> >NATIONAL COMMITTEE TO DEMAND THE RETURN OF ELIAN GONZALEZ TO HIS >FATHER IN CUBA LAUNCHES NEXT PHASE OF THE CAMPAIGN TO SEND ELIAN >HOME! > >Calls for National Days of Activities: Monday, March 6 Keep the >pressure on! > >Tell the INS, the Justice Dept. & the Clinton Administration: >It's been 95 days since YOU said Elian should go home to his father! >NO MORE DELAYS, Send Elián home now! > >NATIONAL PHONE, FAX & EMAIL DAY TO U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL JANET RENO, >MONDAY, MARCH 6 (date of US Federal Court hearing) – Everyone will >contact Janet Reno Monday, March 6th at the same time throughout the >country @ 2pm EST (or whenever you can reach her!) > >Information for Janet Reno National Phone, Fax & Email Day: >Telephone: 202-514-2001 Fax: 202-307-6777 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >For More information contact the National Committee at: >IFCO/Pastors for Peace (212) 926-5757; International Action Center >(212) 633-6646; or CASA de las Americas (212) 627-4506. >Email Address: [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO) > Pastors for Peace 402 W 145th St, NYC 10031 >212.926-5757; 212.926-5842 <http://www.ifconews.org> > > ******************** >Canadian Press on Cuba-Canada-US standoff > Wednesday March 01, 2000 >Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy has tough words, but no >action, on illegal Cuban at embassy JENNIFER DITCHBURN > >OTTAWA (CP) - Cuban authorities have openly defied Canadian law by >harbouring a former diplomat in their embassy without proper >immigration papers, Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy said >Tuesday. > >Jose Imperatori, declared persona non grata by the United States for >allegedly participating in espionage there, arrived in Canada on >Saturday with the understanding he would return to Cuba within two >days. > >By Tuesday, there were no indications the former envoy was going to >leave the confines of the Cuban Embassy in Ottawa, despite the fact >his 48-hourtransit visa had expired. >"We've informed the Cuban authorities that he's now breaking the law >of Canada," Axworthy said outside the House of Commons. "He of course >is still in their embassy, which is in effect their territory, so we >don't have access to it under UN convention rules, but we expect the >Cuban government to comply with their responsibilities and >obligations under international law and ask him to return." > >A Foreign Affairs spokesman said Imperatori was still in the >embassy Tuesday night and they were still expecting him to leave "as >soon as possible." "The ball's in Cuba's court," said Francois >Lasalle. > >The flouting of visa restrictions means Imperatori could be subject >to arrest should he leave embassy grounds since he does not have the >option of extending his transit visa, says Rene Mercier, an >Immigration and Citizenship spokesman. "But if someone comes to us >and says "OK, I've got an airplane ticket for tomorrow and I'm >leaving at 7 a.m," obviously we won't arrest him on his way to the >airport," Mercier said. > >An RCMP officer in an unmarked car has been outside the building >since early Tuesday. Embassy officials would not comment on the >situation, other than to say he was continuing the hunger strike he >began during the weekend to protest his expulsion from the United >States. Imperatori has said he would like to return to the United >States to clear his name of allegations of spying. Axworthy said >there were no immediate plans to take diplomatic measures, such as >recalling the Canadian ambassador to Cuba. > >"We still have an open relationship with Cuba, we have not broken >ties, we're not engaging in any kind of economic sanctions or >embargoes." But the longer the current situation drags on, the more >difficult it will become to contain it within the context of a small >political incident, says John Kavulich, president of the US-Cuba >Trade and Economic Council. > >"At the moment it is considered an issue of politics, but if there's >seepage . . . then it may effect commercial relations, economic >relations, >and cultural relations and that's the danger," said Kavulich, who has >dealt extensively with Canadian and Cuban diplomats. >"The question is determining how much time is allowed to go by before >this diplomatic problem becomes a commercial problem." > >Canada-Cuba relations have chilled considerably during the last year, >particularly after four dissidents were imprisoned in Havana despite >a personal intervention on their behalf by Prime Minister Jean >Chretien. >The defection of several Cuban athletes at last summer's Pan-American >Games in Winnipeg also strained ties, with Cuban President Fidel >Castro calling Canada "enemy territory." > >Kavulich doesn't believe the Imperatori issue will have an impact on >Canada-U.S. relations, and Washington has not indicated it is >concerned about his status. >James Rubin, a State Department spokesman, said "We presume that the >Canadian government will resolve this matter directly with Mr. >Imperatori and the Cuban government." >Rubin also said earlier in the week that Imperatori could potentially >return to the United States to answer to the allegations. > >Imperatori resigned as vice-consul of Cuba's Interests Section in >Washington after being accused of providing information to Mariano >Faget, a Cuban-born U.S. immigration officer who was arrested in >Miami on allegation he was spying for Havana. >The Cuban government has