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The Elián PageFor all you Elián junkies... articles in reverse chronological order. Many African American journalists and politicians have gotten involved in this affair. The story reminds us of the kidnappings of Native American children -- they were sent to boarding schools, had their hair cut, made to look white, and punished for speaking their "savage" languages.
And on a lighter note, the following article: Internet Network News, September 20, 2010, Elian Gonzalez: Still mum after all these years, by Tom Miller, author of Trading with the Enemy |
| We hear that the storefront of a Cuba travel agency was shot up on the morning of Wednesday April 26th. By peaceful, quiet protestors. The agency belongs to an AfroCuban, a madrina to many in Miami. |
From
Granma, 2/25/00Elián is not an orphan BY MIREYA CASTAÑEDA (Granma International staff writer) SHEILA Jackson Lee, Democratic representative for Texas, has hit the nail on the head: Elián González is not an orphan. His father, Juan Miguel González, lives in Cuba and is demanding with all his strength the return of his son. That is why Senator Christopher Dodd agrees with her and emphasizes that this child must return home to be with his father. Every day that has gone by without the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) taking the necessary action to carry out its own decision in favor of the father, has led to increased criticism of that ambiguity, and the ranks of legislators, religious representatives and U.S. citizens who are asking the reason for that unnecessary delay are swelling. Let's look at one aspect of the legal dirty tricks played on the INS itself by lawyers acting for the González family, the child's distant relatives in Miami. It transpires that in December last, lawyers Roger Bernstein, Spencer Eig and Linda Osberg-Braun, acting on behalf of the great-uncle who has kidnapped the child, applied to the INS for political asylum for the boy. But, as early as December 8, the INS questioned the document because it was not signed by the minor’s father, the only person able to speak for him and who, furthermore, had made a written request for the child’s return. These lawyers, or bandits, according to the Granma daily headline of an extensive article in its February 19 edition, believed they could resolve the problem brilliantly. They notified the INS in writing that their client is the six-year-old boy himself. To prove it they attached form G-8 (through which consent is given to a lawyer to represent someone) "signed" in handwriting. The name of the petitioner? ELIAN. It is an official document openly recording the conscious and cynical manipulation and the pressure being put on an innocent victim and, as such, is one more piece of evidence of child abuse, according to the Cuban daily. The world has reacted with indignation in the face of the public violation of the rights of a father and his son, and different angles of the problem have been discussed by the press, individuals, politicians and governments of several countries. The Spanish daily El Pays has outlined the long criminal history of the González family in Miami, from convictions for drunk driving to robbery. It is known that Lázaro González, the main figure behind Elián's kidnapping, the newspaper reports, is an alcoholic and has been charged with driving on several occasions while under the influence of alcohol; while his elder brother, Delf’n, has appeared in court for identical crimes; and two nephews are thieves. The article also comments that the González family are being financed by the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF), which has revealed its anger over the publication of the family's criminal background, reportedly even accusing ABC journalists of being communists. Hugh Chávez, president of Venezuela, declared himself to be in favor of Elián's return to his father in response to a question put to him by a U.S. television channel, "It has to do with being a father. Don't you have children? Wouldn't they be with you wherever you were living?" the head of state quizzed an insistent journalist. The Russian Foreign Minister reiterated his stance in favor of the child’s return to Cuba and regretted the new delay over resolving the problem. Likewise, more than 200 delegates from 34 countries at the 9th S‹o Paulo Forum Congress in Managua, Nicaragua, demanded the immediate return of Elián and rejected the boy's illegal retention in the United States. "His kidnapping in Miami is a demonstration of irrationality and a hatred of the Cuban people which is guided by reactionary circles in the United States." However, not everyone in that country is the same. On February 19 marches were held in Washington, San Francisco, Tampa, Jacksonville, Milwaukee, Seattle and Miami itself in support of returning Elián to his father. Participants urged the Department of Justice to use its authority and send the child home, as ruled by the INS in early January. Elián González is not an orphan and that is probably one of the reasons why Mary Rose McGeady, president of the children's charity organization, Home Alliance, declared that she would send the boy home, above all because he should be with his father. She went on to warn that press coverage of the case could cause emotional damage to the little boy. There is no doubt that this nun, from the Daughters of Charity Order, a Costa Rican-based organization whose objective is to protect so-called street children, and which has offered help to 60,000 homeless children in 21 countries of the region, is familiar with the misfortune and sadness of those children forced to grow up without love and parental care. (c) 2000 by Granma, Habana, Cuba |
