Pemimpin Komunis Kuba Fidel Castro Wafat di Usia 90
Fidel Casto Dies Aged 90, The Controversial Leader Led Cuba for Nearly half a Century
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
FIDEL Castro, yang memimpin
negara Kuba selama hampir setengah abad dan menjadi kepala negara
terlama ketiga di dunia, meninggal dunia pada usia 90 tahun.
Dengan
suara gemetar, adiknya, Raul Castro, mengumumkan di televisi pemerintah
bahwa pemimpin revolusioner komunis meninggal pada Jumat malam.
"Hari
ini, 25 November, pukul 22:29, Panglima dari Revolusi Kuba Fidel Castro
Ruz meninggal dunia," kata Raul Castro dalam pidatonya pada siaran
berita pukul 11 ??di TV Kuba.
'Sesuai dengan kehendak dari mendiang Fidel, jenazahnya akan dikremasi."
Kabar kematian Castro hanya beberapa bulan setelah pemimpin revolusi Komunis memperkirakan bahwa hidupnya tidak akan lama lagi.
Dia
tampil terakhir secara resmi di depan publik sebelum peringatan ulang
tahun Partai Komunis negara itu pada April, yang meminta anggota partai
untuk membantu menjaga ide-idenya tetap dipertahankan setelah dia wafat.
'Saatnya
akan tiba bagi kita semua, tetapi ide-ide Komunis Kuba akan tetap eksis
di planet ini bahwa jika mereka bekerja di dengan semangat dan
martabat, mereka dapat menghasilkan hal penting dan budaya yang
diperlukan umat manusia," katanya.
Castro berbicara setelah
pemerintah mengumumkan bahwa saudaranya Raul akan mempertahankan posisi
tertinggi Partai Komunis Kuba bersama para pengikut setianya.
Itu
pesan penting bahwa komunisme akan mempertahankan cengkeramannya di
Kuba, bahkan ketika para pemimpinnya meninggal dunia dan dimakan usia
dan hubungan dingin dengan AS mulai mencair.
Castro secara resmi
menyerahkan kekuasaan kepada adiknya, Raul pada 2008, dua tahun setelah
ia menjalani operasi pembedahan darurat lantaran pendarahan usus.
Setelah
kabar kematian Castro diketahui dunia, para pemimpin dunia menyampaikan
ucapan belasungkawa kepada sang pemimipin revolusioner seperti dilansir
MailOnline.
Perdana
Menteri India Narendra Modi menyebut Castrosebagai 'salah satu tokoh
yang paling berpengaruh dari abad ke-20', dan mengatakan: 'India berduka
atas kehilangan teman baik. Saya menyampaikan bela sungkawa terdalam
saya kepada Pemerintah dan rakyat Kuba pada kematian yang menyedihkan
dari Fidel Castro. Semoga jiwanya istirahat dalam damai.'
Presiden
Meksiko Enrique Pena Nieto mengatakan: 'Fidel Castro adalah seorang
teman dari Mexico, promotor hubungan bilateral berdasarkan rasa hormat,
dialog dan solidaritas."
Dan Salvador Sanchez Ceren, Presiden El
Salvador, nge-tweet: "Dengan kesedihan mendalam kami menerima kabar
kematian dari sahabat saya dan rekan abadi, Komandan Fidel Castro Ruz.'
FIDEL Castro, who led the country of Cuba for nearly half a century and was the world's third longest-serving head of state, has died at the age of 90.
With a shaking voice, his younger brother, Raul Castro, announced on state television that the Communist revolutionary died on Friday night.
'Today, November 25, at 10.29pm, the Commander in Chief of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro Ruz passed away,' Raul Castro said in an address during the 11 o'clock news on Cuban TV.
'In compliance with the expressed will of Companion Fidel, his remains will be cremated.'
Castro's death comes just months after the Communist revolutionary predicted that his time on earth was nearly up.
He made his last official appearance before the country's Communist Party in April, asking party members to help keep his ideas alive long after he died.
'The time will come for all of us, but the ideas of the Cuban Communists will remain as proof on this planet that if they are worked at with fervor and dignity, they can produce the material and cultural goods that human beings need,' he told them.
Castro spoke as the government announced that his brother Raul will retain the Cuban Communist Party's highest post alongside his hardline second-in-command.
It was a resounding message that communism would retain its hold on Cuba, even as its leaders begin to die and age and icy relations with the US continue to thaw.
Castro officially handed power to his brother Raul in 2008, two years after he required emergency surgery for intestinal bleeding.
As news of Castro's death broke, world leaders paid tribute to the revolutionary.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described him as 'one of the most iconic personalities of the 20th century', and said: 'India mourns the loss of a great friend. I extend my deepest condolences to the Government and people of Cuba on the sad demise of Fidel Castro. May his soul rest in peace.'
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said: 'Fidel Castro was a friend of Mexico, promoter of a bilateral relationship based on respect, dialogue and solidarity.'
And Salvador Sanchez Ceren, President of El Salvador, tweeted: 'With deep sorrow we received news of the death of my dear friend and eternal companion, Commander Fidel Castro Ruz.'
