Yahoo News. Wednesday March 22, 9:02 am Eastern Time
Dozens of U.S. Business Executives to Visit Cuba In June for US-Cuba Business Summit 4
WASHINGTON, March 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Dozens of executives from U.S. companies will once again visit Cuba as part of the fourth US-Cuba Business Summit scheduled for June 7-10 in Cancun and Havana.
The American executives will meet with Cuban Ministers, economic policy makers and officials in Cancun on June 7-8 and then travel by charter to Havana for site visits and private one-on-one meetings with their Cuban counterparts and sector specialists on June 9-10.
This Summit is being organized by Cristobal srl, an Italian firm with headquarters in Florence, Italy and offices in Havana. Cristobal has been operating in Cuba for more than four years.
``We are pleased to be able to bring American executives to Havana and let them see and hear for themselves about the real business climate in Cuba. Interaction between U.S. companies, Cuban officials, and those of us who are already working there is beneficial for all sides,'' said Nicola
Cecchi, President of Cristobal.
The previous Summits had been organized by Alamar Associates, a Washington based consulting firm. But because the U.S. Government had told Alamar in 1998 that it could not take the delegation to Cuba, Alamar handed over organization of the fourth Summit to Cristobal.
It is legal for American business executives to visit Cuba if they are ``fully hosted'' and do not spend money in Cuba. In this case, all expenses for all Americans will be paid by desoft,s.a., a Cuban joint venture firm in Havana.
Other co-sponsors include Shandwick International, the global public relations firm; Patton Boggs, a leading Washington, D.C. law firm; Lauda-air, an Italian charter airline currently serving Cuba; Cuban American Alliance, a U.S. based organization of Cuban Americans; US-Cuba Trade Association,
a coalition of U.S. and foreign firms which favor the opening of trade; Alamar Associates, a Washington D.C. based consulting firm providing advice and counsel to companies wishing to do business with Cuba; and North American Partners Group, a business consulting firm in Tampa, Florida.
``No other forum allows the participating business executives to have this unique opportunity to learn first hand about the reality of the Cuban economy. With a visit to Cuba, they can also assess their real business potential in private meetings with Cuban specialists,'' said Kirby Jones,
President of Alamar Associates, whom Cristobal has asked to continue as Chairman of the Summit.
Previous Summits have attracted representatives of more than 150 U.S. companies and virtually all the major Cuban Ministers who deal with the Cuban economy have participated and met with the U.S. business executives.
Full details about the agenda, speakers, logistics, and legal opinion are available at http://www.uscubasummit.com.
SOURCE: Alamar Associates
Copyright 2000 PRNewswire.
Elian Relatives Fight Judge's Ruling
By Alex Veiga. , Associated Press Writer
MIAMI, 22 (AP) - Elian Gonzalez's U.S. relatives are fighting a judge's ruling that could send him back to Cuba. The United States is where ``his mom wanted him to be,'' a cousin said today.
Appearing on morning talk shows, the boy's Miami relatives and their attorneys said the 6-year-old boy deserves his day in court.
U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit filed by Elian's great-uncle in Miami. The judge said the boy should be returned to his father in Cuba and ``each passing day is another day lost between Juan Gonzalez and his son.''
The relatives filed an appeal hours later to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.
``We think the judge made the best decision that he thought was right, but we are very disappointed,'' cousin Georgina Cid Cruz said on ABC's ``Good Morning America.''
``We will go all the way to see who can help us keep this boy in this free country where his mom wanted him to be.''
The family's attorney said Moore's decision wrongly denies Elian the right to an asylum hearing.
``There has ... never been a day in court for this boy,'' attorney Kendall Coffey said.
The appeal will focus on a provision of U.S. law that says ``any'' alien has a right to apply for political asylum. ''`Any' alien also means Elian Gonzalez,'' Coffey said.
Elian was rescued off the Florida coast in November after his mother and 10 other people drowned trying to reach the United States.
The judge said matters of asylum were strictly the province of the U.S. attorney general. In Washington, Attorney General Janet Reno said she will consult with other Justice Department officials on how to reunite Elian with his father in a prompt and orderly way. She did not set any deadline.
Justice Department officials have made clear that they want to avoid any steps that would traumatize the boy or provoke a confrontation with Miami's large Cuban exile community.