Statement of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee | Statement of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Senate Committee on the Judiciary Hearing on Cuba's Oppressive Government and The Struggle for Justice March 1, 2000, at 10:00 a.m. in Room 226 Senate Dirksen Office Building My statement for this hearing will be limited to Sen. Mack's bill to make Elian Gonzalez a citizen of the United States, For the relief of Elian Gonzalez-Brotons, S. 1999. I am the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims in the House of Representatives. Many people have asked me why the Immigration and Naturalization Service wants to deport a little boy to Cuba. This is a misunderstanding. The Immigration Service does not intend to deport Elian. He is not in immigration proceedings; he has never been in immigration proceedings; and the Immigration Service has no intention of ever putting him in immigration proceedings. Elian was paroled into the United States for emergency medical treatment and then placed in the physical care of his great uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez. Although Elian is in the United States physically, he is technically still at the border. The Immigration Service can permit him to remain in the United States in parole status, or it can revoke his parole status and return him to his father. I have been assured by representatives of the Cuban government that Elian's father can have an exit permit to come to the United States for the purpose of taking Elian home, and I am confident that his wife and child in Cuba would be allowed to go with him to dispel any concern about whether he would be free to speak and act freely while he is here. I have also been asked whether a private bill is necessary to make it possible for Elian to remain in the United States permanently. This is based on a misunderstanding too. The Department of Justice has been willing from the beginning to permit Elian to remain in the United States. With his father's permission, he would be permitted to stay here and become a lawful permanent resident of the United States under the Cuban Adjustment Act. If Elian returns to Cuba, it will be because his father decided that he should return. There is only one way to keep Elian Gonzalez in this country and that is to prevent his father from being the person who decides where Elian will live. Elian's great uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez, is trying to do that right now in federal court proceedings. I filed an amicus brief in that case last week with the Children and Family Justice Center from the Northwestern University School of Law. We appreciate the fact that Lazaro Gonzalez and his family love Elian and want him to be able to stay in the United States, but that does not justify what they are doing to Elian's father. All of the great uncle's arguments are predicated on the assumption that he has a legal right to speak on behalf of another man's six-year-old child. In the words of Attorney General Janet Reno, the issue in this case is,"Who speaks for the child?" No credible authority on child development would sanction ceding responsibility for critical decisions about his future to a child of such tender years. See Bellotti v. Baird, 433 U.S. 622 (1979). That question was properly addressed and answered by the Immigration Service. We agree with the Immigration Service's decision that Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, and only Juan Miguel Gonzalez, should be allowed to speak for Elian. I want to add now that I do not think Congress should weigh in and try to overrule the Immigration Service's decision.I am concerned about the risk we take when we interfere with the right of a father to speak for his young son. We must guard that right. It is a fundamental tool for safeguarding the family unity values of our society. I know some people believe that interference is justified in this case to prevent this little boy from be returned to Cuba. Frankly, I do not know what is in Elian's "best interests." I do know, however, that his father should decide what is in his best interests, not me, or Lazaro Gonzalez, or the Congress. The "best interests" standard only applies to disputes between two parents. The Supreme Court held in Santosky v. Kramer, 455 U.S. 745 (1982), that before a court can even explore the subject of a child's so-called "best interests" when the dispute is not between two parents, it must first determine through a finding of parental unfitness that the parent has failed to meet minimally acceptable standards for the care of the child. Moreover, the Court in Santosky sets a particularly high standard for ending the legal relationship between a parent and a child, requiring that the initial showing of parental unfitness must be supported by "clear and convincing evidence." Id. at 769. This high standard derives from the basic tenet of family law, presuming that the individuals best suited to nurture and protect a child will normally be the child's parents. Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510, 535 (1925). The purpose of such safeguards is to ensure that children are not separated from their families for reasons that have more to do with the racial, religious, or cultural biases of the decision maker than with legitimate concerns for the protection of the children. Our laws have created a standing doctrine and other gatekeeping devices that regulate incursions into parent-child relationships not only protect parents from decisions that could ultimately strip them of their authority without just cause, but also shield families from the unnecessary burden of expensive, intrusive, and protracted legal proceedings. The history of family law is replete with examples of the harm caused when children are forcibly removed from parents for reasons inappropriately laden with subjective and culturally-based value judgments. For example, in Roe v. Conn, 417 F. Supp. 769 (M.D. Ala. 1976), a federal district court struck down a state statute that permitted the removal of a child from his mother for "neglect" based solely on the fact that she was living with a man of a different race. The passage of the Indian Child Welfare Act is another example. It was the result of decades of pernicious cultural and ethnic stereotyping that led to the decimation of many Native American communities through the forcible removal of their children by non-Indian child welfare authorities. The sanctity of the family is central not only to U.S. law but to international law as well. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Preamble and Articles 5, 10 & 18, recognize the fundamental importance of the rights of parents regarding care of their children and the duty of participating states to treat applications to reunify children with their parents in a positive, humane, and expeditious manner. The main thing that you would achieve by making Elian a citizen of the United States would be to take away the Immigration Service's responsibility to decide who should speak for him. As a citizen of the United States, that decision would be made by a state court judge. However, this is not at all likely to change the outcome of the dispute over whether Elian will be returned to his father. Lazaro Gonzalez has already brought an action in state court to obtain the right to speak on Elian's behalf. The issue in that suit will not be whether it is in Elian's best interests to stay in the United States. Lazaro Gonzalez will have to show by clear and convincing evidence that Elian's father is an unfit parent, and he cannot prove that Elian's father is an unfit parent simply because he is a Cuban who wants to raise his children in Cuba. Elian is being harmed by the delay in returning him to his father and his grandmothers. I want to reunite this family as soon as possible. I have not met his father, but I have met his grandmothers. They begged me to do what I can to return Elian to his family. I was so moved by their tears when they pleaded for my help that I cried too. I submitted a letter from Dr. Bennett L. Leventhal with my amicus brief. Dr. Leventhal is a Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the University of Chicago. He believes very strongly that it is wrong to prolong the agony of Elian's present situation. According to Dr. Leventhal, "it would appear that prior to November 1999, Elian lived in stable, reasonably healthy environment." He observes that, "Since that time, he has been exposed to grave dangers, the death of his mother and a horrendous struggle over him and where he is to live. His privacy has been violated. ... He has been directly and persistently exposed to an apparently interminable and incomprehensible, intense dispute amongst adults. And, his current situation is so unstable that he does not know where he will live, and who can and will take care of him." Dr. Leventhal emphasizes that, "Any one of these circumstances would place any child at great risk for developmental disturbance but the combination of so many problems must be an overwhelming stress for this child. Dr. Leventhal concludes that, "The duration and intensity of the conflict and his exposure to them must end immediately." I urge you to respect the right of Elian's father, Juan Gonzalez's, to decide where Elian will live and not to prolong this stressful situation unnecessarily by making an unsolicited grant of citizenship. |
Cuban boy conflict has U.S. wary | NEW YORK, April 6 . Over the last 25 years,
U.S. law enforcement officials estimate that Cuban exile groups based in this country have
carried out nearly 250 acts of terrorism within U.S. borders as well as dozens outside the
country, including in Cuba. With tensions rising in Miami over the Elian Gonzalez case,
