CUBANET ... CUBANEWS

April 21, 2000



Elian

Elian's Saga. Published Friday, April 21, 2000, in the Miami Herald

Clinton: Reunite Father, Son

Andres Viglucci, Ana Acle And Frances Robles. aviglucci@herald.com

President Bill Clinton made his strongest statement yet in the Elian Gonzalez case Thursday, saying there is ``no conceivable argument'' against promptly reuniting the boy with his father.

The president spoke a day after an appellate court barred the boy's immediate removal from the country pending resolution of an appeal by Elian's Miami relatives -- an order that Clinton said should dispose of the relatives' objections that the boy might be taken to Cuba by his father before they could be heard in court.

The court left the decision on where the boy should live during the appeal up to the government.

``I think he should be reunited with his father. That is the law, and the main argument of the family in Miami for not doing so has now been removed,'' Clinton said to reporters at the White House.

In response to Clinton's remarks, Delfin Gonzalez, Elian's great-uncle in Miami, shrugged and said, ``They are determined to return the boy to Cuba, and we're determined not to turn him in.''

Clinton's comments came in response to a question about a plea made Thursday by Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez.

Addressing the American public, Gonzalez made an impromptu and emotional statement urging government action.

``I send this message, right to the president of this country, the attorney general of this country, that I be reunited with my son,'' Gonzalez told reporters outside the suburban Washington home of Cuba's top U.S. envoy, where he has been staying. ``I love my son very much. I need my son at my side . . . Please, please help me.''

Clinton's message capped a day in which U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno came under increasing public pressure to end the nearly five-month standoff in Little Havana between the government and Elian's relatives.

PLOTTING STRATEGY

Reno spent much of the day huddled with key aides deciding how to proceed in light of Wednesday's court decision, which called into question the government's decision to deny Elian an asylum hearing on the presumption that he is too young -- at 6 -- to apply for it over the objections of his father.

A Justice Department official said a plan for forcible removal was among the options discussed at the meeting, but said Reno had made no final decision by Thursday evening.

``We've been laying the ground already for an enforcement action plan. We will be putting that into action, but she has not given the green light to do it at a certain time,'' said the official, who requested anonymity. ``That's not to say it can't happen in five minutes, or that it can't happen in an hour.''

According to some news reports, Clinton has chided Reno for not ending the standoff sooner. Clinton and Reno talked for 45 minutes on a flight back from a memorial for the Oklahoma City bombing victims Wednesday night, Justice Department officials said.

NEUTRAL GROUND

Bolstered by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision, Elian's Miami relatives on Thursday sought to revive a proposal to have the two warring sides of the family meet on neutral ground. But they remained unwilling to turn over Elian to his father first, a condition on which Juan Miguel Gonzalez has insisted.

``I think that the concept of having this family do what so many families do at this time of year -- the Jewish Passover, the Christian Easter and so forth -- is a very important step and should take place as soon as possible, but without this precondition of having to agree that the boy goes with the father. That's not appropriate,'' said Jose Garcia-Pedrosa, an attorney for the Miami relatives.

``What should happen is, the family should get together and do what families do at this time of year -- have dinner together, you know, spend time together. We can't make it happen. We can only suggest that it happens. I think the real problem is, is the Cuban government prepared to allow Juan Miguel to attend a reunion like that, a meeting in which there's no supervision or control by the Cuban government?''

In Fort Lee, N.J., Vice President Al Gore endorsed the idea of a meeting, urging Elian's relatives to get together ``without government officials or lawyers.''

But Gregory Craig, Juan Miguel Gonzalez's U.S. lawyer, met the relatives' offer with skepticism, noting that the relatives have continued to defy a government order to surrender the boy.

``The point of all that is, they still decline to turn over the boy to his father,'' Craig told CNN. ``We could go to Miami and knock on the door and we could come out without the boy. That's unacceptable to us. The central issue is whether this boy is going to be restored to his father.''

