|
Khomeini Grandsons March With Castro
HAVANA, July 26 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Cuban President Fidel Castro and two grandsons of the late Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini marched together Thursday opposite the U.S. Interests Section in Havana with a throng of Cubans summoned to protest "hegemonic" policies of U.S. President George W. Bush.
Clad in his trademark olive drab and the bright white running shoes he has taken to wearing for marches, Castro kicked off the four-hour event with a rendition of the Cuban national anthem.
Specially invited guests Hojjatoleslam Hajj Seyed Hassan Khomeini and Seyed Reza Mostafavi, grandsons of the late Iranian leader who shared Cuba's interest in reducing U.S. international influence, flanked Castro and waved miniature Cuban flags.
Tens of thousands of marchers called out for the event in neighborhood, school and workplace organizations chanted "stop terrorism against Cuba" and "down with the genocidal blockade" referring to the U.S. economic embargo, and waved protest signs and portraits of revolutionary hero Che Guevara within earshot of U.S. diplomatic offices.
Thursday's march marked the anniversary of the 1953 assault on the Moncada barracks, considered the beginning of the revolution led by now President Castro, in power since 1959 after driving out U.S.-backed leader Fulgencio Batista.
Cuba - the only communist-ruled country in the Americas - and the United States do not have full diplomatic relations, but each has an Interests Sections in each other's capitals. However, Cuba has been under a tough comprehensive U.S. economic embargo since 1962.
But Castro's Iranian visitors were pleased to visit Cuba, and Hojjatoleslam Khomeini expressed a desire to enhance the relations between Iran and Cuba, the Iranian state news agency IRNA reported.
Iran, which has been accused by the United States of supporting "terrorism", is also suffering under a U.S. embargo. Iran and Cuba are members of the Group of 77 (G77) countries and the Non-Aligned Movement, both of which are forums representing the interests of developing countries.
During a relaxed dinner banquet held Wednesday night in honor of Hojjatoleslam, Castro expressed great respect for his guest's grandfather, Imam Khomeini, IRNA said.
"Westerners have not introduced Iranian, Chinese and Indian history thoroughly to the world's people," IRNA quoted Castro as saying.
Castro also asked Hojjatoleslam to recommend books to increase his knowledge of the history of Islam and of Iran, and also questioned him about Iranian theological seminaries, IRNA reported.
Hojjatoleslam, who had arrived in Havana on Tuesday morning after being invited by Castro during the Cuban leader's visit to Tehran in April, spent time on Wednesday inspecting Cuba's genetic engineering and biotechnology center, according to IRNA.
As developing countries with many divergences from American socio-political ideals, Iran and Cuba share many of their perspectives in the international arena, including their views on U.S. policies.
On Bush's administration, an editorial in the Cuban paper Granma said Tuesday: "He acts precisely the way he could be expected to act. In domestic as well as international politics, he seeks to advance in all areas the most retrograde ideas of the political sector he represents."
The paper also slammed U.S. backing of the planned Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) plan which Granma said "literally means the annexation of the people of Latin America and the Caribbean to the United States."
Tuesday, the U.S. State Department in Washington invited Cubans to stay home and think about whether Washington really is responsible for the island's problems rather than taking part in the massive demonstration.
"I think they could come up with far better things to do, perhaps stay home and think about who's truly responsible for problems in Cuba," State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said.
"The Castro regime, as you know, has not been a model of freedom of speech or allowing people to express their own thoughts ... So before they waste a lot of their time in an orchestrated demonstration, I would hope that they would have the opportunity freely to think about what they really want to do with their time and what's truly important to them."
|
