-DATE-
19720525
-YEAR-
1972
-DOCUMENT_TYPE-
ARTICLE
-AUTHOR-
F. CASTRO
-HEADLINE-
12TH KOMSOMOL CONGRESS
-PLACE-
UNIVERSIADE HALL IN SOFIA
-SOURCE-
SOFIA DOMESTIC SVC
-REPORT_NBR-
FBIS
-REPORT_DATE-
19720526
-TEXT-
Castro at Komsomol Congress

[Editorial Report A] Sofia Domestic Service in Bulgarian at 1555 on 25 May
broadcasts live from Universiade Hall in Sofia the 12th Komsomol Congress
proceedings. Without announcing the speaker, the broadcast begins with a
speech in Spanish which is simultaneously translated into Bulgarian. Only
at the end does the announcer confirm that the speaker was Fidel Castro.

Castro begins his speech be emphasizing the friendly relations existing
between Bulgaria and Cuba. He adds that he has seen many Bulgarian
specialists working in Cuba and that he is impressed by their communist and
international education. While praising their achievements, Castro explains
that more than 3,000 Bulgarian specialists have recently worked in Cuba and
that there was not a single complaint against any of them. He also compares
the morale of communist youth with that of the capitalist countries,
emphasizing the Western youths have no ideals and that crimes and the use
of narcotics in the United States are on the rise.

Continuing, Castro says that the Western countries are trying to teach Cuba
how to develop its culture and economy and he criticizes their attitude
toward youth--one which tries to provide them with material prosperity but
no ideology. He goes on to explain the revolutionary process in Cuba by
comparing Cuba and Bulgaria. He also says that Cuba has no mineral wealth
or big rivers like Bulgaria, and stresses the advantages Bulgaria has in
its economic development. He then pays tribute to Georgi Dimitrov and links
his name with Todor Zhivkov for their services to Bulgaria's comprehensive
development, particularly to Bulgaria's achievements in the agricultural
revolution. Castro speaks in great detail about Bulgarian agriculture and
stresses his impressions of the agrarian- industrial complexes which he has
visited. He also points out that Bulgaria was the first country to use
computers in agricultural production, adding that no capitalist country has
yet done so.

Castro then discusses the problems facing the youth of Bulgaria and says
that they are happy to live in a country where many of the major problems
have already been solved. Their main task, he adds, is to continue and
perfect the work already done. He also explains that the problems facing
the developing countries must become the problems of youth too, because
these countries are in need of their assistance. Here he mentions his
recent visit to Guinea and Algeria and stresses the backwardness of their
former colonial regimes.

Castro then turns to the Vietnam war and emphasizes his assurance that the
struggle of the Vietnamese people will be victorious. He condemns the U.S.
imperialist bombings of Vietnam and supplies detailed data on how many
bombs have been dropped over Vietnam by the U.S. Air Force. He emphasizes
that the Vietnam war is a reality that youth must know about. He goes on to
explain that the October Revolution has brought great changes in the world
and in the balance of forces as well.

In conclusion Castro calls on young people to visit Cuba and exchange
experience with Cuban youth.

Finally the announcer says that Todor Zhivkov, other party-state leaders
and the Cuban delegation are present at the congress.
-END-