Yahoo! July 3, 2000
Castro Sends Defiant Message to Next U.S. Leader
By Pascal Fletcher
MANZANILLO, 01 Cuba (Reuters) - President Fidel Castro on Saturday defiantly served notice on the next U.S. president that Cuba would continue resisting all attempts to defeat his 41-year-old socialist revolution.
``Whoever is the next president of the United States should know that here is, and here will be, Cuba with its ideas, its example and the unconquerable rebellion of its people,'' Castro said in a written message read to the nation at a massive rally. The 73-year-old Castro did not attend the
rally.
``All aggression and attempts to suffocate us and put us on our knees will be defeated,'' Castro wrote. Democratic Vice President Al Gore (news - web sites) and Republican Texas Gov. George W. Bush (news - web sites) are battling to win the U.S. presidency in November's election.
Castro's words were cheered by the more than 300,000 flag-waving Cubans in the eastern port of Manzanillo attending the first rally since the homecoming of 6-year-old shipwreck survivor Elian Gonzalez after a 7-month custody battle.
The event was the ruling Communist Party's attempt to harness political momentum, after the successful ``Free Elian!'' campaign, behind an offensive to change hostile U.S. policy.
[It doesn't matter at all to us who is the next head of government of the superpower which has imposed its system of hegemonic and dominant power on the world. None of the candidates inspires any confidence,'' Castro added.
``It's useless for them to invest time in declarations and promises against Cuba to obtain the vote of a few anti-patriots who even dared to stamp on and burn U.S. flags,'' Castro added, referring to U.S. presidential candidates' attempts to woo the votes of Cuban Americans in Florida.
Speakers at the rally, which included Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, heaped criticism on all aspects of U.S. government policy toward Cuba. ``You should know, sons of Uncle Sam, that this nation is prepared to fight for as long as necessary,'' said one speaker, Juan Manuel Vasquez, a
cobbler.
The return of Elian, who had been taken in by Miami relatives after his rescue at sea, was considered a major political defeat for hardline anti-communist Cuban American groups and a victory for their nemesis, Castro.
Student leader Hassan Perez, speaking at the rally, went as far as to include Elian's return in a short list of momentous historical events ranging from the birth of Jesus and fall of the Roman Empire, to the French and Russian Revolutions.
Castro's message was read at the start of the gathering in Manzanillo, which -- like the hundreds of other rallies and events throughout Cuba's unprecedented patriotic Elian campaign -- was carried live on state TV and radio.
The rally was, Castro said, the start of a ``new stage'' in the battle against the United States, with Havana's priorities now the overturning of Washington's economic embargo against Cuba and immigration policy toward Cubans.
Cuba says favorable U.S. treatment of Cuban immigrants, enshrined in the Cuban Adjustment Law, encourages illegal departures from the island by boat, and was therefore the root cause of the Elian saga. His mother and 10 other illegal Cuban immigrants died in their attempt to reach Florida by
boat.
``The Cuban Adjustment Act has to end,'' Castro's brother Raul, second in Cuba's political hierarchy, told reporters.
Cuban dissidents and U.S. officials, however, blame the continuing exodus from the Caribbean nation on Castro, saying a poorly managed economy and a dictatorial one-party political system drive people out through desperation.
Both Raul Castro and Perez dismissed a recent initiative in the U.S. Congress to modify the existing embargo against Cuba by freeing up food and medicine sales to the island. They said the conditions surrounding the initiative, which include a ban on U.S. financing, made it meaningless.
``Let nobody make a mistake. The (U.S. economic) blockade is not being eased, it's being toughened,'' Perez said.
The speakers at the rally included Mazi Jamal, son of militant U.S. black rights' campaigner Mumia Abu-Jamal, who is in a U.S. prison under sentence of death for murder. Jamal thanked the Cuban people for their support for his father's cause, adding that ``with that support I know my father will
one day be free as your child Elian is free.''
