"....Communist Cuba marked the 52nd anniversary of the start of President Fidel Castro's revolution without a traditional outdoor mass rally and under a cloud of growing social discontent.
Castro planned to address supporters in a Havana theatre to commemorate the 1953 assault he led on a garrison to launch a revolutionary movement that brought him to power six years later.
His critics say there is little cause to celebrate for Cubans who face persistent economic hardship, dilapidated housing, low wages and food shortages.
Record heat and power cuts of 12 hours or more a day led to scattered protests, vandalism and rare anti-Castro graffiti this summer, veteran human rights activist Elizardo Sanchez said.
Authorities have responded by mobilising rapid deployment brigades of militant supporters to disperse pockets of protest with batons, he and other dissidents said.
"I have not seen such widespread discontent in four decades," said Sanchez, head of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights."
Castro Marks Cuba Revolution Anniversary
"Tuesday July 26, 2005 7:46 PM
By ANITA SNOW
Associated Press Writer
HAVANA (AP) - President Fidel Castro marked the 52nd anniversary of his revolution Tuesday, gathering his staunchest supporters around him amid growing public discontent aggravated by sweltering heat and breakdowns in the communist island's aging electrical system.
Castro was to address the nation during an event of select government faithful inside the capital's Karl Marx Theater - a controlled gathering in contrast to the usual mass assemblies organized for the July 26 celebration.
Temperatures in the 90s and hours-long blackouts have increasingly irritated Cubans, sparking small, sporadic protests and scattered anti-government graffiti around Havana.
While occasional blackouts are common every summer, Cubans say these are the most frequent and longest of recent years, stopping fans, water pumps and refrigerators, and causing food to sour...."
Cuba will mark Castro's revolution amid growing public discontent
"..But the event galvanized the nation and planted the seeds of a revolution that brought Castro to power in 1959. The anniversary usually is marked by large public events, but this year's planned celebration appears more subdued.
Castro is expected to give a speech, but as of late Monday, the location had not been announced. Other events were planned to take place indoors, at the 5,000-seat Karl Marx Theatre in Havana rather than the Plaza de la Revolucion, the traditional venue for politically historic celebrations..."
Record heat and power cuts of 12 hours or more a dayAnd yet Castro's regime still runs transmitters that attempt to 'jam' Radio Marti on shortwave ...