Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro apologized Wednesday for the brouhaha he sparked when he noted that he had given up his responsibilities as first secretary of the ruling Communist Party after his emergency surgery in 2006.
Castro said that he was so focused on commenting on President Barack Obama in his column published Tuesday that he did not realize the importance that his comments on his party post would be given.
Several news media and analysts regarded the comments as revealing for the first time that Castro had surrendered control of the party when he underwent emergency intestinal surgery in 2006.
“I saw ... that, because of my fault, the news service dispatched had given importance to what I said about the job of first secretary of the party,’’ Castro wrote in a follow up column published Wednesday.
He went on to note that in 2006, he announced publicly that he was temporarily turning over his “public functions’’ as party leader and head of the government to his brother, and a small group of top Cuban officials.
“It was not necessary that I specifically quit each one of my posts,’’ Castro added, apparently drawing a distinction between his “public functions’’ and his “posts.’’
He added, “As I recovered my health, progressively and partially, the idea or the need to proceed with the formality of expressly resigning from any of the posts never even occurred to me.’’
Castro’s column Tuesday sparked commentaries that he was trying to bolster his brother’s standing in advance of a crucial Communist Party Congress, the first since 1997, scheduled for next month.
The Congress is expected to discuss and largely approve a string of market reforms that Raúl is pushing as a way of making Cuba’s economy self-sustaining.
In his Wednesday column, Castro claimed that he had been so focused on writing about Obama that “I did not even remember that the party Congress will be next month.”
But Castro acknowledged that the most important duties he surrendered in 2006 were those of first party secretary. “In a revolutionary stage, that political post carries the maximum authority,’’ he wrote.
“I beg the readers to excuse the time spent on this explanation, which the circumstances I mentioned forced me to produce,’’ he added.
Sources: http://www.miamiherald.com

Fidel Castro