> >from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >subject: Elian: US polls favour Cuba. US History mistakes >(JC -United States slip is showing. There are no Cubans in Miami >Florida apart from Elian. There are only Americans that used to be >Cubans. JC) > > <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Reviving the Revolution >By Lionel Martin > >It is clear from the Cuban vantage point is that whatever the fate of >Elian Gonzalez the "kidnapping" and brainwashing of this sad-eyed >child has backfired on the revolution's diehard enemies. Polls tell >us that the majority of Americans are in favor of Elian' return. But >more than that, the worst nightmare of Cuba's enemies has come to >pass-the snatching of Eilan's has strengthened the revolution by >engendering a militant campaign on this embattled island with >massive, wide-spectrum participation in favor of his immediate >return. > >One of the campaign's most valuable assets has been the video images, >some shown over and over again on Cuban television, of Republican >Florida Rep. Ileana Ros Lehtinen wrapping Elian in the American flag. >This affront awakened the historical memory of similar insults to >Cubans' sense of national dignity: U.S. Gen. William Shafter not >inviting Cuban Gen. Calixto Garcia to attend the Spanish surrender >ceremonies in Santiago de Cuba in 1898; the Platt Amendment of 1901, >which proclaimed the right of the United States to intervene >militarily in the new republic of Cuba; the two U.S. Navy sailors >who, in 1947, defiled the statue in Havana of Cuba's revered apostle, >Jose Marti; the obsessive hostility of the past 40 years, >including an armed invasion at the Bay of Pigs in 1961 and the CIA's >repeated attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro. > >Though the campaign for Elian's return has been encouraged by Fidel >Castro's government and its mass media, its explosive growth, breadth >and fervent nature belie the attempt of some foreign critics to >dismiss it as a product of official manipulation and coercion. A >conservative estimate is that at least a quarter of Cuba's population >of 11 million has taken part in the marches, demonstrations, forums >and meetings. Every day since early December there have been round- >table discussions, successions of short speeches at so-called "Open >Tribunes," agitprop per. formances and musical events devoted to the >demand for Elian's return. Other separate meetings have been held, >with Castro quietly in attendance, of primary and secondary >school students, research scientists, writers, poets, artists, >lawyers, physicians, private and co-op farmers, university students, >teachers, journalists, and grandparents. Each night national >television devotes at least four or five hours to the Elian story. > >The diehard Miami exiles have shot themselves in the foot by giving >the revolution's supporters a unique opportunity to put the Elian >story in historical perspective by reviewing Washington's destructive >Cuba policy, the singular treatment afforded Cuban exiles under the >Cuban Adjustment Act, and the political corruption of the "Cuban- >exile mafia" in Miami. > >It also has provided a national forum for surveying the social >achievements of the Cuban Revolution-the universal medical and dental >care, the growth of an impressive biotechnology sector, low or zero >rent for housing, an infant mortality rate among the lowest in the >world, free public education on all levels and the increasing role of >women in many important spheres of Cuban life. The fruits of the >government's policy of greater religious tolerance have been in >evidence as well. Religious leaders and laymen, >especially Protestants, have taken a leading part in the campaign, a >fact that facilitated the decision of the U.S. National Council of >Churches to sponsor the trip of Elian's grandmothers to the United >States. > >For the average Cuban, the weeks of daily discussions have become >a political school. In contrast to past battles, the U.S. government >has not been the main villain. That role has been assigned to the >recalcitrant Miami exiles who are opposed to any dialogue that could >lead to a thawing in rela. tions between Washington and Havana. In >fact, during the campaign, Castro has expressed his faith in the >fair- mindedness of the American people. > >Only a decade ago, after the fall of the communist bloc, pundits >were predicting the imminent demise of Cuba's revolutionary >government, and the exiles were packing their bags in anticipation of >their return. Within Cuba, morale was at a low ebb. I remember one of >Cuba's most famous film directors telling me, his voice full of >desperation, "Our dream is shattered. All is lost." > >Ten years later, one can contend that the