law enforcement officials told NBC News they fear there could be new incidents in the
coming days and weeks. WHILE VIOLENT ACTS by Cuban-American groups have decreased on U.S. soil in recent years, groups like Alpha-66, Omega-7 and other less well-known cells constitute the largest category of suspected domestic terrorists in the United States, according to U.S. law enforcement officials and private analysts. The number of terrorist attacks attributed to Cuba's exiles by the FBI is far greater than those attributed to Cubaís government, which remains on the State Departmentís list of state sponsors of terrorism. At least 75 people have been killed allegedly by the U.S.-based groups, most in the 1976 bombing of a Cubana Air Lines DC-8 flying out of Barbados. FBI files show the groups are suspected of having bombed cars, planes, ships, restaurants, tourism offices and diplomatic missions and are thought to have planned multiple assassination attempts of the Cuban President. full story at: http://www.msnbc.com/news/389214.asp |
BEHIND THE ELIAN CASE| The Elian Gonzalez case has centered on the fate of
a six-year-old boy and the no-risk politics of talking tough about Fidel Castro. But the
controversy also underscores the moral ambiguity of the U.S. diplomatic position on Cuba
for the past four decades. The boy landed among those old antagonisms when he was pulled from the Straits of Florida on Thanksgiving Day after an over-crowded 17-foot powerboat capsized killing Elian's mother, her boyfriend and other passengers. Legal principle required that the boy promptly be returned to his surviving father. But anti-Castro politics soon intervened. The powerful Cuban-American National Foundation labeled Elian "another child victim of Fidel Castro." Hard-line elements of the Miami community seized on the case as another way to do battle against their old enemy in Havana. Politicians, including Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore, voiced opposition to sending the boy back to Cuba.Little noticed by the U.S. news media, however, was the fact that some of the Cuban-Americans fanning the flames had long-standing ties to anti-Castro terrorism. Some also collaborated with drug-tainted right-wing forces that carried out bloody human rights violations in the 1970s and 1980s. Their commitment to family values and the rule of law might have been drawn into question. For instance, one prominent Miami-based spokesman on the Elian case is Jose Basulto. A Bay of Pigs veteran, Basulto has acknowledged past involvement in terror attacks on Cuba in the 1960s as well as work for Argentina's military government, a regime that tortured and "disappeared" an estimated 30,000 political dissidents from 1976-83 -- and allegedly financed some of its operations with drug proceeds.for the rest of this informative article, see http://www.consortiumnews.com/032600a.html |
In Elián case, blacks see double standardPublished Sunday, April 16, 2000, in the Miami Herald In Elian case, blacks see double standard WASHINGTON -- While many Florida politicians are championing legislation to keep Elian Gonzalez from being returned to Cuba, Rep. Alcee Hastings, a Miramar Democrat, says he has a better idea: helping someone who really needs assistance, by conferring permanent residency on a motherless Haitian 6-year-old in his district. Hastings does not have high hopes that his bill will pass soon. But, like the vast majority of blacks in Congress, he is angered and perplexed by what he considers special treatment afforded to Cuban refugees and Cuban-American leaders. ''I have a long list of children in my district in similar or worse situations than Elian,'' Hastings said last week. ''Why should he receive preferential treatment?'' Hastings' view reflects the strong feelings among the nearly 40 members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Given the deep divisions in Congress over Elian's fate, the almost unanimous view among black lawmakers that the child belongs with his father in Cuba is striking. ''More than anything else, there is a strong value in the African-American community that parents have the right to raise, protect and make decisions for and about their children,'' said Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., a former caucus chairman. ''We do not believe that any argument other than abuse by parents supersedes the rights of parents to raise their children.'' While a few House and Senate members have decried the administration's decision to return Elian to a communist dictatorship his mother fled, many others are ambivalent or agree that the boy should be reunited with his father. For black members of Congress, the case is a vivid reminder of what they consider a double standard in U.S. immigration policy toward Cuban refugees, on the one hand, and refugees with darker skin colors from Haiti, the Dominican Republic and elsewhere. CRITICS OF POLICY Many blacks have criticized the ''wet foot/dry foot'' immigration policy, which allows most Cubans to remain in the United States if they manage to reach land, while Haitians and others usually are returned to their homeland regardless of whether they touch shore or are captured at sea. Hastings, who represents nearly 40,000 Haitians in his district, complained that Haitian refugees are routinely deported, while those from Cuba get special consideration. As a way of protesting the disparate treatment, Hastings introduced a bill early this month focusing attention on 6-year-old Sophonie Telcy, a Haitian girl who was left in the care of a family friend in Lake Park when her mother died last year. 