Sanchez: 'We Would Respect' a Family Court Order to Return Elian Gonzalez to Cuba
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: It appears there will be no smooth transfer to Cuba of young Elian Gonzalez, ordered returned to his father by the INS, yesterday. Attorneys for his relatives in Miami say they will go to federal court to block the move, though Attorney General Janet Reno says she sees no basis for a reversal of the INS decision.</s>JANET RENO, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I think the law has struck that balance, and there may be very special cases, but in this situation the father has evidenced a real relationship with the son. I don't think anybody really disputes that. And there is something about a six-year-old boy and his father -- there is a relationship that the law recognizes, that morality and the sense of right of all people recognize.</s>FRANK SESNO, CNN ANCHOR: The INS decision has sparked protests in Miami's Cuban-exile community. At this hour, demonstrators are rallying outside the city's federal building, vowing to block the child's return. CNN's Mark Potter is there and joins us now with details -- Mark.</s>MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good afternoon. We're in the of downtown Miami, where a small demonstration is just beginning near the federal building, across the street from the Dade County courthouse. It's been called by a Cuban exile political group to protest the decision by the INS to send six-year-old Elian Gonzalez back to Cuba by January 14th to rejoin his father. Now with us now is the organizer of this rally, Mr. Ramon Saul Sanchez of the Democracia (ph) movement. Mr. Sanchez what's the message here?</s>RAMON SAUL SANCHEZ, PROTEST ORGANIZER: We're trying to send the message to the president of the United States that his decision to deport Elian without allowing him his day in court is very unfortunate and that we want him to reconsider this decision so that he has his day in court. There are very crucial elements here which should be determined by a family court, not by politics.</s>POTTER: Now, what else besides this rally is planned?</s>SANCHEZ: We have conducted a traffic slowdown today, and also at 1:00 p.m. everybody's going to shutdown the engines of the cars for five minutes. We're trying to inconvenience the people the least possible, but at the same time we're trying to convey our message.</s>POTTER: Now, what happens if this eventually does go to court and a judge says, that's it, the boy has to go back to Cuba. Will there be more protests? Will there be an attempt to stop the boy from going?</s>SANCHEZ: No, we would respect that. We believe in (OFF-MIKE) court system, and what we're asking the president is to do the same. The worst criminal in this nation has the right to his day in court. Why not this child, who came here, his mother lost her life to see him free? And now we're going to send him back without a family court process to Cuba, to the dictator that wants him back to claim him politically but doesn't care about the children of Cuba.</s>POTTER: But you would not stand in the way if the judge said he's got to go?</s>SANCHEZ: Of course not. We want the judicial system to step in, not politics, and the president's decision is a political decision of engagement with the Cuban dictator instead of engaging with the Cuban people who have lived 40 years of oppression.</s>POTTER: And you feel very good about the decision, the likelihood of a positive decision or not, very quickly?</s>SANCHEZ: If he is sent back to Cuba, we would be disappointed, by a family court we will be disappointed, however, we will respect that. The court system is the least compromised entity in this case.</s>POTTER: OK, thank you very much for your time. Elian Gonzalez, meanwhile, we are told, is spending time with his family today. We've been told by a family spokesman that he is now aware of the INS decision, which, according the spokesman, has upset the boy very much. This is Mark Potter, CNN, reporting live from downtown Miami.