BY HERALD STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES

 Attorney General Janet Reno said she would order the Miami relatives of Elian Gonzalez
 to turn the boy over next week, but also asked them to meet with child care experts - a
 move that gave hope to Cuban exiles who called off a traffic slowdown near the airport
 this afternoon.

 Reno announced this afternoon that the instructions for turning the boy over would be
 delivered to the Miami relatives early next week.

 "The law is very clear,'' she said. "A child who's lost his mother belongs with the sole
 surviving parent.''

 She also asked the Gonzalez family to meet with two psychiatrists and a psychologist
 on Monday to discuss how the transfer would take place.

 In response, Ramon Saul Sanchez, leader of the anti-Castro Democracy Movement,
 called off plans for a convoy of vehicles to drive slowly through Miami International
 Airport's terminal this afternoon.

 Sanchez urged the potential protesters to return to their homes or workplaces until
 further notice. He said the organization might again call for civil disobedience if necessary.

 HIGH-LEVEL MEETING

 Juan Miguel Gonzalez, accompanied by his wife, his infant son and his lawyer, met
 with Reno and other Justice Department officials, including Immigration and
 Naturalization Service Commissioner Doris Meissner, this morning.

 "I have been able to explain the suffering that I have been going through and the
 suffering my son Elian has been going through for the last months," Gonzalez said
 in brief remarks after his meeting with Reno.

 Afterwards, in a stark contrast to his harsh statements upon arriving in Washington
 on Thursday, Gonzalez expressed gratitude toward the men who rescued Elian at
 sea on Thanksgiving and seemed hopeful that his son would soon be returned to him.

 "The United States has assured me that it's going to be that way, and I am sure
 that it's going to be that way, and I am going to have my child soon," Gonzalez said.

 Reno also pledged after the meeting "to take every step to ensure that a transfer
 occurs in a fair, prompt and orderly manner."

 Reno indicated that the experts she wants the Gonzalez family to consult with
 advised the Justice Department that the best course of action was to reunite the
 boy with his father as soon as possible.

 Elian's mother and 10 others died while crossing the Florida Straits in an attempt
 to make it to the United States from Cuba. The boy survived and was rescued
 while clinging to an inner tube.

 The relatives have asked the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to
 overturn a federal judge's ruling in late March affirming the INS decision to return
 Elian to his father.

 On Thursday, talks between the INS and attorneys for Lazaro Gonzalez, the great
 uncle who has been caring for Elian since his rescue four months ago, broke
 down.

 INS wanted to discuss how the 6-year-old shipwreck survivor would be returned to
 his father, while attorneys for Lazaro Gonzalez said they had not agreed to turn
 the boy over at all.

 NEXT, A LETTER

 With the breakdown in negotiations, federal officials drafted a letter Friday telling
 Elian Gonzalez's Miami relatives when they must relinquish Elian to his father.

 Lazaro Gonzalez and his family had asked that Juan Miguel come to their home
 in Little Havana to see Elian.

 This afternoon, however, Delfin Gonzalez, Lazaro's brother and Juan Miguel's
 uncle, flew to Washington to try and meet with his nephew. He was accompanied
 by a cousin of Juan Miguel's, Alfredo Martell.

 Delfin went to the suburban Washington home where Juan Miguel is staying, but
 his nephew refused to see him.

 The Gonzalez home in Little Havana has been the site of growing crowds of
 protesters. Yesterday, more than 500 supporters of the family gathered outside
 the house, holding carnations, praying and chanting ``Elian no se va!" (Elian is not
 leaving).

 Herald Online News Reporter Madeline Baró Diaz compiled this report.

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald