Yahoo! May 10, 2000
Cuba: US Backed Off Elian Visa Plan
By Anita Snow, Associated Press Writer.
HAVANA, 9 (AP) - Cuba claimed Tuesday that Elian Gonzalez's grandparents had planned to visit him in the United States but abandoned the trip when the State Department didn't issue them visas.
``Surprisingly and unexpectedly, the State Department communicated with our Interests Section (in Washington) that the visas would not be granted and that a decision was being postponed for an indefinite period,'' according to a government statement read on state television.
But a State Department press duty officer said Tuesday night in Washington that she had no information on the Cuban announcement concerning Elian's grandparents and their visas.
On Monday, State Department representatives both in Washington and Havana had said visas would be granted on Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest, according to the Cuban government statement.
The grandparents had hoped to spend time with the boy at Wye Plantation in Maryland, where he is staying with his father, stepmother, half brother and others from their Cuban hometown.
Elian has been at the center of an international custody dispute since late November, when he was found floating off the coast of Florida lashed to an inner tube.
Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, traveled to the United States on April 6 in an attempt to retrieve his son and return with him to Cuba. He was reunited with Elian on April 22 after federal agents raided the home of their Miami relatives, where the boy was staying.
They have stayed in the United States since then pending the appellate court decision on the Miami relatives' request that the boy be given a political asylum hearing.
The Miami relatives want Elian to stay with them in the United States, arguing that they can give him a better life off the communist island. Gonzalez wants to return to Cuba with the boy, claiming his rights as the child's sole surviving parent.
Official: Elian Shouldn't Be Used
By Anne Gearan, Associated Press Writer.
WASHINGTON, 9 (AP) - Three days after 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez got visiting-head-of-state treatment at the home of a wealthy Democratic contributor, President Clinton's spokesman said the Cuban castaway ``should not be exploited or paraded around for anyone.''
White House spokesman Joe Lockhart did not directly rebuke Smith and Elizabeth Bagley, both prominent Democratic fund-raisers and Clinton intimates, for inviting the boy to a Saturday night dinner at their Washington home.
``I don't know the arrangements. I don't talk to his lawyers about what plans they have, so I just am in no position to really comment,'' Lockhart said. ``But you know, let's be clear here. He should not be exploited or paraded around for anyone.''
Smith Bagley, an R.J. Reynolds tobacco heir and foundation president, and his wife, a former Clinton ambassador to Portugal, did not return several telephone requests for comment.
Elian and his family left the secluded Maryland estate where they are awaiting U.S. action on the boy's immigration case and came to the Bagleys' elegant Georgetown home by police-escorted motorcade. U.S. marshals accompanied the boy, and the street around the Bagley home was blocked to other
traffic.
Elian's lawyer, former Clinton impeachment attorney Gregory Craig, also attended the dinner. The rest of the guest list is unclear, but Lockhart challenged a question about whether other Democratic donors might have viewed the gathering as a perk.
``What basis do you have for alleging that?'' Lockhart said angrily during his daily briefing for reporters.
``Well, why else would a bunch of 20 very rich Democratic fund raisers want to, you know, be at a house to meet Elian Gonzalez?'' a reporter replied.
Elian has become the focus of a heated international custody fight since he was rescued last Thanksgiving from a boat wreck that killed his mother and others who fled Cuba. Clinton supported the Justice Department raid that snatched the child from the home of Miami relatives last month. The
relatives wanted to keep Elian in the United States, and the boy's father wants to take him back to Cuba.
``In Miami there was a media circus atmosphere'' surrounding the boy, Lockhart said. ``And the idea of bringing the boy out and sitting down with reporters and doing videos, that certainly was close to the exploitative line.''
Asked how close the four-hour Bagley party came to exploitation, Lockhart again replied that he is unfamiliar with arrangements for the dinner.
``I don't know what the relationships are,'' Lockhart said. ``But I'm making the point that the young boy should not be exploited.''
IDT Corp's FreeAtLast.com Sponsors 'Freedom Rally' to Champion the Cause of Human Rights Around the Globe
Company Press Release. Wednesday May 10, 9:31 am Eastern Time
Rally to be held this afternoon at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey, under the Shadow of the Statue of Liberty
NEWARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 10, 2000-- IDT Corporation (NASDAQ: IDTC - news) and FreeAtlast.com are proud to sponsor today's ``Freedom Rally'' in support of democracy and human rights for the people of Cuba - whose lack of freedom is symbolized by the plight of Elian Gonzalez - and for
all people living under oppressive regimes. The rally will be held from 12:00pm to 2:00pm EDT at Jersey City, New Jersey's Liberty State Park, adjacent to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.