Miami Tries To Recover From Elian
By RACHEL LA CORTE, Associated Press Writer
MIAMI, 01 (AP) - The daily demonstrations over Elian Gonzalez's custody have ended with his return to Cuba, but it may take a long time for the city to recover from the wounds the issue caused.
``It became a holy war,'' said Max Castro, a University of Miami sociology professor. ``It was a very divisive issue. It wasn't the most violent issue, but it was the most emotionally divisive issue in this community.''
The case further fractured Miami's ethnic groups.
Haitians were upset that civic leaders fought so hard to keep Elian in the United States while doing nothing to help Haitians trying to flee poverty in their country.
Many outside the Cuban-American community were appalled when the boy's Miami relatives defied U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno. They flew U.S. flags from their cars, countering the many Cuban flags displayed by people who wanted Elian to stay.
And many non-Cubans, afraid an attempt to take Elian from his Miami relatives would cause massive civil disruption, were angered when Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas boldly said his police department would not assist federal agents if they came for Elian.
``The Latin reaction is so strong ... you can get into a fight with someone,'' said John Kim, who is of Cuban-Korean descent. ``Instead of it being a civil difference of opinion it becomes an all-out battle.''
When federal agents did remove Elian from his Miami relatives' home to take the boy to his father, Cuban-born Miami Mayor Joe Carollo was furious that he wasn't told of the raid even though the police chief did have advance word. He fired City Manager Donald Warshaw and police Chief William
O'Brien resigned.
Many non-Hispanics called Carollo ``Crazy Joe,'' and some tossed bananas outside City Hall, protesting that the city was being run like a banana republic.
The mistrust that grew between some Cuban-Americans and non-Hispanics may remain for quite a while, Castro said. ``At this point we're in recovery. However, a lot of the things that were exacerbated have not been solved.''
Even within South Florida's community of 780,000 Cuban-Americans, some were so revolted by the idea of Elian being returned to Fidel Castro's Cuba that they wouldn't tolerate a difference of opinion in their own families.
Yesikka Vivancos said she believed Elian should return to Cuba with his father, while her mother wanted him to stay because ``there's nothing for him in Cuba.''
``It's gotten to a point where I've told her 'I refuse to talk about this' because she refuses to see the other side of things,'' said Vivancos, a 26-year-old office manager at Florida International University. ``She's dead set on her opinion and isn't open to any others.''
Some say exposing the divisions can help the city.
``When things are out in the open you can confront misunderstandings,'' said Philip Blumberg, chairman of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. ``It's good we're finally starting to air these things. We have the opportunity now to talk to each other about things we otherwise wouldn't have if it
hadn't been brought to the surface.''
A spokesman for the mayor, Juan Mendieta, said the passions of Miami Cubans over Elian may have been misinterpreted by people unfamiliar with the city.
``We're a very diverse community and we're a very passionate community,'' he said. ``It's a mistake to view that as a negative thing.''
Rallies To Continue in Cuba
By Vivian Sequera, Associated Press Writer.
MANZANILLO, Cuba 01 (AP) - Fidel Castro's government launched a new series of demonstrations Saturday in the wake of Elian Gonzalez's return, calling out more than 300,000 people from across eastern Cuba to protest U.S. policies that it says harm this island's citizens.
The gathering in this southeastern coastal city was the first large rally organized since Elian's low-key homecoming Wednesday. Led by Gen. Raul Castro, head of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and Fidel Castro's younger brother, a sea of people vigorously waved small red, white and blue Cuban
flags as the rally got under way.
The government has promised repeatedly in recent months that once the boy returned, the marches, rallies and televised round-table discussions would go on. This time, though, the mass mobilizations will focus not on the 6-year-old, but on U.S. immigration policies and trade sanctions.
[Our struggle, without truce or rest, will be resumed vigorously to enter a new and prolonged phase,'' said a defiant letter from Fidel Castro read at the event. ``We are not a people who will stop to relish victories or boast of successes. We will not stop until each and every one of our
objectives ... has been reached.''
