Fidel Castro makes surprise appearance at Cuban Communist Party Congress, praising reforms

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro on Tuesday made a rare appearance at the meeting of the Communist Party of Cuba, voicing his support for Cuba's economic and social reforms.

In a surprise speech at the closing ceremony of the 7th Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), Fidel Castro backed the economic changes begun five years ago by his younger brother and the current leader Raul Castro.

"We will change what needs to be reformed in the country while maintaining our loyalty and unity just like our independence heroes Marti, Maceo and Gomez," the elder Castro told the delegates and guests present at the Convention Center of Havana, the capital of Cuba, for the closing ceremony of the four-day PCC Congress.

The elder Castro said he had not expect to live this long, referring to his upcoming 90th birthday. He said Tuesday's speech could be one of his last due to his advanced age.

"I will soon be 90 and my turn will come like everybody else. But the ideas of Cuban communists will live on to prove that, if we work with dignity and fervor, we can produce the goods needed by our nation," said an emotional Fidel Castro. This is the first time the elder Castro has referenced his eventual death in public.

He also congratulated Raul Castro on his efforts to lead the reform process.

• The greatest danger facing humanity is weapons of mass destruction, which could undermine the planet's peace and order, said Fidel Castro in his speech, stressing that human beings must adapt and learn more about the reality of the world and its dangers.

At Tuesday's closing ceremony of the 7th PCC Congress, Raul Castro was reelected as PCC's first secretary for the next five years.
  [Xinhua - globaltimes.cn]
20/4/16