Raúl Castro elected president

[Stallit 2 de Halfo]

Raúl Castro elected president of the councils of State and Ministers

RAÚL Castro Ruz was elected on Sunday as president of Cuba’s councils of State and Ministers during the constituent session of the National Assembly of People’s Power (Parliament), held in Havana’s International Convention Center.

After the Assembly went back into session in the afternoon, Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada, reelected as president of the National Assembly, also announced that José Ramón Machado Ventura was elected first vice president of the councils of State and Ministers, and Juan Almeida Bosque, Abelardo Colomé Ibarra, Carlos Lage Dávila, Esteban Lazo Hernández and Julio Casas Regueiro were elected as vice presidents.

José Millar Barruecos was elected secretary of the Council of State.

The other 23 members of the Council of State were also announced.


Alarcón reelected as president of Cuban parliament

RICARDO Alarcón de Quesada and Jaime Crombet Hernández-Vaquero were ratified as president and vice-president, respectively, of the National Assembly, while Miriam Brito was elected as secretary of the legislative body during the constituent session that took place this morning in Havana.

With the swearing-in of the 614 deputies to the National Assembly of People’s Power of the Republic of Cuba, the 7th Legislature of this legislative body was established in Havana.

As has already been mentioned, the deputies who were elected during the general elections in Cuba last January 20 have the responsibility of selecting the president, vice president and secretary of the National Assembly, once their election has been validated, they have signed their oaths and established the supreme body.

The inaugural session was chaired by María Esther Reus, president of the National Electoral Commission, accompanied by Alina Barreiro and Tomás Amarán, vice president and secretary, respectively, of the body.

María Esther Reus reported that the composition of the deputies includes 175 members linked to production and services, workers, campesinos and cooperative workers, educationalists and healthcare personnel.

Of the total, 348 are men and 266, women. The average age of the representatives is 49 years old, but among the Assembly’s members there are 131 aged between 18-40 years old and 56% were born after the triumph of the Revolution.

Some 35.67% of the representatives are Black or mixed race, while 64.33% are white.

Deputy Fidel Castro Ruz sent his vote, duly sealed, with Deputies José Miyar Barrueco and Carlos Valenciaga. (Lisanka Gonzàlez Suárez)

Translated by Granma International

[Stallit 2 de Halfo]

THE ALL-AFRICAN PEOPLE’S REVOLUTIONARY PARTY SALUTES PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO

On the occasion of the retirement of President Fidel Castro, the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party (A-APRP) issues a call to Africa’s people, wherever they may have been born, or wherever they may live, to salute the Cuban leader’s monumental contributions to the progress of humanity.

The A-APRP also calls upon the African World and progressive forces worldwide to maintain and intensify defense of Cuba’s sovereignty as imperialism attempts during this period of transition to seize the opportunity to create confusion and increase attacks on the Cuban people.

Africans in particular owe a debt to our great comrade and revolutionary President Castro and the Cuban people that we can probably never fully repay. Under President Castro’s leadership, the people of Cuba repeatedly shed their blood in wars to liberate Africa from foreign domination.

By assisting the training of many of our combatants in the struggle against colonialism, and providing decisive assistance at Cuito Cuanavale where the US and British backed apartheid military of South Africa was defeated, Cuba helped bring the liberation of Namibia and South Africa within arms reach.

After the defeat of colonialism, Cuba sent literally thousands of doctors to Africa who saved countless lives, year after year for decades.

Viva Cuba! Viva Fidel!

There are many selfless acts of our most noble revolutionary comrade President Castro and the people of Cuba that are not limited to Africa. Africans in the Gulf Coast region of the U.S. would also have been the beneficiaries of Cuban medical assistance in the aftermath of the Katrina disaster but for the cold-hearted decision by the Bush administration to reject President Castro’s offer.

Nevertheless, there are a number of Africans who were born in the U.S. who are receiving a full medical education at Cuba’s medical school free of charge. The only thing President Castro has asked in return is that these future doctors return to poor communities in the U.S. to render much-needed service.

In the days, weeks and months to come, the enemies of human progress will condemn President Castro and his lifetime of service by publishing lies and distortions. It is important for Africans in particular to understand that after President Castro and the freedom fighters that he led overthrew a brutal, dictatorial regime in Cuba, he immediately undertook a program for the educational and material uplift of Cuba’s poorest and most alienated citizens. Many of these people were Africans! By demonstrating in a concrete way how a socialist economy can effectively address issues of poverty, President Castro drew the ire of capitalists.

The All African People's Revolutionary Party and its membership will always support, build coalitions and work to galvanized the progressive and revolutionary comrades around the world to defend the revolutionary honor of the Cuban people!

Cuba has long been a target for capitalist military intervention, covert intelligence agency operations and economic warfare. It is a testament to the strength of socialist principles and the integrity of the Cuban people that the country has not only survived, but in many ways thrived in the midst of such hardship. We call upon all freedom loving People around the world to intensify your organizational efforts to defend the Cuban revolution by pressuring the U.S. government to stop the illegal, immoral, unjust embargo imposed against the Cuban government and Cuban People.

The A-APRP has drawn inspiration from President Castro and the Cuban people as the Party has fought to bring socialism to Africa under a liberated and unified continent-wide government. To that end, the A-APRP has been working with progressive and socialist organizations throughout Africa to establish the All-African Committee for Political Coordination (A-ACPC) as properly outlined by our founder and first President Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

The All African People's Revolutionary Party believes that the best way to thank and honor President Castro and the people of Cuba is to fight for the principles to which they have dedicated their lives.

We in the AAPRP and it's women's wing the AAWRU know that Comrade Fidel will be pleased by a liberated, united, socialist Africa that has the capacity to do on a much larger scale what Cuba has historically done. Namely, to assist not only Africans throughout the world, but all oppressed people everywhere who are fighting for their freedom.

We are certain that the people of Cuba will continue to defend the interest of the revolution which despite the illegal blockade against the country, has brought a level of medical care, housing and education that is higher than in most underdeveloped countries and parts of the U.S. We believe that these benefits which have never been guaranteed in Europe or America are worth fighting and dying to protect. About that we have no doubt!

We stand with the Cuban People, ready for the revolution!

Long Live the Cuban and African Revolution!
Long Live Comrade- President Fidel Castro!
Long Live the solidarity of Africa and Cuba!
Long Live the World Socialist and Communist Revolution!

(sent by Moya Mzuri Pambeli, Central Committee Rep. Program Secretariat)