wfn.org | Feds have been 'patient' on Elian, NCC's Edgar says

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

March 28, 2000 News media contact: Linda Bloom·(212) 870-3803·New York
10-21-32-71B{175}

NEW YORK (UMNS) - Justice Department and Immigration and Naturalization
Service (INS) officials have been "excruciatingly patient" with the Miami
relatives of Elian Gonzalez, according to the National Council of Churches'
(NCC) chief executive.

The Rev. Robert Edgar, also a United Methodist pastor, made that comment
during a March 28 briefing with staff of the United Methodist Board of
Global Ministries.

The agencies' patience, he said, comes from an awareness of the financial
and political clout of Miami's Cuban community, which is supporting the
relatives' bid to keep the 6-year-old Cuban boy in the United States. Elian
has been the focus of an international custody suit since his rescue from a
capsized boat off Florida's coast last November. His mother drowned in the
accident.

Now that the INS is demanding the relatives sign an agreement to give up
Elian if they lose a court appeal, Edgar believes the situation will be
resolved quickly. If the relatives do not sign an agreement, he said, the
government will begin proceedings to remove him. If they do sign, the
appeals process will be accelerated. As of early March 28, no agreement had
been reached.

Under Edgar's leadership and personal involvement, the NCC has worked with
the Cuban Council of Churches in assisting Elian's family members in Cuba.
That assistance included escorting Elian's grandmothers on a visit to the
United States in mid-January.

In March, a federal judge dismissed the case by Elian's relatives and agreed
with U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno that the boy should be returned to his
father in Cuba. Elian's Miami relatives have appealed the ruling to the 11th
Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

"I have no reason to believe the courts will rule against what the judge has
decided," Edgar said.

The NCC has offered to be of service in returning Elian to his father, but
Edgar doesn't expect to be called upon for duty. "I think it's going to be a
government-to-government exchange," he said.

In Edgar's opinion, there has been a positive aspect to the situation. "This
little child, I believe, may lead us into a new relationship with Cuba."
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United Methodist News Service
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