``It has been four months since Elian has been separated from his father and lost his mother,'' Reno said in a statement. ``It is time for this little boy, who has been through so much, to move on with his life at his father's side.''
In Cuba, a government statement cautioned citizens ``to analyze the apparently positive news with serenity and a cool head.''
The statement, read on the nightly television news, warned Cubans ``not to fall into false optimism or excessive hope,'' and said the battle had not ended to ``achieve the return of the kidnapped boy.''
Greg Craig, the attorney for Elian's father, said on NBC's ``Today'' that his client would come to the United States immediately to pick up Elian, but only if he were certain the boy would leave with him.
``He is not going to come here and sit in a hotel room while somebody else takes (Elian) to Disneyland,'' Craig said.
Copyright © 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Elian Gonzalez -- Stockholm Syndrome
LOS ANGELES--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--March 22, 2000--Robert R. Butterworth, Ph.D., a leading child psychologist, reacted to the latest developments in the Elian Gonzalez case after U.S. District Judge Michael Moore threw out a political-asylum lawsuit that cleared the way for 6-year-old Elian
Gonzalez to be returned to his father in Cuba by saying that as a result of his lengthy stay in Florida, Elian could be suffering from a form of the ``Stockholm Syndrome,'' in which hostages identify with their captors and turn against their loved ones.
``Being forcibly removed from Florida and returning him to Cuba could cause him to be furious and permanently estranged from his father,'' according to Butterworth.
``This is similar to the `Stockholm Syndrome,' when hostages identify with their captors. But in child cases, the syndrome is even more severe because of the age of the child-hostage, his/her relationship with the captor and the latter's ruthless psychological exploitation of the relationship.
Thus, any testimony that this child would give on living arrangement preferences could be clouded by this psychological type of brainwashing,'' said Butterworth.
``When relatives fight over custody, they are obviously not going to tell them that their other parent is wonderful, still loves them and wants to see them. On the contrary, in many cases, the children are told that their other parent is bad who has abandoned them, and could see them at any time
if only he wanted to.
``Elian may never recover from this experience. He will become confused and angry towards his father. Who knows what messages his relatives have conveyed to him? Elian could begin to feel that his father has abandoned him.
``We know only too well how traumatic it is for children if they are suddenly denied one of their parents. We know that traumatized children can grow into traumatized adults,'' Butterworth said.
Many studies have been done in the United States about what is known as ``Parental Alienation Syndrome'' -- when one parent systematically denigrates the other -- and its devastating effect on children.
The child soon replaces the positive memories of the absent parent with hurt and anger at what he/she sees, and is encouraged to see, as abandonment and betrayal. The child ends up asserting vehemently that he/she does not want contact with the victim parent.
Copyright 2000 Business Wire. All rights reserved.
Elian Gonzalez Asylum Suit Dismissed
By Alex Veiga, Associated Press Writer
MIAMI (AP) - A federal judge Tuesday refused to block the U.S. government from sending 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez back to his father in Cuba, saying the court has no right to second-guess the attorney general on matters of asylum.
Twelve days after hearing arguments in the case, U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore dismissed the lawsuit filed by Elian's great-uncle in Miami. The judge said that ``each passing day is another day lost between Juan Gonzalez and his son.''
Elian's Miami relatives said they will appeal, while in Washington, Attorney General Janet Reno said she will consult with other Justice Department officials on how to reunite Elian with his father in a prompt and orderly way. But she did not set any deadline.
Justice Department officials have made clear that they want to avoid any steps that would traumatize the boy or provoke a confrontation with Miami's large Cuban exile community.
``It has been four months since Elian has been separated from his father and lost his mother,'' Reno said in a statement. ``It is time for this little boy, who has been through so much, to move on with his life at his father's side.''
Elian's fate has been debated since he was found clinging to an inner tube off Florida on Thanksgiving. His mother and 10 other Cubans drowned when their boat capsized during an attempt to reach the United States.
Since then, he has been living with relatives in Miami's Little Havana section and has been the subject of heated protests there and in Cuba.
In early January, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, in a decision approved by Reno, ordered Elian returned to his father. The Miami relatives responded with the lawsuit.
