Fidel Castro says he is recuperating in year-end address to nation
Havana -- Ailing Cuban President Fidel Castro revealed over the weekend that he was facing a long and difficult recuperation, but insisted that "the battle is far from lost."
In a message to the nation to mark the 48th anniversary of the triumph of the revolution over the Batista dictatorship, the 80-year-old Castro said he was still actively keeping informed since having intestinal surgery on July 31.
"I want to thank you all for your support and affection. I always said that my recuperation would be a prolonged one, but the battle is far from being lost," he said. "I collaborate as a disciplined patient with the blessed team of our doctors who attend to me."
Castro's year-end missive was his first since October 28, when he appeared in a video to dispel persistent rumours of his death. He had earlier handed over the reins of power in the communist state to his brother Raul.
"HUmanity is living through difficult times, with wars and dangers everywhere you turn, and an unrestrained process of consumerism typical of a globalised imperialist system, which is wiping out important natural resources and contaminating the environment. That, alone, justifies our heroic struggle," he said. // © 2006 DPA
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