massive participation in >the campaign for the return of Elian points to the continued >viability of Cuba's homegrown radical social experiment. > >Lionel Martin is an American Journalist who has been based in Havana >since 1961. > >source: IN THESE TIMES April 3, 2000 > >--- Cuba SI: http://www.egroups.com/group/cubasi/ Imperialism NO! >Venceremos! Information and discussion about Cuba. Discussion of the >path of Ernesto Che Guevara. > > *************** >from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >subject: US court in favour of Elian's return to Cuba >(JC -Canada's slip is showing. There are no Cubans in MiamiFlorida- >apart from Elian.There are only Americans that used to be Cubans. JC) > >X-From_: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Wed Mar 22 >Delivered-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >From: "mart" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: "Cuba SI" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "Luis Martin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > "John Clancy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > "Roger ROMAIN" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Fw: U.S. Court Rules in Favour of Elian's Return >Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2000 > Forward from Comrade mart -----Original Message----- >From: Communist Party of Canada <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Date: March 21, 2000 >Subject: U.S. Court Rules in Favour of Elian's Return > >Elian's U.S. relatives lose ruling, will appeal. Cuban boy's return >to father not automatic March 21, 2000 >Web posted at: 1:50 p.m. EST (1850 GMT) >_____________________ >In this story: Ruling 'very disappointing' >U.S. relatives say boy's rights violated >Case highlights U.S.-Cuba divide RELATED STORIES, SITES icon >From staff and wire reports > >MIAMI (CNN) -- The U.S. government, which favors reuniting Elian >Gonzalez with his father in Cuba, won a victory Tuesday when a >federal judge in Miami threw out a political-asylum lawsuit filed by >the 6-year-old boy's U.S. relatives who want him to stay in the >United States. > >The decision, however, does not mean the boy automatically will be >returned to Cuba. > >Officials at the U.S. Justice Department told CNN they would seek to >reunite Elian with his father in an orderly manner and would take no >immediate action that could provoke a confrontation in the highly >emotional international custody battle. > >"You're not going to see marshals dropping from helicopters," said >Justice Department spokeswoman Carol Florman. >Attorneys for Elian's U.S. relatives said they would file an appeal >with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. > >In Cuba, neither the government nor Elian's relatives -- including >his father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez -- voiced any immediate reaction. > >A spokesman in the office of Ricardo Alarcon, president of Cuba's > National Assembly and the government's point man on U.S.-Cuba >affairs, said authorities were reviewing the ruling. > >Ruling 'very disappointing' > >In a 50-page ruling which also was posted on the Internet -- at > http://www.netside.net/usdcfls/publications/elian.pdf -- U.S. >District Judge Michael Moore said only the U.S. attorney general can >grant political asylum to keep the boy in the United States. > >Moore issued his decision 12 days after a hearing on the case. The >ruling dismissed the lawsuit filed by Elian's great-uncle, Lazaro > Gonzalez, who wants to keep Elian against the wishes of the boy's > father. > >"Unbelievable. That's very disappointing," said Roger Bernstein, an > attorney for Lazaro Gonzalez, with whom Elian has stayed since his > rescue at sea in November. > >Attorney General Janet Reno is on record favoring a decision in > January by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service that >Elian be returned to his father in Cuba -- a ruling also backed by >President Clinton. The INS order was put on hold pending the court >fight. > >Reno, as head of the federal government's Justice Department, >oversees the INS. > >The U.S. government had asked the judge to dismiss the lawsuit, >which asked the court to compel the INS to give Elian an asylum >hearing. > >Excerpts from judge's ruling: > >A federal judge in Miami upheld a decision by U.S. immigration > officials that Elian Gonzalez should be returned to his father in > Cuba. U.S. District Judge Michael Moore dismissed a lawsuit filed >by Miami relatives of the 6-year-old seeking to keep him in the >United States. > >Here are excerpts >from the 50-page decision issued Tuesday: "As a >general matter, when dealing with a child this young, the > immigration law, like other areas of law, looks to the wishes of >the surviving