If Elian Goes Home
Dateline: 04/13/00
Online Poll: Should Elian Gonzales be returned to
Cuba?
Ongoing Coverage and Opinion of the Elian Gonzales Story
The U.S. Justice Department has ordered Miami relatives of Elian Gonzales to hand the boy over to his father who wants to take him back to Cuba. Assuming this comes to pass and Elian is returned to Cuba, under what kind of government will he be growing up?
Basics of Cuban Government
Cuba's revised socialist constitution went into effect on Feb. 24, 1976. It created a National Assembly of the People's Power led by a Council of States. In December 1976 the assembly elected Fidel Castro to be the council president making him chief of state as well as the head of government.
A 499-member National Assembly of People's Power has all lawmaking power. Members are elected every five years by local deputies. The Assembly elects a 31-member Council of State. Castro, as President of the Council, is both Head of State and Head of Government. The Cuban Constitution also guarantees that the Communist Party remains not only the sole legal party in Cuba but "the leading force of society and state."
The Cuban Constitution
Article 5 states:
"The Communist Party of Cuba, inspired by the ideals of José Martí and Marxist-Leninist, organized vanguard of the Cuban nation, is the highest-level leading force of the society and the state, which organizes and orients common efforts towards the lofty aims of building socialism and advancing towards communist society."On freedom of speech, expression and to assemble:
Article 53 states:
"Freedom of speech and press are recognized for citizens consistent with the purposes of socialist society. The material conditions for their exercise are present by the fact that the press, radio, television, movies, and other mass media are state-owned or socially owned, and can in no event be privately owned, which ensures their use exclusively in the service of the working people and in the interest of society. The law regulates the exercise of these freedoms."
Article 54 states:
"The rights of assembly, demonstration, and association are exercised by the workers, both manual and intellectual, peasants, women, students, and all other sectors of the working people, for which the means necessary to such purposes are provided. The mass organizations and social organizations have all the facilities to develop such activities, in which their members enjoy the fullest freedom of speech and opinion, based on the unlimited right of initiative and criticism."
But, Article 62 states:
"None of the freedoms recognized for citizens may be exercised against the provisions of the Constitution and the laws, nor against the existence and ends of the socialist state, nor against the decision of the Cuban people to build socialism and communism. Infractions of this principle are punishable."
Source:
The Annual Report of the Inter American Commission on Human Rights
Organization of American States
What About Human Rights in Cuba?
Excerpts From 1999 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
U.S. Department of State, February 25, 2000"On January 26, police approached 16-year-old Yusel Vidal Mejias and his friends, who were hanging on to a gasoline truck while riding their bicycles at about 11:00 p.m. The youths dispersed upon seeing the police, but police apprehended Vidal and severely beat him. Since Vidal had no identity documents, the police took him to the local police station, where the police told the registration official that he was a 'ninja' (a popular expression referring to thieves who use acrobatic maneuvers to mount a moving truck and then proceed to throw bags of rice or beans onto another moving vehicle). Vidal's father, Jose Vidal Crossa, told of his son's arrest by friends and neighbors, reached the police station after midnight, and after nearly an hour's wait, secured his son's release. The father took the boy to the nearest hospital, where a doctor diagnosed him as having suffered 'severe contusions of the right elbow, of the right knee, and multiple hematomas of the back.'"
"The Government does not allow criticism of the revolution or its leaders. Laws against antigovernment propaganda, graffiti, and disrespect of officials carry penalties of from 3 months to 1 year in prison. If President Castro or members of the National Assembly or Council of State are the objects of criticism, the sentence can be extended to 3 years."
Children
"The Constitution provides that the Government protect 'family, maternity, and matrimony.' It also states that children, legitimate or not, have the same rights under the law and notes the duties of parents to protect them. Education is free and is grounded in Marxist ideology. State organizations and schools are charged with the "integral formation of children and youth." The national health care system covers all citizens. There is no societal pattern of abuse of children. However, child prostitution is a problem, with young girls engaging in prostitution to help support themselves and their families. Young girls have constituted the bulk of the prostitutes catering primarily to foreign tourists. It is illegal for a child under 17 years of age to engage in prostitution. The police began to enforce this law more actively in late 1998 and continued to do so during the year, as part of their crackdown on prostitution in general."
