Cuba’s military ready regardless of US elections -Raul Castro

CUBA: Cuban President Raul Castro said Cuba will be prepared to defend itself militarily regardless of who is elected as US president in November, in an anniversary speech light on much-awaited reform announcements.

“We will continue to focus on defense, independently from the results of the US presidential elections,” Castro, 77, told thousands of Cubans celebrating the 55th anniversary of the start of the communist revolution led by his brother Fidel Castro.

The speech, two years to the day after Fidel Castro’s final public appearance before he underwent surgery and passed the helm of the Caribbean country to Raul, did not include any sweeping reforms Cubans had been hoping for since he formally took office in February.

Standing under a huge portrait of his 82-year-old brother, Raul Castro in his 48-minute speech announced that Cuba will hold its “Bastion 2008” military exercises “with the utmost quality and rigor” in November to coincide with the US presidential election.

“Preparations to defend the country are going well,” said Castro, who until February had been Cuba’s top general for nearly 50 years.

“At the same time,” he added, “the engineering adaptation of the military operations theater, the updating of weapons and other (military) hardware, as well as the promotion and training of officers has been continuing,” he said.

The speech included little additional social and economic reforms he hinted at in a July 11 address to Congress. At that time he told Cubans to tighten their belts and work harder in the current adverse economic conditions, but also announced the placement of vacant farmland in private hands.

Santiago, Sunday, AFP