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CNN Live At Daybreak

Cuba Marks Revolution Day

Aired July 26, 2001 - 08:04   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: The streets of Havana are crowded with people marking revolution day.

CNN's Lucia Newman joins us by phone from Havana, where a huge march is planned there -- Lucia.

LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hello, Colleen.

Well, it's very, very noisy. I can barely hear you, but I can tell you that right now there are hundreds of thousands of people marching past the U.S. diplomatic mission here in Havana led by President Fidel Castro, who is flanked, by the way, by the two grandsons of Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini, as well as top members of the Cabinet and the communist party.

Now this is a march that is supposed to mark the 48th anniversary of the uprising against the Moncada barracks in Santiago, Cuba, which led to the Cuban Revolution. This is a major event in Cuba's revolutionary calendar.

But right now, there are going to be no speeches, just a huge, huge march. Nearly 10 percent of the population of Cuba, in fact -- 1.2 million people -- are expected to take part today. They have been bussed in here to downtown Havana to the famous Malecon seaside drive. Since about 1:00 this morning, people have brought here. And so there is a huge, huge effort on the part of the Cuban government to protest against the United States government. This Cuba sees as a new kind of uprising now, no longer against an internal force, but rather against the United States and its influence in this region, Colleen.

MCEDWARDS: All right. CNN's Lucia Newman, thanks very much.

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