Cubans begin tearful farewell to Fidel Castro

[HAVANA] Hundreds of thousands of Cubans flocked to Havana's iconic Revolution Square in a tearful and nostalgic tribute to Fidel Castro on Monday, launching a week-long farewell to the divisive Cold War icon.

Long lines of mourners entered the towering monument to independence hero Jose Marti, filing past a black-and-white picture of "El Comandante" as a young, black-bearded revolutionary carrying a rifle.

Many walked by silently while clutching flowers, some took pictures with their phones and others sobbed uncontrollably as they looked up at the portrait flanked by white roses.

But his ashes were not put on display, surprising many who had hoped to see the urn holding the remains of their hero.

Lourdes Rivera, a 66-year-old retired civil servant, sat on a curb and cried as she waited for her turn to enter the monument.

"He's the father of all Cubans. My dad was my dad, but he couldn't give me what (Castro) gave me. He gave me everything. My freedom. My dignity," she said.

For 36-year-old university professor Pedro Alvarez, "we know that our comandante has become immortal."

Mr Castro, whose 1959 revolution toppled a dictatorship with the promise of bringing justice and equality to the Caribbean island, was a towering figure of the 20th century.

While some saw him as a socialist hero who brought education and free health care, others labelled him a tyrant who caused economic hardship and sparked an exodus of Cubans seeking a better life.

Across the island, Cubans were invited to sign an oath to "keep fighting" for the revolution at hundreds of schools, hospitals and other public buildings.

In a sign of changing times, US President Barack Obama visited Revolution Square during his historic visit to Havana in March, when he became the first US leader since 1928 to step foot in Cuba, a nation of 11 million people.

In 2014, Mr Fidel's brother and successor, Raul Castro, announced a diplomatic detente with Mr Obama, who has lifted some trade barriers. On Monday, the first regular flights from the United States to the Cuban capital in half a century resumed.

But US President-elect Donald Trump renewed a threat to end the thaw unless Havana makes concessions on human rights and opening up its economy.

"If Cuba is unwilling to make a better deal for the Cuban people, the Cuban/American people and the US as a whole, I will terminate deal," he said on Twitter.

Manuel Rodriguez Oliva, a 73-year-old interior ministry retiree who paid tribute to Castro, said Mr Trump is "paranoid and crazy".

"He can break relations. We have lived without them and we will keep living."

Raul Castro has enacted gradual economic reforms. But he has firmly resisted any changes to the communist island's political system.

Government opponents hope Mr Fidel's death will enable bolder reforms.

Mr Fidel handed power to Mr Raul in 2006 after undergoing emergency intestinal surgery. His cause of death on Friday at age 90 has not been disclosed.

Mr Castro, who came to power as a cigar-chomping 32-year-old in combat fatigues, survived more than 600 assassination attempts, according to aides, as well as the failed 1961 US-backed Bay of Pigs invasion and the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.

Dissidents who were repressed by Mr Castro's regime for years said they were happy that the "dictator" had died, but called off regular demonstrations on Sunday out of deference to those in mourning.

"We're going to remain calm, even if (Castro) is the main culprit for the misery and lack of political rights in Cuba," said veteran dissident Jose Daniel Ferrer.

In Miami, where so many Cubans flocked in the past decades to escape Mr Castro's policies, Cuban-Americans celebrated his death with street parties throughout the weekend.

The commemorations will continue in Havana on Tuesday with an event featuring foreign dignitaries.

Presidents Rafael Correa of Ecuador, Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and Jacob Zuma of South Africa among the heads of states expected to attend.

But several world leaders are not coming.

The White House said Obama will not travel to Cuba while Canada will be represented by Governor General David Johnston instead of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

China and Iran were sending vice-presidents while Spain will be represented by former king Juan Carlos, Germany by former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and France by a diplomat.

Starting Wednesday, Mr Castro's ashes will go on a four-day island-wide procession starting Wednesday.

They will be buried on Sunday in the southeastern city of Santiago de Cuba, the heartland of Mr Castro's uprising against US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista.

Mr Fidel could do no wrong for the mourners at Revolution Square, where Mr Castro would often rail against the US "empire" during his legendary, marathon speeches.

Many were dressed in state uniforms - school children, soldiers, veterans, doctors and customs officers.

For them, the country's economic problems stem from the decades-old US embargo.

"If we didn't develop more, it's the fault of imperialism," said Augustin Fivale Hernandez, 80, with tearful eyes and holding his wife's hand after seeing the memorial.

AFP