HAVANA, 16 (AP) - The Miami relatives of 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez have repeatedly prevented the boy's father from talking to him on the telephone in recent days, the Cuban government said in a statement published Thursday.
The nearly daily accounting of Juan Miguel Gonzalez's attempts to communicate with his son was published in the Communist Party daily Granma. It said the Miami relatives typically argue with or hang up on the father, tell him the boy is not home or is sleeping, distract the boy during his
conversations with his father or simply do not pick up the phone.
``The methods used by the sadly celebrated great-uncle Lazaro Gonzalez and his nuclear family to impede and block (the calls) are increasingly more cruel and cynical,'' Granma said.
While the father had fought to bring Elian back to Cuba, Lazaro Gonzalez has had temporary custody of Elian since shortly after the boy was rescued by fishermen off the coast of Florida on Nov. 25. Elian's mother and 10 others perished at sea when their boat sank during a journey from Cuba to
the United States.
The great uncle seeks to keep Elian in Miami, saying that he can give him a better life off the communist island. Elian's Miami relatives are awaiting a ruling from U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore, who heard arguments last week on whether to interfere with a federal immigration decision to
send Elian back to Cuba.
Granma said Cuba's Foreign Ministry has been tracking the complaints about the phone calls and passing them on to the U.S. State Department and Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Armando Gutierrez, a spokesman for the Miami relatives, denied the Cuban account.
``I don't believe anything that comes out of Havana. It's another creation of Fidel Castro. This is the United States of America, people get to go out. Or sometimes he might be asleep,'' he said. ``I've been there, I've seen him talk to his father for long periods of time.''
Linda Osberg-Braun, an attorney for the Miami relatives, said the INS and Lazaro set up a schedule for specific times when Juan Miguel could call and the relatives would try to make sure Elian would be there. She said that when Juan Miguel learned of the schedule, he called and yelled at the
relatives, saying he would call his son anytime he wanted.
Osberg-Braun said the relatives are now contemplating taping the calls in accordance with Florida law, which requires all parties to know they're being taped.
AP-NY-03-16-00 1848EST
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