Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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_ Nation & World. Elian from page A7 heated exchanges. Lott opened the meeting by outlin ing the areas that he wanted Reno, Deputy ^ Attorney General Eric Holder and Im migration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Doris Meissner to cover: the negotiations with the Miami relatives over the past few months and the last few hours before the raid, the justification for the use of force and where tilings go from here, the Justice official said. The official also said the government arranged for one of the three doctors who previously interviewed Juan Miguel Gon zalez and Miami relative Lazaro Gon zalez — Dr. Paulina F. Kembeig, a pro fessor of psychiatry at Cornell University Medical College — to interview Juan Miguel again Tuesday. % The doctor also was to assess when Elian could be interviewed, the official said. The purpose of the interviews was to determine whether and how the Flori da relatives might visit Elian, this official said. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., an oppo nent of the raid, accused Clinton of break ing a personal promise to him that the Florida home of Lazaro Gonzalez would not be raided at night. White House spokesman Joe Lockhart, asked about such a promise on NBC’s “Today Show,” denied that the president made such a commitment. But Graham retorted: “Joe Lockhart was not in the room when the statement was made.” Reno did not speak to reporters when «-1 SEVENA WELSH m crs, cbr LIFETIME MEMBER MILLION DOLLAR CLUB 24 Hr office # (803)748-9171 Twenty Five Years of trusted service to the university community. *Her name is her reputation." EMfiGKifiiftiKS V ' Part-Time On Campus Cutting-edge Opportunity for Full-Time after Graduation Hiring Now for Summer &/or Fall Dtottat. Textbooks ‘We’re concerned about how Elian is doing.’ Armando Gutierrez spokesman for Miami relatives she entered the Capitol or when she left. As she was leaving, spontaneous applause broke out amoii^ some tourists who had been standing near the elevator from which she emerged. Reno ac knowledged the applause with a slight smile. With the drama now moved square ly to the Washington area, Cuban-Amer icans in Miami upset over Elian’s seizure called a general strike. Workers stayed home, students skipped school and busi nesses closed, bringing honking cars and Cuban flags to the streets of Little Ha vana. Attorneys for the Miami family filed a motion Tuesday in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, asking a guardian to be appointed who could check on Elian’s well-being and make sure he stays in the country — at least until his asylum hear ing. The court, in turn, issued an order asking attorneys for Juan Miguel Gon zalez to file a response by Wednesday af ternoon, stating any reasons why this shouldn’t happen. Armando Gutierrez, a spokesman for the Miami family, said they hoped this could clear the way for the family’s at torneys — and even the family — to see Elian. “That’s the whole thing; they would love to see the little boy,” Gutierrez said. “We’re concerned about how Elian is doing.” Behind-the-scene mediators hope to salvage part of failed Elian deal by Rachel La Corte The Associated Press Coral Gables, Florida — The ne gotiators who tried — and failed — to broker a last-minute deal between Elian Gonzalez’s Miami relatives and the gov ernment still want to salvage a compro mise. The four leaders from Miami — a lawyer, two businessmen and a universi ty president — explained on Monday their efforts, what went wrong and what they hope can still go right in the saga of 6-year-old Elian. “We turn now to making the best of an extremely difficult situation,” said Ed ward T. Foote II, president of the Uni versity of Miami. “It is time to move on.” Their hope was that Elian’s father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, and the boy’s Mi ami relatives could reach an agreement to live together for a week in a neutral spot in Washington. “That would help the family members get together and do what is in the best interest of the child,” Foote said. Their compromise would also have two psychiatrists evaluate Elian and ad vise U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno. Reno was considering die suggestion, they said. A Justice Department spokeswoman did not return a call Monday. In addition to Foote, the mediation team included: Carlos de la Cruz, presi dent of Eagle Brands snack foods who helped resolve a black tourism boycott of Miami in 1995; Carlos Saladrigas, pres ident of ADP Totalsource employment service; and attorney Aaron Podhurst, a 30-year friend of Reno who has ties to the Cuban-American community. The mediators said that a deal could have been reached if the federal govern ment had just given them more time. They called the federal raid on the house a dis appointment. “From our different perspectives, all of us believed strongly, and still do, that the negotiations were proceeding. They had not broken down,” Foote said. “Peo ple were acting in good faith.” Federal officials on Monday main tained that the raid was the fault of the Miami relatives’ refusal to cooperate. Foote and the other mediators began to help broker a deal last Thursday. The Miami relatives had agreed in principle to a one-page agreement that would have the relatives, the boy and his father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, living in a compound in Florida, they said. According to mediators, the Miami relatives also had offered a crucial con cession, one they had refused many times before and that the mediators hoped would make this deal different: The father would get temporary custody of Elian. But at 4 a.m. Saturday, Reno reject ed Florida as a location, though she had agreed to it earlier, Podhurst said. “I don’t know what was occurring at her end,” he had said Sunday. Then, at 4:21 a.m., Reno gave him five minutes to reach an agreement. Pod hurst said he never believed agents were waiting; he said he thought if they missed the deadline that negotiations would con tinue later. But he knew he needed to re lay to the family a possible deal-breaker. “As a mediator I told them you cannot ignore the attorney general of the United States,” he said “If she says Wash ington, it’s Washington. If you don’t do it these negotiations are over and I’m gone.” They woke Lazaro Gonzalez, Elian’s great-uncle, but he needed more time for the explanation before accepting. “I can firmly say he would’ve done it,” de la Cruz said While Podhurst waited on the phone, the raid began. Podhurst said that if the raid had been called back, they would have successfully completed the agree ment. “We ran out of time is what hap pened,” he said. ‘We now turn to making the best of an extremely difficult situation. It is time to move on.’ Edward T. Foote II President, University of Miami Graham, Thurmond criticize Miami raid The Associated Press Two South Carolina Republicans are criticizing the Justice Department’s approval of a weekend raid on the Mia- - mi house where Elian Gonzalez was stay ing. Sen. Strom Thurmond and Rep. Lind say Graham say the seizure of the boy was heavy-handed. “After losing an appeal in court, the attorney general and the Justice De partment put down their law books and picked up their weapons. This scene this weekend looked like something you’d expect from Castro’s Cuba, not the Unit ed States government,” Graham said. Graham is joining fellow Republi cans in calling for congressional hearings into the raid, saying that they do not want to be seen as approving of Attorney Gen eral Janet Reno’s actions. Thurmond criticized the Democra tic attorney general and said a raid was the last thing anyone wanted to see hap pen. “Surely a negotiated settlement could have been reached between the con cerned parties without the attorney gen eral ordering a raid,” Thurmond-said. ' :lw! ' JH ." gBfff JkSK wB^E& 5 iJHS . :\- 1 ^'■''^ E5 sjj^ = If^gjg. 5g§§*;*| Hp ]f ■■ Hey Graduate, it’s time to make some grown-up choices. Like what kind of wheels to get. And the Ford College Graduate Program can make that happen with $400* off select Ford or I Mercury vehicles. Hey, I that’s better than the deal I Pedro the ink slinger gave I you on that fateful K night in Cancun. ■ Visit www.ford.com/tollegegrad or call 1.800.321.1536 for all the details. Mom and Dad will be so proud.