IDT is a leading multinational carrier, telephone company and Internet service provider. The Company recently launched FreeAtLast.com, its new communications service offering unlimited and unrestricted Internet access, emailing, fax services and Internet phone calls, completely free of charge.
IDT recognizes that open communication and the free exchange of ideas are the foundation of a democratic society. With FreeAtLast.com, IDT is helping to bring about ``digital freedom'' for people everywhere and break down the communication barriers that still exist in many parts of the world.
``Just as individuals are active in speaking out and pressing the cause of human rights, corporate citizens have a duty to make their voices heard as well,'' said Howard Jonas, IDT's Chairman and CEO. ``As a publicly-traded company, IDT believes it has a vested interest in helping spread
democracy. FreeAtLast.com is not only a terrific product, it's a tool through which freedom of expression and greater global communications can be achieved.''
Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey was chosen as the venue for today's event because of its proximity to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, and because Jersey City is home to a large Cuban American community, many of whom know first-hand the lack of human rights that exists in
Cuba today. The rally will be hosted by Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler, who will be joined by Jim Courter, President and Vice Chairman of IDT and a former New Jersey Congressman.
Today's rally is the first in a series of planned events sponsored by IDT and FreeAtLast.com to show support for the causes of freedom and democracy. Future rallies will focus on the fight for freedom for the people of Tibet, the plight of Jewish hostages held captive in Iran, and other similar
struggles.
``As Americans, we often take for granted our rights to 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,' while millions of people throughout the world are denied these basic rights every day,'' said Jim Courter, President of IDT. ``IDT's hope is that FreeAtLast.com will serve as a tool to help
achieve the spread of democracy and human rights around the world.''
To register for FreeAtLast.com and/or to obtain more information, subscribers can go directly to the Web site at www.freeatlast.com or call 1-877-4-ITS-FREE.
IDT is a leading facilities-based multinational carrier that combines its position as an international telecommunications operator with its experience as an Internet Service Provider to provide a broad range of telecommunications services to its wholesale and retail customers worldwide.
Through its own telecommunications backbone and network infrastructure IDT provides its customers with integrated and competitively priced international and domestic long distance telephony, prepaid calling cards, Internet access and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) service. The Company's Ventures
business is developing several innovative telecom and Internet related businesses.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Except for historical information, all of the expectations and assumptions contained in the foregoing are forward-looking
statements involving risks and uncertainties.
Contact:
IDT Corporate Communications
Gil Nielsen, 201/530-4002
or
IDT Public Relations
Pamela Faatz, 201/530-4596
--
Investors wanting to be taken off or
added to the fax list, please contact:
Mary Jennings
Investor Relations
201/928-2974
Demonstration to Keep Elian Gonzalez Free
SOURCE: Americans to Keep Elian Free. Tuesday May 9, 5:39 pm Eastern Time
At the Kluczynski Federal Building in Chicago
CHICAGO, May 9 /PRNewswire/ -- On Wednesday, May 10, the Chicago affiliate of the nationwide, grassroots movement, Americans to Keep Elian Free (AKEF), will hold a demonstration at the Kluczynski Federal Building at the corner of Dearborn and Adams Streets. The demonstration will begin at 10:00
a.m., with speeches, the National Anthem and other patriotic songs beginning at Noon. The message of AKEF is simple: Liberty for Elian!
``The purpose of this demonstration is to remind the federal government the day before Elian's asylum hearing that the American thing to do is to keep him free,'' says Mark Kormes, the Chicago Coordinator for AKEF. ``We want to send a strong signal that there is a silent majority in this country
that believes in the American ideal that all people have the inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, including Elian.''
On May 10, AKEF will proclaim its message simultaneously at federal buildings in at least twelve cities across the United States, including New York City, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Houston, Atlanta, Charlotte and Miami. If Elian is sacrificed to
the totalitarian state of Cuba before that date, then AKEF plans to hold nationwide demonstrations mourning the loss of both Elian and the American ideal of freedom for all.
AKEF is not affiliated with any organization or corporation. It is a nationwide, grassroots movement of concerned Americans who want to prevent an unjust tragedy: sending a child back to a brutal communist dictatorship. AKEF members believe that Elian's best interests are served by growing up in
a country that respects his rights to life and liberty, and that the U.S. should recognize this fact and protect his freedom.
SOURCE: Americans to Keep Elian Free
Copyright © 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2000 Yahoo! All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy
Copyright 2000 Business Wire. All rights reserved. |