"The legal minimum working age is 17 years. However, the Labor Code permits the employment of 15- and 16-year-old children to obtain training or fill labor shortages. The law requires school attendance until the ninth grade, and this law generally is respected. The Government prohibits forced and bonded child labor; however, it requires children to work without compensation (see Section 6.c.)."
(Section 6 c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor)
"Neither the Constitution nor the Labor Code prohibits forced labor. The Government maintains correctional centers where it sends persons for crimes such as dangerousness. They are forced to work on farms or building sites, usually with no pay and inadequate food. The authorities often imprison internees who do not cooperate."
Was Elian Arrested? (04/27/00)
About.com has received a copy of a warrant for Elian's arrest, leading a US Senator to ask if the child's rights are being violated. In exclusive interviews with the Senator's office, and the Justice Department, Politics Guide John Aravosos examine this breaking story.An Elian Debate (4/25/00)
US Politics Guide John Aravosis squares off against Immigration Guides Jennifer & Peter Wipf. The topic: Elian. If you disliked Aravoris' editorial criticizing Clinton and Reno then you'll really hate him after reading this!Elian Seized, Was this the only way? (4/22/00)
Immigration Guides Jennifer and Peter Wipf provide coverage of the enforced reunion of Elian with his father.Editorial: Shame on Clinton & Reno (4/22/00)
Political Guide John Aravosis takes issue with the taking of Elian Gonzales by INS agents.Short Take: Elian raid turns right into wrong (4/22/00)
"Leave it to Attorney General Janet Reno to take the perfectly reasonable position that a child belongs with his father and turn it into a televised debacle." Editorial by Civil Liberties Guide J.D. Tuccille.The Elian Case in Family Court
What would happen if the whole thing went to a family court? From Immigration Guides Jennifer and Peter Wipf.Elian for Legal Dummies
With everybody suing everybody else in the Elian Gonzalez case, it's about time a lawyer straightened out the mess. US Politics Guide (and lawyer) John Aravosis sifts through the latest to make sense of the 'Elian' case.Things Are Getting Ugly
The Elian saga reveals some unsavory things about politics. From Immigration Guides Jennifer and Peter Wipf.Elian Gonzales: The View from the Spanish Speaking World
Get other perspectives on the Elian Gonzales case by reading about it in Spanish. From Spanish Language Guide Gerald Erichsen.Cuban Human Rights
A look at Cuba's human rights record, from About.com Human Rights Guide Kevin Reid.Who's Who in the Elian Gonzales Case
A handy roster of people in Elian's life from CNN.Federal judge issues temporary stay, blocking Elian's removal from U.S.
CNN Report of April 13, 2000Experts assess impact of reunion
From the Miami Herald - April 13, 2000What Awaits Elian in Cuba?
From the BBC - April 12, 2000
Reference Resources
INS Decision in the Elian Gonzalez Case
The Jan. 5, 2000 by Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Doris Meissner explaining the INS' decision to allow Elian's father to take him back to Cuba.Text of Justice Letter to Miami Family
From ABC News - Text of a letter sent April 12, 2000, to Lazaro Gonzalez from Michael A. Pearson, executive associate commissioner for field operations, Immigration and Naturalization Service.The Annual Report of the Inter American Commission on Human Rights
Produced by the OAS, this exhaustive report examines the Cuban constitution and its effects on all aspects of human rights.1999 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
The latest human rights conditions in Cuba as assessed by the U.S. State DepartmentElian Gonzalez -- U.S. Interests Section
A Dec. 7, 1999 State Department press release explaining the department's stance on Elian's situation.Cuba - Maps, Geography, and More
Complete information on Cuba, from About.com Guide to Geography Matt Rosenburg
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