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Hopes for democracy in Cuba
19/02/2008 14:54 - (SA)
Paris - US President George W Bush said on Tuesday that Fidel Castro's decision to step down should spur democratic change in Cuba, as Russia's Communist Party hailed the "brave" move.
The 81-year-old Cuban president, who has been in power for almost half a century, said in a message published on Tuesday that he would not seek the presidency again when it is decided later this month.
Bush, the latest in a long line of US presidents seeking to pressure Castro's regime, said the move should begin a "democratic transition" on the communist island.
"I view this as a period of transition and it should be a beginning of the democratic transition for the people in Cuba," he said in Rwanda, where he is on an Africa tour.
The United States has been intensely frustrated by the former guerrilla leader's survival in power despite its economic embargo, in full force since 1962.
Bush said that the "first step" was for Havana to release political prisoners, and urged the international community to help build democratic institutions in Cuba.
'Brave decision'
In Moscow, the leader of Cuba's historic ally, Russia's Communist Party, hailed the move by Castro, who has been in seclusion for 19 months due to illness and has been temporarily replaced by his brother Raul.
"It's a brave decision and in taking it, I'm sure Fidel Castro was guided by the interests of his country and his people," said Gennady Zyuganov, quoted by Interfax news agency.
Castro is "a fantastic political leader who has hosted high the flag of freedom," he added.
Castro's liaison with the Soviet Union took the world to the edge of nuclear war in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, sparked when Moscow sought to position nuclear-tipped rockets on the island facing Florida.
The Cuban president did not say in Tuesday's message who he thought should be his successor, although most analysts believe his 76-year-old brother Raul is the obvious choice.
Hopes for transition to democracy
Bush expressed hope that "eventually this transition ought to lead to free and fair elections ... not these kinds of staged elections that the Castro brothers tried to foist off as being true democracy."
Spain led a chorus of European hopes for a Cuban transition to democracy.
Latin America minister Trinidad Jimenez said she hoped Castro's move would give his younger brother more power to carry out reforms.
"Now Raul Castro will be able to take on his reform project with a greater capacity, toughness and confidence. He has spoken of it (the project) himself and I think he will be able to start these very important reforms," she said.
Spain maintains a policy of constructive engagement towards Cuba and last week held talks on human rights with Cuban officials.
Afterwards, Cuba released seven political prisoners, four of whom arrived in Spain at the weekend.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's official spokesperson said Castro's move was "an opportunity to make progress towards a peaceful transition to a pluralist democracy".
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