'WORSE SITUATION' ''We have a child who is really floating,'' Hastings said last week. '' No one in Haiti wants her . . . and the family here is strained to keep her, since she has no benefits. If that isn't a worse situation than Elian's, I don't know what is.'' Rep. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., a Cuban American who grew up in Union City, said he understands ''the frustration'' of blacks who perceive racial overtones to U.S. immigration policies. ''But the law of the land of the United States is based upon the view that Cubans are fleeing oppression and not some economic circumstance . . . and that someone who reaches this shore within a year and a day is eligible for permanent residency,'' he added. ''So until that law is changed, I'm for continuing to enforce that law.'' |
Sugar Ray Domesday's Elián Fable, 4/17| FABLE
A fleet of rubber ducks rock on soapy waves as a small boy rises from his bath. Skin flushed pink, he steps into the arms of a young woman. The boy fidgets while the slender female towels him dry. After dressing the boy in bootleg Gucci, the woman leads her charge down a short corridor. Shouts and laughter can be heard as they approach a large dining room. Making his entrance, the boy is greeted by a crowd of hardfaced revelers. Pinching his cheeks and slapping his back, the crowd guides the boy to a banquet table where a hog-like man in a “CANF” t-shirt sharpens a butcher knife. Licking his lips, the fat man locks eyes with the boy and taps his blade on a large cutting board. With a shriek, the quest of honor turns to run. His willowy attendant blocks his way.
As he’s dragged forward, the boy notices a banner strung above the table. It reads:
“A SERVIR ELIAN.” (TO SERVE ELIAN). |
END THE ILLEGAL DETENTION OF ELIAN GONZALEZ, AAPRP, 2/18
| Feb 18, 2000 END THE ILLEGAL DETENTION OF ELIAN GONZALEZ The All-African People's Revolutionary Party and the All-African Women Revolutionary Union stand side by side with Cuba in her demand for the unconditional and immediate return of Elian Gonzalez. In the days of slavery in America, African children were torn from the arms of their parents and sold away from one plantation to another, or/and used for the pleasure of the slave owner in any way he saw fit. They were forced to perform back breaking labor all day and brutally beaten. 20 American Indian children were also systematically taken away from their parents and placed for compulsory adoption in the homes of American whites, or sent to Bureau of Indian Affairs Schools. The nightmarish conditions of the schools are a well documented fact. American Indian children were beaten, chained, placed in dungeons, and forced to perform hard unpaid labor at the homes of the school officials. 20 Early in the 20th century, the children of poor European immigrants in America had to work in factories in order to survive. Some of these children were as young as 5 and 6 years old. They were forced to work up to 18 hours per day, 7 days per week. They were denied water to drink in order to reduce their need to use the toilet. Many of them died from exhaustion. Even today, very young children toil in textile sweatshops and as laborers on migrant farms, unable to attend school regularly, unable to afford medical care and unable to enjoy the happy carefree life that a child should take for granted. While these examples seem extreme, they illustrate the plight of the children of the poor in U.S. history. It is within this context that we shall consider the case of Elian Gonzalez, subject of a raging international custody dispute. At 5 years old, Elian was taken out of Cuba by his mother, without the knowledge or consent of his father and family. She, along with nine other people, tragically drowned when their boat capsized. Elian was rescued at sea, but instead of being immediately returned to his father in Cuba as international law required, custody of the child was arbitrarily given to his distant relatives who reside in the United States. This, despite the constant and consistent demands by his father, his four grandparents and his loving extended family in Cuba, that he be returned. MY SON IS NOT FOR SALE! The present, circus-like atmosphere, is being orchestrated by the extreme right-wing, anti-Castro lobby group of Cuban-Americans in Miami, Florida. Displaying a new level of human depravity, they have effectively kidnaped Elian and are illegally detaining him in order to promote their own backward political agenda. They are attempting to dazzle young Elian by showering him with excessive toys, gifts, clothing and trips. It is hoped that they understand that even young Elian will someday outgrow a fascination with an old mouse named Mickey from a land of Disney. Perhaps Elian has already noticed that the United States is no Magic Kingdom, not even for little boys been held hostage by the reactionaries in Miami! 