Castro also wrote that Cubans don't care who wins the coming presidential elections in the United States and said that candidates are wasting their time trying to win the Cuban-American vote.
``It is useless to invest unnecessary time in the declarations and promises made against Cuba to obtain the vote of just a few people who have no country of their own, who even dare to step on and burn the American flag,'' Castro added. He was referring to the angry actions of some Cuban exiles
in Miami after the federal raid that reunited Elian with his father in April.
Cuba organized more than 100 such rallies in the seven months that Elian was in the United States, calling out hundreds of thousands of Cubans from around the country to show popular support for bringing the boy home.
Elian and his family remained out of public view Saturday, as they have since shortly after returning to Cuba. They are staying at a specially prepared boarding school in Havana, where they will live for two or three weeks along with Elian's classmates and teachers.
Later, they are to take a week's holiday, then return to their hometown, a small port city east of Havana.
All the billboards with Elian's face that had been erected along main thoroughfares around the capital were pasted over Friday with a new message: ``Unity is the fundamental strength of the revolution.''
Cuba blames the a U.S. law called the Cuban Adjustment Act in particular for the international custody battle over Elian. After he was hospitalized following his rescue from the Atlantic Ocean in late November, Elian was allowed to stay in the United States under the 1966 law, which allows
Cubans who reach American soil to seek permanent residency.
Characterizing the act as a ``killing machine,'' Cuba maintains the policy encourages Cubans to take risky crossings across the Florida Straits, such as the one that Elian embarked on with his mother and 12 others.
Elian was one of three survivors from the boatwreck that killed his mother and thrust him into a custody dispute between his father in Cuba and his relatives in Miami, who wanted him to remain in the United States.
Castro Warns Next U.S. President
By Vivian Sequera, Associated Press Writer.
MANZANILLO, Cuba 01 (AP) - Fidel Castro defiantly warned the next U.S. president Saturday not to try to defeat his socialist revolution, as the Cuban government launched a new series of mass demonstrations after Elian Gonzalez's return.
``Whoever may be the new president of the United States should know that Cuba is and will be here with its ideas, its example, and the unbendable rebellion of its people,'' Castro wrote in a letter read before hundreds of thousands of people gathered to protest U.S. policies. ``All aggression
and attempts to asphyxiate us and reduce us to our knees will be conquered.''
Led by Gen. Raul Castro, head of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and Fidel Castro's younger brother, a sea of people vigorously waved small red, white and blue Cuban flags.
``Those who think we are ending should know that we are beginning!'' Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque told the Cubans who massed in this southeastern coastal city for the first large rally organized since Elian's low-key homecoming Wednesday.
Perez Roque congratulated Cuban citizens on their success in the return of Elian and his father to the communist country, eliciting a huge cheer from the crowd, which the government estimated at more than 300,000. ``It is a victory of the people!'' he declared.
The government has promised repeatedly in recent months that once the boy returned, the marches, rallies and televised round-table discussions would go on.
This time, though, the events will focus not on the 6-year-old, but on U.S. immigration policies and trade sanctions that the Cuban government says harm its people.
Castro also wrote that Cubans don't care who wins the coming presidential elections in the United States and said that candidates are wasting their time trying to win the Cuban-American vote.
``It is useless to invest unnecessary time in the declarations and promises made against Cuba to obtain the vote of just a few people who have no country of their own, who even dare to step on and burn the American flag,'' Castro said. He was referring to the angry actions of some Cuban exiles
in Miami after the federal raid that reunited Elian with his father in April.
In rare comments to reporters afterward, Raul Castro said that media coverage of the battle over Elian had helped Americans better understand Cuba and its people. Because of that increased understanding, ``the second chapter will also be a triumph,'' he said.
``More and more there are thousands of American tourists coming to Cuba,'' said Raul Castro, first in the line of succession after his brother. He also noted increased American interest in doing business with Cuba.
Cuba organized more than 100 such rallies in the seven months that Elian was in the United States, calling out hundreds of thousands of Cubans from around the country to show popular support for bringing the boy home.
