By Ana Acle. aacle@herald.com. Published Wednesday, February 16, 2000, in the Miami Herald
Evangelist K.A. Paul had never been to Cuba. His missionary work is more associated with Africa and Asia than with Latin America.
But he said he went because he wanted to help Elian Gonzalez return to his father -- until Cuban officials would not let him meet with the father alone.
Kilari Anan Paul, 36, founder of Gospel to the Unreached Millions, said Tuesday in Miami that Elian's father is being pressured by Cuban officials and secretly wants the boy to remain free in the United States. Furthermore, the father would like to come to the United States with his entire
family, Paul said.
He said three sources -- he won't divulge names -- told him so. One is a friend of the father, another a relative and a third is a church leader, Paul said.
``They have no reason to lie,'' Paul said.
Juan Miguel Gonzalez has consistently, however, said he wants his son back and has told the media that he is speaking freely.
Paul -- virtually an unknown in Miami -- is the latest person to emerge in the international spotlight surrounding Elian Gonzalez and the custody battle between the United States and Cuba.
At a news conference Tuesday, he sat beside local pastors of various denominations who have said they do not want Elian to return to Cuba.
'STOOD FOR THE TRUTH'
``I'm not a politician,'' Paul said. ``I do not have an agenda. I'm a person who has stood for the truth for the past 17, 18 years.''
Armando Gutierrez, spokesman for the Gonzalez family in Miami, said he did not know of Paul or his organization prior to his visit.
``God works in mysterious ways, and Elian and the family need all the spiritual help they can get,'' Gutierrez said.
Paul has no qualms about getting media attention. ``Promote the rally,'' he said to a Miami radio reporter. He is calling for a prayer rally at 4 p.m. Saturday at Jose Marti Park.
Such prayer rallies -- he calls them Good News Crusades -- are his specialty. In Oklahoma, Paul held a spiritual rally in May for the victims of tornadoes. In August in Kenya, he held one on the anniversary of the U.S. Embassy bombings.
``We liked when he came to Oklahoma, and we liked what he did to help,'' said Bill Shapard, spokesman for U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts, R-Okla. ``We have no reason to believe he's not who he says he is.'' Watts has not publicly given his opinion on the Elian case.
Born in Chittivalsa, India, Paul said he became a Christian in the predominantly Hindu nation because his father converted to Christianity. In 1983, at the age of 20, he said he began trying to get couples to adopt orphaned children.
$15 MILLION BUDGET
Paul came to the United States in 1989. Four years later, he created the nonprofit Gospel to the Unreached Millions in Duluth. In 1996, he opened its headquarters in Houston, where it is listed in Texas records as a foreign nonprofit corporation.
G.U.M. conducts crusades several times a year in countries between Japan and the west coast of Africa, an area ``of great spiritual darkness known as the Resistance Belt,'' the organization states. Paul said the group has 2.5 million lay missionaries and six homes for widows and orphans.
He said he has a $15 million budget thanks to private donations and does not receive any public money.
In December 1999, Paul formed the domestic nonprofit Global Peace Initiative in Humble, Texas and opened its headquarters in Alexandria, Va. He lives with his wife, two daughters and son in Houston.
Paul said his Jan. 31 trip to Cuba was an eye-opener for him and insists ``the truth must be told.'' He returned Feb. 2 and publicly stated then that he had changed his stance, joining Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin. The two had not met.
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