Cuba bans naming of monuments after Fidel Castro

Cuban President Raul Castro has promised that his brother Fidel will not be immortalised in statues and public monuments, as it was the former leader's dying wish.

At a rally in Santiago's central plaza where the Cuban revolution began, Raul Castro told a crowd of tens of thousands that his government would also defend the revolution that brought communism to the island.

"This is the unconquered Fidel who calls us with his example," the 85-year-old president said.

"Yes, we will overcome any obstacle, turmoil or threat in the building of socialism in Cuba," he added.

Castro kept his name off public sites during his near half-century in power because he said he wanted to avoid the development of a personality cult.

In contrast, the images of his fellow revolutionary comrades Camilo Cienfuegos and Ernesto "Che" Guevara became common across Cuba in the decades since their deaths.

Mourning for Castro has been fervent and intense across the country since his death on 25 November, particularly in rural eastern Cuba, where huge crowds have been lining the roads to salute the funeral procession carrying his ashes.

"All of us would like to put Fidel's name on everything but in the end, Fidel is all of Cuba," said Juan Antonio Gonzalez, a 70-year-old retired economist.

"It was a decision of Fidel's, not Raul's, and I think he has to be respected."

Castro's ashes arrived in Santiago on Saturday, ending a four-day journey across Cuba that began after a massive rally in Havana's Plaza of the Revolution.

Thousands of people welcomed the leader's remains to shouts of "Fidel! I am Fidel!"

Thousands more - including Bolivian President Evo Morales, Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega and Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, along with former Brazilian presidents Dilma Rousseff and Lula da Silva - gathered in Santiago's central plaza on Saturday night.

Castro's ashes will be interred on Sunday in Santiago's Santa Ifigenia cemetery, ending the official nine-day mourning period.