parent." > >"(Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Doris) > Meissner has determined that, under applicable law, Elian is too >young to make legal decisions for himself and that his father has >the legal authority to speak for him in immigration matters." > >"I am not currently aware of any basis for reversing Commissioner >Meissner's decision that Juan Gonzalez, Elian's father, has the >sole authority to speak for his son on immigration matters." > >Judge Moore said the Miami relatives' lawsuit was well-intentioned. >But he added: "At age 6, Elian's recorded past is a profile of >survival and courage in the face of adversity and the loss of his >mother at sea. His future will undoubtedly unfold in due time, and >it will surely remain a matter of interest to those who oppose his > father's wishes. > >"In light of the Attorney General's (Janet Reno) clearly > articulated views on the matter of whether Elian Gonzalez should > return home, as well as the reality that each passing day is >another day lost between Juan Gonzalez and his son, the court can >only hope that those on each side of this litigation place the >interests of Elian Gonzalez above all others." > >The judge wrote that the litigation was "well-intended" but it could > bring about unintended harm because of "the reality that each >passing day is another day lost between Juan Gonzalez and his son." > >Elian was at school when the judge rendered his decision. > >U.S. relatives say boy's rights violated > >Elian's fate has been debated since he was found clinging to an >inner tube off Florida on November 25. His mother and 10 other >people drowned when their boat capsized during an attempt to reach >the United States. Elian, whose parents were divorced, was one of >three survivors. > >The case has become a tug of war between the Cuban government and > family members in the United States who oppose the Cuban >government's communist ideology and want to raise the motherless >boy. Attorneys for Lazaro Gonzalez have argued that the INS >violated the boy's rights by refusing to grant him a political- >asylum hearing when he was rescued. > >But government lawyers said Elian's father opposed asylum for his >son, and that his wishes should be respected over those of the boy's > great-uncle. > >In addition, government lawyers said, INS officials conducted a > thorough investigation, which was reviewed by Reno, and found no >basis for an asylum claim. >While any alien may apply for political asylum, INS officials said > Elian is too young and only a parent or guardian can file an > application for him. > >During the three-hour hearing earlier this month, Moore asked why >the INS did not simply reject the asylum application filed on >Elian's behalf by the great-uncle and return him to his father. >Government lawyers said the boy already was traumatized by his >ordeal at sea and it made sense at the time to release the boy to the >custody of relatives who showed up at the hospital. > >Case highlights U.S.-Cuba divide > >The battle over Elian has divided the boy's relatives on both sides >of the Florida Straits, and has taken on impassioned and often ugly >ideological overtones that underscore the differences separating >Cubans in the two nations. > >Since his arrival in South Florida, Elian has captivated many Cuban- >Americans, who say the boy is a symbol of the plight of Cubans under >Fidel Castro. > >Cuban-American groups have held protests and lobbied presidential >candidates and members of Congress to help buy time to keep Elian >from being returned to his father. > >In Cuba, tens of thousands have staged rallies and marches to demand > the boy's return. ___________________________________ > >Havana Bureau Chief Lucia Newman, Correspondents Mark Potter and >Pierre Thomas, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this >report. > Communist Party of Canada 290A Danforth Ave., Toronto, Ont. M4K >1N6 416-469-2446 (voice) 416-469-4063 >(fax) <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.communist-party.ca " JC > >(JC -Canada's slip is showing. There are no Cubans in MiamiFlorida. >There are only Americans that used to be Cubans. JC) > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ >Cuba SI: http://www.egroups.com/group/cubasi/ >Imperialism NO! Venceremos! >Information and discussion about Cuba. >Discussion of the path of Ernesto Che Guevara. > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ >You have a voice mail message waiting for you at iHello.com: >http://click.egroups.com/1/2377/0/_/30563/_/953697182/ > >-- 20 megs of disk space in your group's Document Vault >-- http://www.egroups.com/docvault/cubasi/?m=1 > > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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