The gatherings have been used occasionally as a showcase for Americans sympathetic to Cuba. On Saturday, the son of death-row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal, Mazi Jamal, thanked Cubans for supporting his father's attempts to obtain a new trial.
Abu-Jamal was convicted of murder in the 1981 shooting death of a Philadelphia police officer, but maintains his innocence and the case is under appeal. ``With that support I know my father will one day be free as your child Elian is free,'' Jamal said.
Elian and his family remained out of public view Saturday. They are staying at a specially prepared boarding school in Havana, where they will live for two or three weeks along with Elian's classmates and teachers. Later, they will return to their hometown, a small port city east of Havana.
Cuba blames a U.S. law called the Cuban Adjustment Act for the international custody battle over Elian. After he was hospitalized following his rescue from the Atlantic Ocean in late November, Elian was allowed to stay in the United States under the 1966 law, which allows Cubans who reach
American soil to seek permanent residency.
Cuba maintains the policy encourages Cubans to make risky voyages across the Florida Straits, such as the one that Elian embarked on with his mother and 12 others.
Elian was one of three survivors from the boatwreck that killed his mother and thrust him into a custody dispute between his father in Cuba and his relatives in Miami, who wanted him to remain in the United States.
Elian's Case May Sway Immigration
By Laurie Asseo, Associated Press Writer.
WASHINGTON, 01 (AP) - After seven months of bitter emotions and plenty of political heat, the case of Elian Gonzalez finally was resolved under long-standing rules on parents' rights and immigration law.
``Ultimately what the Elian Gonzalez case stands for is the right of a parent to speak for and raise a child ... irrespective of the parent's nationality, ideology or economic status,'' said Bernard Perlmutter, director of the University of Miami's Children and Youth Law Clinic.
``The worst that could be said about Juan Miguel Gonzalez was that he was Cuban and an adherent of the communist ideology,'' but that was not enough to take the 6-year-old Elian from his father and give custody to relatives in Miami, Perlmutter added.
Still, now that Gonzalez has taken his son back to Cuba, some experts in family and immigration law hope the controversy will lead to new ideas for handling the cases of children who arrive in the United States without a parent or close adult relative.
``The real question is going to be whether those standards need changing,'' said Neal Sonnett, a Miami lawyer who chairs the American Bar Association's standing committee on immigration law. More than 5,000 such children arrive in the United States each year, he said.
Attorney General Janet Reno said last week that she and immigration officials will review whether the Gonzalez case demonstrates a need for new procedures or regulations, such as a minimum age for children seeking asylum on their own.
``We will be looking at it to see if there is any lesson learned, anything that should be done,'' Reno told reporters Thursday.
A federal appeals court ruled last month that the INS acted within reason when it decided that only Elian's father - not his great-uncle Lazaro Gonzalez in Miami - could apply for asylum for him.
Last Wednesday the Supreme Court rejected the Miami relatives' appeal. Hours later Elian and his father flew to Cuba, ending the saga that began last Thanksgiving when Elian was found floating on an inner tube after his mother died trying to reach this country.
Spencer Eig, a lawyer for the Miami relatives, said that ``in general, at each stage we did what we had to do.''
``I totally agree in general that parents have a right to run their children's lives,'' Eig said, but added that the family believed ``Juan Miguel's decisions even in this country were being made under duress'' from the Fidel Castro regime.
Michael Maggio, an immigration lawyer in Washington D.C., said that in legal terms, Elian's case was an ordinary immigration dispute.
``That doesn't mean that from an immigration law perspective it's something to rejoice about,'' Maggio said, adding, ``The case stands for the proposition that the immigration service has extraordinary authority. ... The courts consistently rule in favor of the immigration service, so what else
is new?''
Courts usually defer to decisions by the Immigration and Naturalization Service because immigration policy is closely bound to foreign policy, which is an executive branch responsibility.
Sonnett said officials should consider whether legal representatives should be routinely appointed to speak for the interests of children who arrive in this country unaccompanied by an adult.