20 These thugs in Miami are opportunistically using the press and media presence as a platform for launching a propaganda attack against Cuba and its people. They are attempting to bamboozle the American public into supporting the illegal blockade of Cuba. The are even trying to bribe and taint the American electoral process by donating millions of dollars to the Bush and Gore presidential campaigns, in an attempt to buy the support of the front runners. They are attempting to confuse Elian by interfering with his phone contact with his father and by limiting his contact with his two courageous and valiant grandmothers who traveled from Cuba to try to resolve the stalemate. But perhaps the most savage and desperate act which they've committed so far yet was to offer the child's father, Juan Gonzalez a sum of six million dollars in exchange for Elian. Without hesitation, he responded, "my son is not for sale!" SHOULD MATERIAL WEALTH DETERMINE PARENTAL FITNESS? The life of a child is precious, and must not be used as a pawn to further the interests of criminal ideologues. The illusion of independence of the judicial, legislative and executive branches of the US government must not be threatened by a small, insignificant, dollar wielding, interest group. The integrity of inter-national law must not be compromised by a gang of opportunistic mercenaries. The American people and indeed the world must see these Miami based thugs for what they are. They have no legitimate claim to Elian Gonzalez and they have no legitimate right to manipulate United States and international laws. Their success in this case would further threaten the freedom of people the world over. The logical conclusion of their actions is the creation of a world where parental rights can be challenged based on ability to pay, a world in which material wealth would replace moral and spiritual security of the immediate family. Only the very rich classes would be safe from this legalized kidnapping. Should money be the litmus test to parental rights? That's precisely the kind of world that the 'Miami gang' is seeking to create? WHO ARE WE TO JUDGE CUBA? Those holding Elian hostage, and their supporters, have asserted that returning Elian to Cuba is tantamount to sending him to hell. Let's examine their claim. There are internationally accepted basic economic and social indicators which determine the well-being of children. Cuba's progress in each category is comparable to the United States', which is a much richer and more powerful nation. The United Nations Children's Fund, in their annual State of the World's Children report, publishes a comparative analysis of the basic indicators for every country. This is an extraction.
It is an objective fact that all Cuban children enjoy free health care and free education. The United States cannot make this claim. It is a fact that the children in Cuba do not worry about their classmates bringing guns to school and committing mass murder. Children in the United States worry about this constant threat because of repeated experiences. It is a fact that children in the United States use drugs in epidemic proportion, regardless of nationality or class.Clearly, Cuba is a country that invests a great deal of its resources and energy in its children. And if Cuba lacks material wealth, blame the illegal blockade imposed by the United States in its failed attempt to strangle the life from the tiny island. It is the blockade which prevents needed medications and medical equipment from reaching Cuba's children. It is the illegal and immoral blockade which prevents a trade in food and medicine which could offer Cuban children more nutritional variety in their diets and health. It is the blockade, not Cuban policies, which limit the economic opportunities of the Cuban people. Cuba is a sovereign nation with a right to self determination. Cuba's children should not have to live in fear of being kidnapped by self righteous, arrogant Cuban-Americans. WHO ARE THESE MIAMI BASED CUBAN-AMERICANS? Dr. Alberto Jones of the West Indian Welfare Society of Guantanimo, Cuba, and an African-Cubano, describes the racist behavior of the Miami thugs when they were in pre-revolutionary Cuba "These Miami, Cuban-Americans, rightfully driven out of Cuba FOREVER, were the enforcers and perpetrators of the 29% illiteracy rate, 24% infant mortality rate, segregated neighborhoods, beaches, clubs. They forced us to live in huts without electricity, running water, sewer, no jobs, and openly prohibited us to work in department stores, banks, office settings or even drive a provincial bus. They are the same individuals that forced Nat King Cole, Josephine Baker and other luminaries, to use the kitchen door in order to enter the night club where they were to perform. These are the same in-dividuals, when beaches and clubs were integrated in Cuba in 1960, they UNANIMOUSLY refused to enter these places and renamed them SOLOVANNICHE. Later, we were able to unscramble this as SOLO VAN NICHE or ONLY WHERE NIGGERS GO!" And