`HELP ME'

Later in the day, Juan Miguel Gonzalez spoke to reporters for the first time in two weeks outside the Maryland home of Fernando Remirez, Cuba's top diplomat here. He asked Americans to write or phone the president and Reno to urge them to act.

Speaking without notes, he said: ``I've come here because they've promised me I'd be reunited with my son Elian. Two weeks have passed. I've always had the understanding that the United States is a country of laws.

``Please, all the people with feelings that really know a father's love for his son, help me and don't let them continue putting politics over this. This is simply a father and son. Help me. Thank you.''

RENO PRESSURED?

Administration officials, meanwhile, declined to discuss reports that Clinton was putting pressure on Reno to act.

Carole Florman, spokeswoman for the Justice Department, said that on the flight from Oklahoma City, Reno updated Clinton on the appeals court's ruling.

``He offered his opinions on the matter and then he reaffirmed his support for her on this -- and that he agreed with her position that she's taken and her handling of it,'' Florman said.

White House press secretary Joe Lockhart also declined to go into details during a morning press briefing.

``What I will say is the president believes the attorney general has moved forward in a deliberate way, which he believes is appropriate, allowing all sides their chance to have their say, both to the attorney general and in the court of law, and he believes that that is the right way to do this,'' Lockhart said.

Herald staff writers Karen Branch, Frank Davies, Carol Rosenberg, Herald writer Mireidy Fernandez and Herald wire services contributed to this report.

Experts say asylum claim would be tough to prove

By Jay Weaver. jweaver@herald.com

If Elian Gonzalez gains the right to have his political asylum claim heard by the U.S. government, immigration experts say the boy will have a hard time proving he faces ``a well-founded fear of persecution'' in Cuba -- the standard for winning asylum.

An asylum hearing for Elian seemed to become more probable on Wednesday, when a federal appeals court in Atlanta strongly implied in a ruling that the Immigration and Naturalization Service erred when it found the boy was too young to file an application and that only his Cuban father can speak for him.

The three-judge appellate panel barred Elian's removal from the country until it concludes an appeal by his Miami relatives on whether the child himself has a right to apply for asylum. Oral arguments are set for May 11.

The legal team representing Elian's Miami relatives argues that the boy has a strong case to make for asylum because he faces political exploitation if he is forced to return to Cuba.

But immigration experts said Thursday that it doesn't seem likely the Cuban government will persecute the child on the basis of his race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group or political opinion -- the only legal criteria for granting asylum.

ELIAN REVERED

They say if the 6-year-old ever returns to his homeland, Cuban President Fidel Castro is likely to treat him as a hero and his father's family with generosity.

``Since Elian is as revered as he is in Cuba, it seems to me very hard to imagine that the asylum claim has any chance to succeed,'' said Stephen Legomsky, professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis.

``It does seem implausible that his [Miami] relatives could make a real asylum claim for the boy,'' said University of Virginia law professor David Martin.

According to INS records, winning asylum is a daunting feat for anyone.

During the past fiscal year, the INS reviewed 32,644 asylum applications and approved 13,510 nationwide -- a 38 percent approval rate.

In the regional office for Florida, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands, the INS processed 3,598 asylum applications and approved 849 -- a 20 percent approval rate.

``Lots of people who apply for asylum don't have merit,'' said Erich Cauller, director of the INS asylum office in Miami. ``They're looking for an avenue to stay in the United States, but they don't have a strong claim.''

The typical asylum application process takes two to three months.

Federal court papers offer a glimpse into the boy's asylum request.

They include a history of his mother Elisabeth Brotons' relationship with Rafael Lazaro Munero, the man described as Elian's stepfather. Munero was the one who organized the ill-fated voyage where he, Brotons, and nine others died before Elian was rescued off Florida in an inner tube on Nov. 25.

Munero had been persecuted for years by the Cuban government, according to court papers. That persecution led the Communist Party to question the loyalty of the boy's mother.

And the Miami relatives' lawyers argue that same kind of persecution would affect Elian if he is sent back to Cuba, where Castro has exploited the custody fight by turning him into a virtual ``poster boy'' for his regime.