Maurice Jay Kutner, a Miami lawyer and former chairman of the ABA's family law section, said the federal court in Elian's case could have borrowed some ideas from family court, including appointment of such a representative for the boy, as well as a mediator.
``A large part of the battle is the desire of the parties to be heard,'' Kutner said. He added he did not necessarily disagree with the outcome of the case, but the federal court at least could have ``softened the impact of the child returning'' to his father.
``We didn't break any new legal ground in this case,'' said Perlmutter. ``We just clarified existing law with respect to the right of an admitted alien to seek asylum in this country.''
Sonnett said, ``I would have much preferred to have seen Elian Gonzalez stay here, but as a matter of law I don't think that was a realistic probability... I have to give credence to the rule of law even though my gut and heart would have preferred that Elian Gonzalez remain in the United
States.''
Lott Says He'll Try to Block Cuba Sanctions Easing
WASHINGTON, 30 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said on Friday if he could find a way he would scuttle proposals to ease the four-decade-old U.S. embargo on Cuba.
Earlier this week, Republican leaders in Congress, under pressure from pro-trade farm-state lawmakers, announced a compromise allowing broader food and medicine sales to the communist island 90 miles from Florida.
Democrats have complained the compromise does not go far enough. Sen. Chris Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, said he would press the Senate to demand fewer restrictions on food and medicine sales.
``They (Democrats) want an even broader opening of sales or dealings with Cuba. I oppose both of them,'' Lott, a Republican from Mississippi, told reporters. ``If I can find a way to kill them, I will.''
A procedural dispute with the Senate prevented House of Representatives leaders from attaching the Cuba language to a bill passed on Thursday night. Their next chance for a vote on the provision was not expected before mid or late July.
U.S.-Cuba strain causes snafu at Canada jazz fests
By Jeffrey Jones
MONTREAL, 30 (Reuters) - The same tense U.S.-Cuban relations that set off a firestorm of controversy over castaway Elian Gonzales forced a group of young Cuban musicians this week to cancel concerts at two major Canadian jazz festivals.
Los Primos, a group of 13 musicians aged 16-20, missed their flight and were unable to appear for scheduled gigs at the Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival and the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal because money wired for their plane tickets to Canada was held up in New York.
``The money was routed by the bank through New York City and the American government seized it,'' Jeff Goodspeed, a Canadian music teacher and saxophone player who organized the tour, said Friday.
The Nova Scotia bank that wired the funds quickly sent more money, but the delay caused every member but one in the group -- which plays Afro-Cuban and salsa music -- to miss the flight to Toronto.
By the time Los Primos could arrange another flight, it was too late to attend their scheduled concerts.
Goodspeed said the strange twist, a result of the U.S. Helms-Burton legislation that seeks to punish countries that do business with the communist country, would not completely prevent the musicians from playing in Canada, however.
The Cuban student players had arrived on another flight in Montreal and were to play a couple of sets at a local Cuban music club late Friday.
Festival organizers were disappointed, however, that U.S.-Cuban politics had crept into the arts.
``I've never seen anything like this before,'' said Montreal festival spokeswoman Marie-Eve Boisvert.
The strain between the U.S. and Cuba boiled over at times during the past seven months in the custody drama involving Elian, the six-year-old shipwreck survivor whose Miami relatives tried to keep in the United States.
The boy, who became a political symbol for both the U.S. relatives and the Cuban communists, is now back in Cuba.
Goodspeed and his wife Amara, who live in Nova Scotia, became involved with Los Primos a few years ago when they heard the students play while in Cuba. ``We were blown away. We had never heard students play that way before,'' he said.
However, he discovered instruments on the Caribbean island to be in short supply. The couple spearhead a program in which they collect musical instruments in Canada for donation to the students.
``I'm just hoping this screw-up can maybe bring some attention to that effort,'' Goodspeed said.
Reuters/Variety
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Copyright © 2000 The Associated Press.
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