By HDN Staff
The court ordered deadline for delivery of Elian Gonzalez came and went. His Miami relatives defiantly challenged the government to try and take him. Elian's relatives then released a video where he expressed his desire to stay in the Miami area.
All the while Lazaro Gonzalez waited in our nation's capitol to be reunited with his 6-year-old son. We believe he has waited long enough. Nothing should come between a parent and his son. Elian is too young to know what he wants and is in his best interests.
Elian's relatives and the Cuban community of Little Havana have used him as a political pawn. Seeking political gains both presidential candidates have mistakenly sided with his relatives. Ironically, all the while they sing the virtues of family values.
Returning Elian to his father is not a political endorsement of the present government in Cuba, quite the opposite. The only one gaining in Elian's plight is Fidel Castro and his oppressive regime. Elian's relatives refusal to return him to his father gives new credence to an aging dictator's revolutionary cry. When the fact is more and more Cubans grow tired of their present living conditions and the government's false promises.
We believe returning Elian to his father is the right thing for him and everyone involved. Elian's mother bravely gave her life to immigrate to our country. A country founded on freedom and the rights of individuals and families. The continued failure to reunite Elian with his father dishonors her courageous memory.
