World leaders highlight Fidel Castro's int'l legacy

Leaders and heads of state from around the world Tuesday night remembered the prominent personality of the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro and the legacy he left to humanity.

Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao, who came to Cuba on behalf of Chinese President Xi Jinping to extend condolences to President Raul Castro, attended a grand memorial meeting for him at Havana's Revolution Plaza, and delivered a speech.

On behalf of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese President Xi, the CPC, the Chinese government and the Chinese people, Li expressed deepest condolences over Castro's passing away.

Li said Comrade Fidel was the founder of the Communist Party of Cuba and the country's socialist cause. He was a great leader of the Cuban people, and had made enduring historic achievements for the Cuban people and the world's socialist development. History and people will remember him forever, Li said.

The Chinese vice president said that Comrade Fidel had been devoted to the Cuba-China friendship, and had been closely following as well as speaking highly of China's development. The Chinese people miss him dearly, he said.

Li believed that under the firm leadership of Comrade Raul Castro, the Communist Party of Cuba, the Cuban government and the Cuban people are bound to turn their sorrow into strength, continue the legacy of Fidel Castro, and make new achievements in the construction of socialism.

The President of the State Duma of Russia, Vyacheslav Volodin, said that Fidel Castro became a symbol of Cubans' successful struggle for independence.

"Even today his ideas and dreams are dear to many peoples, so his cause will win," said Volodin.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro said that the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution has done a lot for Latin America, and his work is still alive.

"Fidel fulfilled his mission on this Earth, few lives have been so complete, so luminous. He will remain undefeated among us, absolutely absolved by history," said Maduro.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said that the former Cuban leader leaves not only a valuable legacy to his people in the fields of education, eradication of illiteracy, health, higher levels of science and culture, but also leaves a valuable legacy to people around the world.

"We in distant Greece also fight for justice and dignity, and in this struggle we are accompanied and will always be accompanied by Fidel's example in our victories and in our defeats, in our challenges and in our commitments," Tsipras said.

Meanwhile, Bolivian President Evo Morales said one of Castro's greatest gifts was to turn politics into the noblest moral weapon for the liberation of peoples.

"Fidel put Cuba on the map of the world in its fight against imperial politics and defeated the United States in the United Nations through reason and justice," he said.

For his part, South African President Jacob Zuma called Fidel Castro one of the great revolutionaries of our time and one of the great heroes of the 20th century.

"We will remember Comrade Fidel as a great fighter for the ideal that the poor have the right to live in dignity. That is why the Cuban Revolution was and continues to be a source of inspiration for South Africa and for the world, in how to achieve a better life for the poor," Zuma said.

Other heads of state and representatives of high-level delegations from all over the world highlighted the ideals of social justice and solidarity promoted by Fidel Castro and his revolution.

According to the Cuban Foreign Ministry, delegations from over 55 countries, including around 30 presidents and prime ministers, participated in a last tribute to Fidel Castro on Tuesday night at the Revolution Square in Havana.

On Wednesday, Fidel Castro's ashes will begin a three-day procession east across 13 Cuban provinces, and be placed Sunday in Santa Ifigenia Cemetery in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba's second-largest city.