BUSH, WAR AND THE DESPERATE STRUGGLE FOR A SLICE OF LIFE

In the reflection titled “Bush in the Sky”, published by our newspapers this past March 23rd, I claimed Bush would get up to his old tricks during the NATO meeting in the Romanian capital of Bucharest, held from the 1st to the 3rd of April.

Presentation made by Dr. Fidel Castro Ruz, President of the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba, at a TV Special Program on the National and International Sports Movement broadcast live from the Cuban Television Studios on September 2, 1999

On August 9, upon the completion of the Pan-American Games in Winnipeg, the Cuban government, through the National Institute of Sports, Recreation and Physical Education (INDER), announced that it would undertake an in-depth investigation into the doping charges raised against two members of the Cuban national weightlifting team, who were penalized and stripped of the gold medals they had won.

Speech given by Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the State Council and the Council of Ministers, welcoming the Cuban sports delegation returning from Baltimore. University of Havana, May 4, 1999

Sports have given our country great prestige and the country must compensate those athletes, whether or not they are involved in the best paid sports. All those athletes, who so many times gave proof of their loyalty and selflessness to their homeland, will occupy the rightful place that befits them in our society and will be affectionately remembered by their people even when they have passed away.

OPENING SPEECH BY DR. FIDEL CASTRO RUZ, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA, AT THE 9TH IBERO-AMERICAN SUMMIT. HAVANA, NOVEMBER 16, 1999

On July 1991, when the first Summit was held in Guadalajara, I could not even imagine the further development of such event. I was a strange bird there, an intruder whose admission to that hall had the taste of forgiveness. Cuba had always been left out of every meeting in this continent. Some looked at me with curiosity and even pity. Possibly, hardly anyone believed that Cuba could withstand the collapse of the socialist camp, which derived in the double blockade that would abruptly fall on our country.

Speech given by DR. Fidel Castro Ruz, President of the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba to the students graduating from the Havana Higher Institute of Medical Sciences, at the Karl Marx Theater on August 9, 1999

We dream of a better world, a world with more justice, a world that is truly more humane and for which it is our duty to struggle. Your future and that of your children will be the future this world is capable of building. This world is threatened by a huge number of dangers, everywhere, but this does not give anyone the right to lose faith in humankind, to lose faith in a better fate for humankind.

KEY ADDRESS BY DR. FIDEL CASTRO RUZ, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA, AT THE INAUGURATION OF THE LATIN AMERICAN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE. HAVANA, NOVEMBER 15, 1999

At this school everyone is free to profess their religion of choice, whatever that may be. The school uses is own transportation to take the students to the temples or cults of their choosing every week. Efficient hospitals in the neighboring capital city are responsible for providing first class health care to the students. Their diet is reasonably good and, to the extent possible, adapted to their habits. They have their own University Students Organization. They exchange information and share in cultural functions. Their national songs, dances and customs are nourishing the cultural background of every one of them. Their profound spirit of solidarity and integration will never perish; it will rather become an example of the closest unity in the broadest diversity, a portrait of the future we all dream of.

Speech given by Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee and President of the Council of State and Council of Ministers, in the closing ceremony of the first International Congress on Culture and Development. International Convention Center

During four days those of you who took part in the Congress have worked hard. Happily, your efforts coincided with the ministers’ and culture leaders’ two-days meeting --on the 10th and 11th-- preceding the Ibero-American Summit conference to be held in the month of November. We have tried to be informed of what you have discussed and what the debates have been like.

REMARKS BY DR. FIDEL CASTRO RUZ, PRESIDENT OF CUBA, AT A GALA DINNER FOR PARTICIPANTS IN THE 9TH IBERO-AMERICAN SUMMIT. HAVANA, NOVEMBER 15, 1999

This is not a government led by corrupted people, by cowards or lackeys, nor is this a nation of illiterate, divided and uneducated people that are welcoming you today. We are here with you tonight because the inspirational example of Martí, who was together with Bolívar the greatest integrationist of the peoples he called Our Americas, has led us in struggle and victory. We have proved that Ibero-Americans are not inferior to anyone, neither in their talents nor their courage.

Speech delivered by Dr. Fidel Castro Ruz, President of the Republic of Cuba, at the closing session of the Federation of Latin American Journalists (FELAP) 8th Congress, held at the Main Hall of the University of Havana on November 12, 1999

As a way of settling a debt with the members of the Journalists Union of Cuba and the Federation of Latin American Journalists, I am sending Granma this speech delivered in an intimate, almost confidential climate in the Aula Magna of the University of Havana on November 12, 1999, after carefully revising some of the more delicate passages. I take full responsibility for everything expressed in it.

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