``The determination to grant asylum is a matter within the discretion of the attorney general,'' the judge wrote, adding that he found ``no abuse that would warrant a contrary conclusion.''
Lawyers for Elian's Miami relatives said they filed a notice of appeal with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. The appeal will focus on a provision of U.S. asylum law that says any alien has a right to apply for asylum, said attorney Kendall Coffey.
But in his ruling, Moore rejected that argument, saying the wording of the law contradicts itself and if taken literally could be harmful in some cases, such as when a child is kidnapped abroad and brought to the United States.
Attorneys for the Miami family have argued that the INS violated the boy's rights by refusing to grant him a political asylum hearing.
``Elian has not had his day in court, but today's ruling gives us some hope that after we complete the entire legal process, including appeals and reconsideration, he just may,'' said Spencer Eig, one of the family's attorneys.
But government lawyers said the INS did a thorough investigation and found no basis for an asylum claim. And they argued that Elian's father opposed asylum for his son, and that his wishes should be respected over those of the boy's great-uncle.
Reno said the judge's ruling reaffirms the Clinton administration's position that ``only Elian's father can speak for his son on federal immigration matters.''
While the boy's relatives back in Cuba say he has told them over the telephone that he wants to return to his homeland, the family in Miami claims he wants to stay.
``We're not talking about the family or the government or the politics, but they need to look at what this 6-year-old wants,'' said Elian's cousin Marisleysis Gonzalez. ``They haven't looked at what he wants, what he feels and what his needs are.''
Elian, who was at school when the judge issued his decision, returned home at about 6 p.m. EST and was greeted by supporters.
After the ruling, about 50 people peacefully protested outside the home where the boy has been staying. Many held signs in support of Elian's remaining in the United States, and some prayed for the boy.
``This is a triumph for Castro and his government, and that is what we have to stop,'' said Maximino Perez, 72, who was wearing a T-shirt with a cartoon drawing of Fidel Castro and President Clinton lying in bed smoking cigars.
Elian's great-uncle Lazaro Gonzalez thanked the crowd for its support. ``We are not going to lose the faith,'' he said. ``We are going to keep praying.''
Copyright © 2000 The Associated Press.
Cuba FM: Elian, U.S. Are 'Hostages'
By ANDREW SELSKY, Associated Press Writer
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) - Cuba's foreign minister said today that the U.S. government and most Americans are hostages, like 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez, of a ``powerful minority'' that dreams of seeing the United States and Cuba go to war.
Felipe Perez Roque praised a U.S. judge's decision Tuesday to throw out a lawsuit aimed at keeping the boy in the United States, but reacted angrily to news that Elian's Miami relatives had appealed the ruling.
``A powerful minority that only thinks about revenge against Cuba'' was orchestrating delays in getting Elian back with his father, the foreign minister said while visiting South African President Thabo Mbeki.
Perez Roque did not specify to whom he was referring, but it was clearly south Florida's powerful anti-Castro Cuban-American community.
``The majority of the people of the United States, the government of the United States, and most of the Cubans in the United States are hostages, like the child, of the same people who ... have taken over Cuban policy within the United States and who dream of a war between Cuba and the United
States,'' Perez Roque said.
Attorney General Janet Reno said she will consult with other Justice Department officials on how to reunite Elian promptly with his father. But Justice Department officials have made clear they don't want to provoke a confrontation with the Cuban exile community or traumatize the boy.
Perez Roque rejected arguments from presidential contenders Vice President Al Gore (news - web sites) and Texas Gov. George W. Bush (news - web sites) that Juan Gonzalez could not freely express his true wishes when he repeatedly said in Cuba that he wanted to be reunited on the island with his
son.
The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service has determined that the father had freely expressed his wish to be reunited with his son, and to remain in Cuba, Perez Roque said.
In early January, the INS, in a decision approved by Reno, ordered Elian returned to his father. The Miami relatives responded with the lawsuit.
Elian was found clinging to an inner tube off Florida last November after his mother and 10 other Cubans drowned when their boat capsized during an attempt to reach the United States.
Since then, Elian - living with relatives in Miami - has been caught in a tug-of-war between those who want him to remain in the United States and those who say he should be reunited with his father.
Copyright © 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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