these racist thugs want to change the laws which we fought and died to enact? THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA STAND WITH YOU, JUAN GONZALEZ! The destabilization of Cuba is not in the interest of the American people. On the contrary, the American and the Cuban people would mutually benefit from the free and open social and economic interaction between these two neighbors. The case of Elian Gonzalez is serving to expose the treacherous intrigues of the Miami based Cuban-American group which is denying all Americans free access to Cuba. Poll after poll shows that the majority of Americans from all walks of life support the immediate and unconditional return of Elian Gonzalez to his father. A whole nation of people cannot be fooled. The longer this case drags on, the better educated the people will become about the real issues. Throughout the world, respect for family is sacred. Justice is not a commodity which can be bought by the highest bidder. What was done to the African children enslaved in America, and to the American Indian children cannot be undone, but it's not to late to prevent another crime against children and against humanity. Elian belongs with his father! WHAT IS THE REAL PROBLEM HERE? The issues and the resolution to the current and future problems with our neighbors, the people of Cuba is an end to the illegal, immoral and unjust embargo and travel ban, impose on the people of Cuba by the US Government. This embargo has been defeated in the United Nations, every year that it has been brought up for a vote since 1985. For the last fours years the US has only been able to get 3-4 votes for this illegal position in the UN General assembly. This illegal blockade has attempted to strangle the life of the Cuban people, in this 40 year old undeclared war against the people of this tiny island by the USA. The A-APRP has amassed a stockpile of evidence which shows that the cast of characters surrounding little Elian in Miami has been involved and implicated in a number of illegal and terroist acts against the people of Cuba and America. The embargo must be defeated. HOW CAN WE HELP? Martin Luther King correctly said that "an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Thus, all who believe in justice have the responsibility to take a stand. While most people in America support returning Elian to Cuba, that support has been largely expressed in words, not in deeds. What accounts for the success of the small gang of thugs in Miami? How are they able to wield such power? It is because they are crystal clear about who they are as a group, what they believe in, what steps must be taken to achieve their goals, who they can count on for help, and how to sway the sentiment of the public to their position. They work together to achieve their dastardly objectives. In a word, they are well organized. Our success against their unjust efforts must be matched by the same level of organization, the same level of consciousness, and the same willingness to work. Seek out and participate in demonstrations to support Elian's cause. Remind the lawmakers in this country of their obligations to uphold the law. For ongoing information about organized efforts on this issue, contact us or organizations such as The Inter-religious Foundation for Community Organization' (IFCO) Pastors for Peace, and the Venceremos Brigade. Most importantly, join a progressive and revolutionary organization that is serving and struggling for the people, an organization which is seeking to smash oppression in all its forms. WHAT IS THE AAPRP? The All African People's Revolutionary Party is a Pan-Africanist, socialist, revolutionary, independent, international mass political party working to politically educate the masses of African people throughout the world. As a people, we face serious problems, and we are working to organize our people to solve these problems. The All African People's Revolu-tionary Party and the All African Women's Revolutionary Union firmly uphold the aspirations of the Cuban people. We seek to find opportunities to build bridges that will unite our people with the peace loving and progressive people of Cuba. The A-APRP totally rejectes the use of young Elian Gonzalez as a political pawn, being used by the Anti-Cuba criminals in Miami. We boldly proclaim: For more information contact: A-APRP A-APRP RENDER UNTO CUBA THAT WHICH IS CUBAN LONG LIVE THE CUBAN REVOLUTION END THE ILLEGAL BLOCKADE AND TRAVEL BAN!! REMEMBER AFRICAN LIBERATION DAY - SAT. MAY 27, 2000 (Ready for the Revolution) |
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Elián LinksFrom the Sexton of the Miami City Cemetery...
http://www.expage.com/page/cubangovernment2
Good list of local phone numbers and emails to protest Elián treatment. Also
describes the Sexton's horrendous experience at the Van Van Concert: http://rainforest.peopleweb.com/cubangovernment/
Granma's site on Elián (Esp)
http://www.granma.cu/sitioelian/index2.html
Granma's site on Elián (Eng)
http://www.granma.cu/sitioelian/indexing.html
Yahoo Full Coverage Links
http://fullcoverage.yahoo.com/fc/World/Elian_Gonzalez/
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