Kim Jong Il Honored In Cuba: Nation Decrees 3 Days Of Mourning

HAVANA -- The Cuban government has decreed three days of mourning for the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

An official statement read Monday on Cuban state television also said the Communist government had ordered Cuban flags to be flown at half staff at public buildings and military installations.

The mourning period begins Tuesday and runs through Dec. 22.

The leftist governments of Venezuela and Nicaragua have also expressed condolences for the death Saturday of the North Korean leader.

(This version CORRECTS APNewsNow. Corrects day of Kim Jong Il's death)

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Comments

[AlexHoff]

03:49 PM on 01/04/2012

This brings a whole new meaning to solidarity.

[f0rTyLeGz]

04:44 PM on 12/23/2011

This is so stupid of Cuba! How can they support such a epic failure?

[Blah]

04:28 PM on 12/21/2011

Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua...what the Sam Hill are you thinking?#@!??

[randyjet]

10:24 PM on 12/21/2011

It is called unprincipled opportunism. They feel the enemy of my enemy is my friend. That is not any more true now than when Mao supposedly said it. It also smears the reputation of the government that mourns an absolute monarch death.

[Thor Halvorssen]

03:53 PM on 12/21/2011

Birds of a feather flock together. That the governments of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua categorically endorse Kim Jong Il serves as a powerful reminder of the character of the leaders in those three nations.

They are mourning Kim Jong Il (!!!). Unbelievable and yet totally understandable.

[joelhirst]

01:51 PM on 01/01/2012

Absolutely amazing. This is one of the worst serial killers in history - they say that 20% of the population goes to the gulag at one point. He deserves nothing but contempt and the combined horror of the international community that we still let this type of aberration to govern. Coming from Fidel's island gulag, as you say, isn't surprising but it is still very sad.

[randyjet]

02:37 PM on 12/21/2011

This goes along with Castro's vehemently supporting the Soviet Unions invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968! I could understand staying quiet on it and not criticizing it, but to praise it so lavishly was WAY out of bounds. Even Gorbachov and most of the people in the Soviet Union thought it was an outrage. But that is what you can do when the people have NO say in their government.

[randyjet]

12:47 PM on 12/21/2011

Marx would be outraged if he saw this. To call a hereditary monarchy a communist country is absurd. A line from the Internationale comes to mind. We want no condescending saviors to rule us from a judgement hall, we workers ask not for their favors, let us consult for ALL. I would suggest that folks in Cuba sing this stanza during the "mourning" period. It will be rather embarrassing for them to arrest people for singing the Internationale.

[cmr86]

11:55 AM on 12/21/2011

*sigh*

Cuba, you have such opportunity, yet you continue to backslide by praising other horrible tyrants.

[AlexHoff]

03:52 PM on 01/04/2012

I agree. Cuba is one of those countries which I really don't know what to think about them. The revolution, in my opinion, was for the good. However it ended up being a pretty big failure. And now actions like this are just stupid. They fought during the revolution against oppression and yet they praise a government that oppresses it's people. (Not they don't do it either).

[Kim Jong-Un]

12:39 AM on 12/21/2011

It's time to lighten the mood, thanks to Kim Jong Un's Twitter feed:

www.twitter.com//KimJongUn4Real

[lacasarosada]

11:55 PM on 12/20/2011

if i were Fidel Castro, i'd sleep with the lights on ; )

[Humberto Capiro]

10:35 PM on 12/20/2011

JE JE JE!! LEAVE IT TO THE GUYS FROM SOUTH PARK! TO MAKE SOME SENCE OF THE DEATH OF KIM JONG IL! This is a scene from the movie Team America, when Hans Blix from the UN comes to inspect Kim Jong Ils palace to see if he has weapons of mass destruction. Good Quality and Swedish subtitles. Yes Swedish!

YOUTUBE: Kim Jong Il in Team America - Hans Blix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TEvacFETvM

[imayes]

09:25 PM on 12/20/2011

I think here in the US we should declare 3 Days of Celebration!

[fanofariana]

08:46 PM on 12/20/2011

Eff this KimJonlucifer....

[fanofariana]

08:45 PM on 12/20/2011

GOOD RIDDANCE AND ROT IN BLOODY HELL!

[fanofariana]

08:44 PM on 12/20/2011

Hope the same fate encounters the Castro family.