By William Neuman, Brian Blomquist, Maria Malva And Tracy Connor. The New York Post. April 11, 2000
Elian Gonzalez's relatives and the protesters keeping vigil outside his Miami home said yesterday they won't physically stop the feds from reclaiming the 6-year-old tug-of-war boy.
"They'll stand back, they'll cry and their hearts will break," said Spencer Eig, lawyer for the family that has cared for Elian since he was rescued in November.
The lead organizer of the Cuban-exile protests in front of the relatives' house also dropped plans to form a human chain if authorities show up for the boy.
"We will not impede -- physically or through violence -- anyone going into the house," Raul Saul Sanchez of the Democracy Movement told The Post.
"We will not create a violent confrontation ... We have a responsibility toward Elian's civil rights, but also toward maintaining peace in the community," he said, adding that he hopes to persuade other protesters to follow suit.
The announcement comes as psychiatrists, handpicked by the government, are set to meet today with the Miami family about the best way to hand over Elian to his father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez.
The boy's great uncle Lazaro Gonzalez told Attorney General Janet Reno he'll attend if his daughter, Marisleysis, can be there.
But the young woman, who has been Elian's primary care-giver since the boat wreck that killed his mother and 10 others fleeing Cuba, was hospitalized again for exhaustion.
The government was still pushing for the meeting to go forward.
If it does, it could end with the psychiatrists meeting Elian for the first time -- "if it's agreed upon by everyone that it would be advantageous," a Justice Department official said.
Today's meeting is part of a government timetable for returning Elian to his father, who is staying with a Cuban diplomat in Bethesda, Md.
Afterward, the feds will send the Miami camp a letter detailing when and where they should drop off Elian -- perhaps as soon as Wednesday.
Eig, speaking on ABC's "This Week," said if the Immigration and Naturalization Service shows up on their doorstep, "The family ... will obey the law and surrender the child."
The family is still pursuing legal avenues.
A Family Court mulling a full hearing in the case wants both sides to submit papers tomorrow; papers are also due in a federal appeal of the INS ruling that Elian belongs with his dad.
Juan Miguel is willing to stay in the United States with Elian for the appeal as long as visas for his schoolmates and others are approved, his lawyer said.
Meanwhile, the pressure is still on for Juan Miguel to meet with the Miami relatives, in Florida or on neutral ground.
About 20 protesters -- including Elian's uncle Delfin Gonzalez -- gathered outside the Maryland home, shouting Juan Miguel's name when he briefly appeared at the door.
Juan Miguel was later whisked away to the Cuban Interests Section, where he met the Rev. Jesse Jackson and other officials.
Earlier in the day, Juan Miguel sat down with the two fishermen who rescued his son. The anglers, cousins Sam Ciancio and Donato Dalrymple, came away from the powwow in sharp disagreement.
"He's a very loving father," said Ciancio who secured a promise that he can visit Elian in Cuba.
"I came here with high hopes that this man gets reunited with his son again. Whatever decision Juan Miguel makes, the world will learn to live with it. I hope there will be a peaceful transaction."
Distancing himself from his cousin, Ciancio returned to Miami. Dalrymple said he was dissatisfied with the meeting and would stay in Washington to keep the heat on.
"The family should work this thing out," he said.
While the Miami family has urged Juan Miguel to meet with them, their lawyers have leveled abuse charges against him.
Elian "has told psychiatrists that he's deathly afraid of his father because his father beat him up," lawyer Jose Garcia-Pedrosa claimed on CBS.
He was immediately challenged by Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder.
"In our interaction with the lawyers for the family, we have asked them, ‘Are there any specific instances, specific instances of conduct that you can refer us to?' Those are obviously things that we would consider.
"The notion of him being an abusive father, an unfit father, is something we've only heard in the last few days," Holder said.
New York Post®, nypostonline.com, nypost.com and newyorkpost.com are registered trademarks of NYP Holdings, Inc. Copyright 2000 NYP Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved. |