Cuban demonstrators back off airport protests in Miami
By Alex Veiga, Associated Press, 4/7/00
MIAMI - Cuban demonstrators who had vowed to clog traffic at the airport backed off Friday after Attorney General Janet Reno agreed to grant Elian Gonzalez's Miami relatives a few more days.
The leader of the anti-Castro group Democracy Movement, Ramon Saul Sanchez, had urged demonstrators in front of the house of Elian's great-uncle to crowd the airport's access roads and drive slowly, beginning at 4 p.m.
Officials had said the Miami airport would remain open "with a lot of police presence" but advised travelers to consider use other airports in the area, such as Fort Lauderdale.
Hours later, though, Sanchez said if Reno agreed to "give Elian a few more days," he would "put the campaign on hold to give space to good will."
Reno asked the Miami relatives to meet with her Monday and said they would receive instructions early next week on where and when the 6-year-old boy is to be turned over. She said the relatives have been asked to meet with psychologists and psychiatrists to determine how the transfer should take place.
"It is time for this little boy who has been through so much to be with his father," Reno said. "The law is very clear: A child who has lost his mother belongs to the sole surviving parent."
Reno acknowledged that most people in the Cuban community of Miami, her hometown, disagreed with her. But, she said, "This is a nation of laws by which all must abide."
Cuban-Americans have held steadily bigger demonstrations over the past few days. Supporters of Elian's Miami relatives have poured into his great-uncle's Little Havana neighborhood, honking horns, singing, praying and forming human chains.
"If there's ever been a moment when the Cuban-Americans have been emotional, this is it," said Javier Hernandez, 42, a Mexican-American who lives in Miami and was outside the house Friday.
On Jan. 6, the day after the Immigration and Naturalization Service said the child should be returned to his father, hundreds of Cuban-Americans chanting, "Liberty! Liberty!" blocked intersections, including at least one near the airport, and cut off access to the Port of Miami. Officers in riot gear used tear gas to disperse demonstrators. At least 135 people were arrested.
This week's demonstrations intensified after Elian's father arrived in the United States on Thursday to reclaim his son. The elder Gonzalez met with Reno on Friday morning, and she pledged to work for a "fair, prompt and orderly" return of the boy to his father.
Gov. Jeb Bush expressed confidence the situation could be resolved.
"I think a lot of people are passionate about this because they have suffered at the hands of Fidel Castro," he said. "But I have confidence that we will be able maintain order."
