I am still a revolutionary, Castro says

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has celebrated his 84th birthday in style, saying he will remain faithful to his ideas about revolution.

“I have not changed,” Castro wrote in an article published in state-run media on Friday, AFP reported.

The former Cuban president stated that he still believes in the cause of revolution, which brought him to power over 50 years ago.

“I will be faithful to the principles and ethics that I have practiced since I became a revolutionary,” he said in the celebration ceremony in the Cuban capital Havana.

Castro is expected to release his memoirs in August 2010.

The book, which includes stories from his childhood, chronicles his victory over pro-US dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959.

After his 2006 illness, Castro disappeared from public view and was seen only occasionally in photographs and videos, and formally handed over the presidency of Cuba to his younger brother, Raul Castro, in 2008.

However, Fidel Castro is still the First Secretary of the ruling Communist Party of Cuba.

The second secretary of the party is Raul Castro.