accused Washington of slandering Imperatori >to gain political points in the controversy surrounding six-year-old >Elian Gonzalez. Gonzalez is at the middle of a custody battle between >his father in Cuba and his Miami relatives. > >© The Canadian Press, 2000 > ************* > >Copyright 1999 Ottawa Citizen >=========================== >Reno asked to reconsider Elian case in light of alleged spying >February 23, 2000 Web posted at: 11:07 p.m. EST > >MIAMI (CNN) -- The attorney for the Miami relatives of 6-year-old >Elian Gonzalez is asking Attorney General Janet Reno to reopen her >inquiry into whether the boy should remain in the United States or >return to his father in Cuba. Spencer Eig wrote a letter to Reno on >Tuesday, saying she should take such action because of "growing >evidence linking Cuban espionage and INS (Immigration and >Naturalization Service) consideration of the Elian Gonzalez case." > >Eig is referring to alleged ties between a Cuban diplomat, >Jose Imperatori, and Immigration and Naturalization Service >supervisor Mariano Faget, a 34-year veteran of the agency who was >arrested last week on charges of espionage for Cuba and lying to >federal officials. A federal complaint says Imperatori was "involved" >with Faget. The Cuban-born Faget was a supervisor in the INS Miami >office with a secret security clearance. > >While Faget has been involved in the asylum decisions >affecting hundreds of Cubans, the INS and the FBI have denied that >Faget was involved in any way with the Gonzalez case. Elian's Florida >relatives and their attorneys, however, had contended this week that >the relationship between Faget and Imperatori indicated Faget may >have played a role in the denial of a political asylum hearing for >the boy. > >The relatives have filed a federal lawsuit contending the INS >denied the boy his rights by not giving him an asylum >hearing. Imperatori, highlighted, is seen here with Elian's >grandmothers on January 23 in Miami > >'The revelation ... is just too much' > >In his letter to Reno, Eig wrote, "The revelation today, >that Imperatori and Faget worked together, is just too much." The >attorney added in his letter, "That the spying took place in >the office in which much of the Elian Gonzalez case was conducted >caused alarm." > >Elian has been the subject of an international custody battle since >he was found floating on an inner tube off the Florida coast in >November. His mother and 10 others were killed when their boat >capsized en route from Cuba to the United States. The INS has said >the boy should be returned to live with his father, Juan Miguel >Gonzalez, in Cuba. The boy is currently living at the Miami home of >his great uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez, who was granted temporary custody. > >In his letter to Reno, Eig said, "The Cuban government is >doing everything it can to manipulate this process." > >Diplomat accompanied grandmothers > >Imperatori was at Tamiami airport in Miami and met with >Elian's grandmothers the night they flew to Miami in an attempt to >meet with the boy. The grandmothers were not able to meet with Elian >that night. Sources told CNN that Imperatori accompanied the >grandmothers on their return flight to Washington. > >Eig said possible involvement of Imperatori in the decision to >abort the scheduled January 23 meeting is "in itself a matter of >concern." He wrote, "Imperatori's presence at the airport, amidst a >swarm of INS officials, raised additional questions." > >Eig ended the letter by saying, "Fair and neutral decision makers >who will listen to all sides should determine Elian's future." > >The United States has ordered Imperatori to leave the country >by Saturday. But Havana denies that Imperatori has been involved in >spying and is refusing to recall him to Cuba. > ====================== > >DeFede The Flighty Nun By Jim DeFede > >I should admit at the outset that I, like most estranged Catholics, >have nun issues. Still visible on my knuckles, though only faintly, >are the scars left by Sister Rene, who used to whack me with a wooden >ruler whenever I acted up during my days at St.Patrick's Elementary >School in Brooklyn. Normally my parents would not tolerate anyone >hitting their children (they never raised a hand against me or my >sister), but to them Sister Rene and the other nuns at the school >were different. If coming home with bloody knuckles provoked any >outrage, it was always directed at me. The nuns carried the authority >of the church; anything they did was accepted as the will of God. >You simply did not question a nun's actions or motives. > >Yet more than 25 years later I sit here doing just that: pondering >the actions and motives of a nun. In this case it's Sister Jeanne >O'Laughlin, the 70-year-old president of Barry University and the >newest center of controversy in the Elian Gonzalez case. > >In an interview last week with the Miami Herald, Sister Jeanne told >reporter Meg Laughlin she had come to the conclusion that Elian >should remain in the United States after speaking briefly with the >grandmothers privately and discovering, among other things, that one >of them wanted to defect. Sister Jeanne also told Laughlin she'd >learned from the grandmothers that Elian's father knew in advance his >ex-wife was going to take Elian to the United States, and that >during their marriage he was physically abusive to her. > >At least that is what the Herald claims Sister Jeanne said. On >Sunday, February 20, the same day the story was published, Sister >Jeanne issued a statement declaring, "I never met with the >grandmothers alone. While some of the specifics noted in the Herald >contributed to my decision, it is untrue that I heard any of that >from the grandmothers. Any information attributed to them came from >other sources." The Herald countered by issuing its own statement >defending the story and reiterating that Sister Jeanne did indeed say >she learned these things directly from the grandmothers. > >On Monday a spokeswoman for Barry University ratcheted the imbroglio >up a notch by claiming the Herald tricked Sister Jeanne into >agreeing to an interview by telling her the resulting story would be >a straightforward profile and would not dwell on Elian. "That's what >we were told ahead of time," says Michele Morris, an assistant vice >president at the school, "and that's why we agreed to do it." Morris >further contends that the portion of the interview regarding Elian >and the grandmothers was supposed to be an "off-the-record >conversation" and that Sister Jeanne never imagined she would see it >in print. > >Meg Laughlin, a respected Herald staffer who for many years wrote >for Tropic magazine, acknowledges that when she initially approached >Sister Jeanne for an interview, she said she was working on a >general profile of the nun. The two women first met on February 15 >for an interview that lasted approximately three hours and covered >myriad aspects of Sister Jeanne's life, past and present. Then >several days later, on Friday, February 18, Sister Jeanne called >Laughlin and told her why she believed Elian should stay in the >United States, citing the desire of one of the grandmothers to >defect, the allegations of abuse against Elian's father, and her >belief the father knew all along that the boy was being taken to >America. > >She told Laughlin she was going to provide an affidavit to one of the >attorneys for Elian's Miami relatives, Roger Bernstein, detailing >what she'd heard. Laughlin says Sister Jeanne even confided to her >that she hadn't told Bernstein the grandmothers themselves were the >source of her information. > >Laughlin also acknowledges that Sister Jeanne at first said their >conversation regarding the grandmothers and Elian was off the record, >but she soon persuaded the nun to go on the record with those >comments. Because Sister Jeanne's revelations were so timely, >Laughlin explains, her editors made the decision to highlight them as >a straight news story rather than incorporate them into a broader >profile. Laughlin says she called Sister Jeanne on Saturday, one >day before the story was published, to warn her it wasn't going to be >a profile but rather a news story about Elian and the grandmothers. > > After the story ran, Laughlin recalls, she received on her >answering machine a friendly message from Sister Jeanne, who >expressed confusion over who was responsible for getting things wrong >in the story: she or Laughlin. "Several times she said, 'I have to >say that I was never alone with the grandmothers,'" Laughlin >recounts. "She didn't just say, 'I was never alone with the >grandmothers.' She always said, 'I have to say that I was never >alone with the grandmothers.'" The inference, of course, is that >Sister Jeanne did hear these things from at least one of the >grandmothers but now was denying it for some reason, perhaps in an >effort to protect them. > > Despite the perverse pleasure I take in seeing the Herald's >reportorial accuracy questioned in the national press, I find it >nearly impossible to believe that a writer as good as Meg Laughlin >could have gotten this wrong. Instead I find it far more likely that >Sister Jeanne is -- to put it charitably -- a flake. (Let us not >forget that this is the nun who professed she had the psychic power >to discern fear in the eyes of complete strangers.) > >Sister Jeanne claims the sources of the information regarding Elian >will be revealed in the affidavit she will provide to attorney >Bernstein. At this point, however, we're forced to wonder: Does the >good Sister have any credibility left? Tuesday's Herald has Sister >Jeanne once again saying she was alone with the grandmothers, but >only for a few moments to bid them farewell. > >Unless the "sources" of the information leaked to Sister Jeanne come >forward and file their own sworn affidavits, I'm afraid the nun's >statement is useless. For my part I don't know who whispered what >into her ear, nor do I care anymore. > >Not only has Sister Jeanne become an irrelevant sideshow in the >never- ending Elian circus, she has squandered a singular >opportunity to make a difference. As the "neutral person" both >sides could agree upon to host a meeting between Elian and his >grandmothers, she could have played a uniquely valuable role in >efforts to mediate this dispute and bring it to a peaceful and >speedy resolution. Instead she abandoned that neutrality and >joined ranks with Elian's Miami relatives. > >As any savvy politician knows, it is the party at the center who >holds the key to successful compromise, never the partisans at the >extremes. For someone who was supposed to be politically astute, >Sister Jeanne played this one like a novice." JC > > > > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi ___________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe/unsubscribe messages mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________
