Fwd: Elian: Free speech selective in Miami. JC

["Chris Doss" <itschris13@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>From: DavidMcR@xxxxxxx
>To: socialistsunmoderated@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx, wrll@xxxxxxx
>Subject: Elian: Free speech selective in Miami. JC
>Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2000 13:56:32 EDT
>
>
>
><< >FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2000
>  >       In Miami, free speech is selective
>  >
>  >Anti-Castro passion in Little Havana has history of drowning out
>  >opposing views.
>  >
>  >Warren Richey -Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor MIAMI
>  >
>  >The heated custody battle over Elian Gonzalez is shining a bright
>  >light on the Cuban-American community in Little Havana.
>  >
>  >Television images beamed around the world show a community passionate
>  >about the welfare of the six-year-old boy - a tight-knit neighborhood
>  >in almost universal agreement that the child should stay with his
>  >Miami relatives to enjoy freedoms guaranteed by the US Constitution.
>  >
>  >But those same television cameras have opened a window to a darker
>  >side of Little Havana. Critics say those who disagree with the hard-
>  >line opinions of Cuban-exile leaders routinely face intimidation,
>  >threats of violence, or outright censorship.
>  >
>  >Two weeks ago, police arrested a seventh-grade social studies teacher
>  >after, he says, he spat on the ground and told the spokesman for the
>  >boy's Miami relatives that "Elian should go home."
>  >
>  >The spokesman went to the police, who led Matt Heidenfeld away in
>  >handcuffs and charged him with disorderly conduct, punishable by up
>  >to 60 days in jail. "I have absolutely no problem with Cuban-
>  >Americans or anyone standing up for what they believe in, but I
>  >should also have the right to stand up for what I believe in," Mr.
>  >Heidenfeld says.
>  >
>  >Earlier this week, a single protester arrived in front of the house
>  >where scores of Cuban-American demonstrators have maintained an Elian
>  >Gonzalez vigil for several months. He carried a poster that read:
>  >"Send Elian Home."
>  >
>  >Within moments, the young man was lifted off his feet by angry "pro-
>  >Elian" demonstrators. Some carried him down the street, while others
>  >ripped his sign into small pieces.
>  >
>  >The action was recorded by TV crews and later aired, ironically, as
>  >Miami Mayor Joe Carollo held a press conference in Washington,
>  >denouncing a group of "thugs" who emerged from the Cuban Interest
>  >Section in Washington a week ago and attacked anti-Castro protesters
>  >on the sidewalk. "Are these the people we want to turn Elian Gonzalez
>  >over to during the appeals process?" the mayor asked.
>  >
>  > HEART-FELT CAUSE: Cuban-Americans celebrate in Miami after an
>  >Atlanta judge's April 19 ruling that keeps Elian Gonzalez in the US
>  >for now. RICKEY ROGERS/REUTERS ---- Critics question why the mayor
>  >would express outrage about the violation of the rights of anti-
>  >Castro protestors but not mention similar free-speech violations in
>  >his own city.
>  >
>  >"That is the proof of what free speech in Miami means: You can say
>  >whatever you want as long as it is what [exile leaders] want to
>  >hear," says Eddie Levy, who heads the Cuban-American Defense League,
>  >which promotes First Amendment rights in south Florida.
>  >
>  >Leaders in the Cuban-American community complain that the intense
>  >media scrutiny surrounding the Elian saga is creating a false and
>  >distorted image of Miami. They accuse critics of engaging in racism,
>  >bigotry, and ignorance. Particularly insulting, they say, are
>  >suggestions that Miami has become a "banana republic."
>  >
>  >Officials say that, in fact, the city is a de facto capital of
>  >Latin America, a booming trade and finance center, and a haven for
>  >the hemisphere's political and economic refugees.
>  >
>  >Critics say that free-speech concerns arise when Cuba is the issue.
>  >
>  >Mr. Levy says that recently after he appeared on a television news
>  >program to discuss his belief that Elian should be returned to his
>  >father, he was advised by an anonymous caller that he would soon be
>  >"floating in the Miami River with a mouth full of lye." Levy adds,
>  >"That is free speech in Miami."
>  >
>  >Such flareups come amid speculation about whether an anticipated
>  >attempt by federal authorities to remove Elian from his great uncle's
>  >house can be done peacefully. At press time, a 24-hour vigil around
>  >Elian's house, in support of his Miami relatives, continued.
>  >
>  >Ninoska Perez, a spokeswoman for the Cuban American National
>  >Foundation, says the lone protester who had his sign torn up should
>  >have known better than to show up on such partisan turf. "It is a
>  >provocation."
>  >
>  >John de Leon, Miami president of the American Civil Liberties Union
>  >(ACLU) agrees. He says police should try to keep protesters of
>  >differing views away from each other to permit those with opposing
>  >opinions to protest peacefully.
>  >
>  >And he says the large protests outside Elian's house may help
>  >the Cuban-American community blow off steam. "That is why we have the
>  >democracy we have," he says. "It allows people to work these issues
>  >out publicly and peacefully. Whereas if they were repressed from
>  >doing that, things could get violent."
>  >
>  >The state of free speech in Miami has long been a hot topic.
>  >
>  > In 1991, the city tried to shut down a local museum for plans to
>  >display art by Cuban artists who had not denounced Fidel Castro.
>  >
>  > In 1992, Cuban-American leaders sued a leading expert in US-Cuban
>  >relations for libel in what some analysts say was an attempt to
>  >muzzle criticism of Cuban-American lobbying in Washington.
>  >
>  > In 1996, a Miami restaurant was firebombed after it scheduled a
>  >performance by a Cuban singer who had not denounced Castro.
>  >
>  > And last week, lawyers working with the ACLU asked a federal judge
>  >to strike down a Miami-Dade County ordinance in part because they say
>  >it is an unconstitutional attempt to censor artistic expression by
>  >banning Cubans from performing at county venues.
>  >
>  >Ms. Perez, of the Cuban American National Foundation, defends the
>  >local law. "The artists who come from Cuba are ... not free people,
>  >they are serving the interests of the Cuban government," she says.
>  >"It is a matter of principle and solidarity, it is not about
>  >intolerance."
>  >
>  >Others disagree. They say the US trade embargo of Cuba exempts
>  >cultural exchanges, and that the ordinance enforces a local foreign
>  >policy that undermines US foreign policy.
>  >
>  >"It is much better than it used to be," says says long-time
>  >Miami free-speech advocate Jim Mullins, referring to 1970s bombings
>  >of stores selling certain newspapers. "But the intimidation factor
>  >has not gone away."
>  >
>  >Before bookmarking this page in your browser, click here.
>  >The URL for this page is:
>  >http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/2000/04/21/fp1s3-csm.shtml
>  >
>  >(c) Copyright 2000 The Christian Science Publishing Society.
>   >>
>
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