Fidel Castro, 81, has announced his retirement as president of Cuba after serving 49 years in the aftermath of an armed revolution against the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. His announcement is five days short of his current mandate set to expire on February 24.In 1965 he became First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and led the transformation of Cuba into a one-party socialist republic. In 1976 he became president of the Council of State as well as of the Council of Ministers. He also held the supreme military rank of Comandante en Jefe ("Commander in Chief") of the Cuban armed forces. On July 31, 2006, after undergoing intestinal surgery for diverticulitis, he transferred his responsibilities to the First Vice-President, his younger brother Raúl Castro. Castro is both admired and feared. Admired by leaders of the Third World for standing up to the United States but feared by some for suppressing freedom in Cuba.
As his political sunset mixes with the dark clouds, the man who loves to deliver long speeches in his green military fatigues said:
``I neither will aspire to nor will I accept, the position of president of the council of state and commander-in-chief,'' Castro wrote, according to Granma in its online edition. ``My only desire is to fight as a soldier for my ideas.''
When a so-called tyrant knows when to step down, somehow we in the Philippines hope to see a new dawn where leaders will owe up to their responsibilities and finally say, I am wrong and I am truly sorry for breaking your trust. I am resigning as President... ah someday probably.
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