILES, SAYING: "We have the same demands. We are convinced the system now represents much more than Fidel Castro, but it's evident that this gentleman yes, was a force. He was a symbol for the whole regime. We will continue in the fight. The regime can react with whatever violence it wants, and be much more repressive, more than that, try to control even more. But in the end that will have to pass, this moment, and confront reality, that this system is exhausted and will die just like Fidel Castro." VARIOUS OF DISSIDENTS WATCHING TELEVISION REPORTS OF CASTRO'S DEATH
- Embargoed: 11th December 2016 08:28
- Keywords: Fidel Castro dissidents political prisoners Eliecer Avila Antonio Rodiles
- Location: HAVANA, CUBA
- City: HAVANA, CUBA
- Country: Cuba
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0015A2Y2PZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: In interviews with Reuters, Cuban dissidents were measured in the face of the news that Fidel Castro, the Cuban revolutionary leader on the doorstep of the United States died on Friday (November 26). He was 90.
A towering figure of the second half of the 20th Century, Castro stayed true to his ideology beyond the collapse of Soviet communism, and retained an aura in parts of the world that had struggled against colonial rule and exploitation.
He had been in poor health since an intestinal ailment nearly killed him in 2006. He formally ceded power to his younger brother two years later.
Wearing a green military uniform, Cuba's President Raul Castro appeared on state television to announce his brother's death.
Tributes poured in from world leaders including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Venezuela's socialist President Nicolas Maduro, who said "revolutionaries of the world must follow his legacy."
The streets were quiet in Havana, but some residents reacted with sadness to the news, while in Miami, where many exiles from the Communist government live, a large crowd waving Cuban flags cheered, danced and banged on pots and pans, a video on social media showed.
Castro's remains will be cremated, according to his wishes. His brother said details of his funeral would be given on Saturday.
The bearded Fidel Castro took power in a 1959 revolution and ruled Cuba for 49 years with a mix of charisma and iron will, creating a one-party state and becoming a central figure in the Cold War.
Many dissidents settled in Florida, influencing U.S. policy toward Cuba and plotting Castro's demise. Some even trained in the Florida swamps for the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion.
He sailed many dissidents who stayed.
Dissidents who stayed on the island were measured in their reaction.
"I feel that this is the first step in a major change. I think that today is a day that was awaited with jubilation. They are surely toasting with champagne. Others are afraid about what is going to happen, and the immense majority of the Cuban people feel an uncertainty about this future, that has not been made clear during the government of Raul (Castro) who announced that in February of 2018 he will leave his post. But I wouldn't expect any clear definition of the future on the horizon from the communist party. So we can't waste this historic opportunity to open the doors to all voices, and all the children of the Cuban nation, including the young who want to contribute to the country, and I think that is a moment for a great goodbye and a great hug," said Eliecer Avila, a leader of the "We are the Opposition+" movement.
"We have the same demands. We are convinced the system now represents much more than Fidel Castro, but it's evident that this gentleman yes, was a force. He was a symbol for the whole regime. We will continue in the fight. The regime can react with whatever violence it wants, and be much more repressive, more than that, try to control even more. But in the end that will have to pass, this moment, and confront reality, that this system is exhausted and will die just like Fidel Castro," said Antonio Rodiles, the dissidents and coordinator of the SATS project.
Castro was demonized by the United States and its allies but admired by many leftists around the world, especially socialist revolutionaries in Latin America and Africa. After Nelson Mandela was freed from prison in 1990, he repeatedly thanked Castro for his firm efforts to weaken apartheid.
In April, in a rare public appearance at the Communist Party conference, Fidel Castro shocked party apparatchiks by referring to his own imminent mortality.
Transforming Cuba from a playground for rich Americans into a symbol of resistance to Washington, Castro outlasted nine U.S. presidents in power. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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