By Andrew Cawthorne
HAVANA, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Cuba's revolutionary leader Fidel Castro has ridiculed ``miserable'' claims he may have made himself a multimillionaire in nearly four decades of socialist rule on the impoverished Caribbean island.
In an interview broadcast into early Tuesday morning, Castro turned indignantly on U.S. magazine Forbes, which put him 11th on a recent list of the world's richest ``Kings, Queens and Dictators'' with a personal fortune of $100 million.
``They have accused me of all sorts of things ... but never this.... What right do they have to write such lies?'' asked Castro, who was one place below Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and three behind Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein on Forbes' list.
``All the judges of the world together cannot show that in nearly 40 years of revolution, any minister, high-level official, or leader of this country, has ever appropriated even one dollar from the state,'' he added.
Castro said neither he, nor any family members, or any high-level official in his government -- in power since his 1959 revolution -- held dollar accounts outside Cuba.
``We don't need an account in any place, because we are determined to die here in our trench with honour,'' the 72-year-old Castro added.
Claims that he or others had enriched themselves at the expense of the Cuban people were ``myths and legends,'' he said, adding: ``We are pretty thick-skinned from the darts, arrows and falsehoods thrown at us.''
Although criticised for years from abroad, particularly by Western nations, for his one-party political system and imprisonment of dissidents, Castro has been relatively free from serious accusations of personal corruption.
Some ordinary Cubans grumble about privileges they perceive to be enjoyed by their leaders, but few express the opinion that there is widespread corruption at top government level.
Castro's comments, which formed the first part of a six- hour meeting with 32 U.S. newspaper editors over the weekend, were broadcast on state television late Monday night and into Tuesday morning. The second and third parts are to be broadcast Tuesday night and Wednesday night.
In a lively exchange between Castro and the editors, the head of the American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE), Edward Seaton, began the meeting asking him bluntly what would happen in Cuba after he had left power.
``You mean when I die?'' replied the Cuban leader.
He then stated his faith that trusted fellow leaders, like Vice-President Carlos Lage, National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon, and Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina, would continue his work without great changes.
``When I'm no longer here, nothing's going to happen,'' said Castro, adding with a grin: ``Maybe everything will be better.''
Asked by Seaton about the need for free elections in Cuba, Castro responded: ``We have a different concept of democracy.''
He also fielded questions on claims that excessive tax burdens are hampering Cuba's tiny private sector, in place since the middle of the 1990s as part of a cautious economic reform programme.
Castro said it was only fair that those making more money should pay levies accordingly on their earnings and expressed his regret that ``this modest opening has created enormous income differences'' among a people used to wealth equality.
``We would have preferred not to create these differences,'' he said.
Castro was also quizzed by Miami Herald chairman David Lawrence over his attitude to the large Cuban immigrant community living in Florida, many of whom are fiercely opposed to his government. ``They must think God is very bad because he has not struck me off the earth,'' he said.
Castro insisted U.S. stubbornness was to blame for the history of immigration problems between the two nations, which are separated by a mere 90 miles (144 kms) of sea.
Referring to one of the most sensitive events in that history, the Cuban leader repeated his government's version that the 1994 drowning of 32 Cubans on a tugboat stolen in an attempt to escape the island was an accident rather than a deliberate sinking by Cuban coastguard authorities.
03:18 10-27-98
Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.