The legal team's argument was supported by Dr. Marta Molina, who worked as a psychologist in Cuba for 20 years before coming to the United States in August.

`SECLUSION'

Molina claims to have seen more than 500 children under the age of 16 who had serious psychological problems as a result of their or their parents' disagreement with the communist ideology.

Elian will be ``immediately taken into seclusion away from the mainstream, to reindoctrinate him,'' Molina said in an affidavit. ``He will be indoctrinated to believe that in the United States he was very unhappy.''

She added that the boy will be forced to renounce his mother, stepfather and Miami relatives.

Attorney Roger Bernstein said he could not divulge details of Elian's asylum claim, but said the case is strong.

``There is no question that Elian is going to be a hero [in Cuba],'' Bernstein said. ``But for him to be a hero, the Castro government has to reindoctrinate him. The psychological harm to him in that reindoctrination is going to be huge. This notion that [his father] Juan Miguel is going to have control of his son's future flies in the face of reality.''

`REASONABLE' FEAR

Bernstein, a former INS asylum officer, said the evidence needed to prove a well-founded fear of persecution is ``relatively low.''

He cited a Supreme Court decision in 1987 that said, ``it need not be shown that the situation will probably result in persecution, but it is enough that the persecution is a reasonable possibility.''

Herald staff writer Andres Viglucci contributed to this report.

Reno, Clinton pressured to end standoff

By Frank Davies. fdavies@herald.com

WASHINGTON -- Across the nation, Attorney General Janet Reno and the Clinton administration are facing intense pressure in the Elian saga that's the very opposite of the resistance that has created an impasse in Little Havana over the boys fate.

Commonly held views among family law practitioners, psychiatrists and political observers include: What's taking so long in reuniting father and son? How can Reno speak fervently about the need for reunion, let deadlines slip and then take no action?

Polls show a strong majority of Americans support a reunion and even the use of force to achieve it. According to a Gallup Poll taken April 7-9, 59 percent of those polled favored using force to remove Elian Gonzalez from his great-uncles home if the family refuses to turn him over, while 29 percent were opposed.

Norman Ornstein, political analyst for the American Enterprise Institute, says the national perception is clear: ``The government can't seem to do a very simple thing, and they have let a soap opera become a farce.''

A Philadelphia family law lawyer, Lynne Gold-Bikin, said the sentiment on her weekly talk show is overwhelming: ``This has gone on ridiculously long, the father is here waiting to be with his kid. Hey, are we missing something? This is a no-brainer.''

Gold-Bikin said that at a recent meeting of the American Academy of Matrimonial Trial Lawyers, 98 of 100 lawyers agreed the boy should go to his father.

Such sentiments are not universal outside South Florida.

VIEWS ON RULING

Some lawyers and child psychiatrists studying Wednesdays ruling by the three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals approved of some aspects of the decision, which prevents Elian from leaving the United States.

Tom Lyon, a University of Southern California law professor who deals with child neglect cases, agreed with the judges that the Immigration and Naturalization Service should have had professionals interview the boy.

Maria Cardona, spokeswoman for the INS, said that cries for quick action ignore the tense situation in Little Havana with hundreds of protesters surrounding the house: ``Its easy for people on the outside to say, `Go in and take the boy,' but we dont want to put the safety of Elian or anyone else in Miami in jeopardy.''

But adding to the pressure on Reno are the professionals she brought into the case. Dr. Jerry Wiener of George Washington University, who interviewed members of the Gonzalez family in Miami, told NBC Thursday that the boy needs to be returned to his father quickly.

SHIFT IN URGENCY

With Congress in recess, the battle over Elian has lost one sounding board in Washington, but even there the fault lines are shifting.

In recent weeks, Sen. Connie Mack, the Florida Republican, and others who want to keep the boy in the United States have blasted the administration for pushing to remove him. Mack praised the appeals court ruling, saying it ``protects Elians rights from an aggressive Justice Department.''

The judges ruling removes the urgency voiced by Mack and others that Elian was about to be taken back to Cuba. With the prospect of the boy being here for weeks of court battles, those on the other side now speak urgently.

``The attorney general unquestionably has the legal authority and moral obligation'' to return the boy to his father, said Rep. Charles Rangel, a New York Democrat. He added: ``By any means necessary.''

``Theres no good reason why he shouldnt be with his father while these other legal issues are dealt with,'' said Dr. Diane Schetky of Rockport, Maine, active in the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Gold-Bikin, who has headed the American Bar Associations family law division, said what Reno should do is simple: ``Go in now and get the boy -- get it done.''

MAJOR CONSEQUENCES

Ornstein, the American Enterprise resident scholar, sees ``very major'' political and policy consequences if the standoff does not end soon.

``If Reno keeps this fandango going much longer, it gets more difficult to solve and becomes a debacle,'' Ornstein said.

In this falls election, ``Cuban Americans are going to be voting Republican anyway, but theres political danger for Al Gore with other voters if the inaction in this case continues,'' Ornstein said.

Reno has weathered withering criticism throughout her seven years as attorney general. She said this week that she keeps her perspective by remembering the words of Abraham Lincoln that she keeps in her office:

``I intend to keep on doing the best I can, the best I know how, and I intend on doing it until the end. If the end brings me out right, what people said about me wont make any difference. And if the end brings me out wrong, 10 angels saying I was right wont make a difference.'

Experts: Reunify family slowly

By Eunice Ponce And Ana Acle. eponce@herald.com

A group of mental health experts is advocating a three-month reunification period in which Elian Gonzalez's warring relatives would receive counseling in a neutral setting as the 6-year-old becomes re-acquainted with his Cuban father and stepmom.

``Think of the analogy of an egg,'' said Dr. Antonio Gordon, who is on the clinical faculty of Nova-Southeastern University and heads the group of experts. ``You cannot just leave the egg without some protection. You want to put the egg in some place where it is cushioned and protected.''

Gordon represents the Finlay Institute, a nonprofit medical organization which has worked with Cuban-American, Jamaican-American and Haitian-American communities in South Florida since 1978. Acting on its own, 10 members of the institute formed a panel to study the Elian case. The mental health experts decided to come forward because they were concerned that Elian was being treated as an ``object'' by doctors who have not even met with the boy.

Gordon pointed to Dr. Irwin Redlener, who, without having met the child, recommended in a letter to the Immigration and Naturalization Service the quick removal of Elian from the Little Havana home. Three of the Finlay Institute's psychiatrists, psychologists and pediatricians have met with Elian on several occasions.

Gordon said an abrupt removal from a family with which Elian has established critical ties would have devastating physical and psychological effects on the boy.

'IN GREAT DANGER'

``He has been in great danger, emotional and physical, and his environment should not be changed drastically. The relationship that Elian has established with this [Miami] family is not a light relationship because it was forged at a time when he lost his mother,'' Gordon said.

Another Finlay psychologist disputed statements from other professionals who have been quoted in media reports, saying four months in Miami cannot outweigh Elian's previous five years of life.

``Professionals who have said that four or five months cannot compare with the five years that Elian lived in Cuba need to remember that during and after a crisis, feelings are intensified and very strong emotional bonds can be established in a relatively short period of time, particularly with the people perceived as saviors or protectors,'' said psychologist Gladys Lorenzo.

Citing family studies -- such as one published by Ohio State University in 1994, Gordon said the 90-day reunification plan has more than a 90 percent chance of being successful.

Attorney General Janet Reno and members of the Miami family have suggested a similar reunion, but Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, has so far rejected the idea -- unless his son is turned over to him first.

PRIVACY NEEDED

Gordon recommends that the re-unification process have limited media coverage.

``The media would have to keep an eye on this and have access to information and the people, only because the case is such a public event and there are going to be people on both sides who are going to claim that something unfair is going on,'' he said.

Gordon did suggest that the presence of demonstrators would be unfavorable.

``The family should be prepared to accept whatever comes out of this. It may not be a full reintegration, but perhaps they can communicate with each other.''

Copyright 2000 Miami Herald

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