MIAMI-DADE MAYOR ALEX PENELAS

 At a press conference with other mayors:

 ``As the mayors of Miami-Dade County, from different backgrounds, ethnicities
 and political affiliations, we come together in a show of solidarity to set forth some
 very basic concerns, which we all share regarding the Elian Gonzalez case.

 ``1. We strongly believe that Elian Gonzalez's appellate rights should not be
 limited. Even the most heinous of criminals has his or her legal rights protected,
 and in many cases, facilitated. Why should a defenseless 6-year-old boy be
 treated differently? We believe this boy should have the right to be heard in state
 Family Court so that a judge, not bureaucrats, can decide what is in his best
 interests. Only in a family court can we determine the father's true wishes, and
 properly weigh the obvious wishes of Elian's mother.

 ``2. We are concerned with the community's reaction to this escalating situation.
 A large segment of our community feels very strongly that this boy's legal rights
 must be respected. The government is threatening to revoke the child's parole
 status by tomorrow [Thursday] morning unless the family agrees to waive the
 boy's rights. This is a provocation of the community that believes in the rule of law
 and justice. It is a strong-arm tactic which is wrong, unjust and will not be well
 received by the community.

 ``If the child is repatriated before the appellate process concludes, it will cause
 irreparable harm.

 ``Unfortunately, we've been seeing a pattern of this by INS, through its repatriation
 of Haitians within territorial waters of the United States without `due process'
 hearings.

 ``3. While we all recognize a community's right to protest peacefully and
 appropriately, we also remind the community that we cannot condone, under any
 circumstances, protests that infringe upon anyone else's rights. However, we
 want to make it very clear that the Justice Department's handling of this matter
 . . . if their continued provocation in the form of unjustified threats to revoke the
 boy's parole, leads to civil unrest and violence, we are holding the federal
 government and specifically Janet Reno and the President of United States
 responsible.

 ``It is very clear that we will not lend our respective resources -- police or
 otherwise -- to assist the federal government in any way, shape or form to
 repatriate Elian Gonzalez to Cuba.''

 ``It is in the spirit of peaceful protest that we encourage people to attend tonight's
 prayer vigil.

 ``4. Once again, we call on the Justice Department to consider our concerns, as
 the local elected leaders of this community, to do justice by respecting Elian's
 appellate rights.''

 FLORIDA GOV. JEB BUSH, ATTORNEY GENERAL BOB BUTTERWORTH

 In a letter to President Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno:

 ``We are writing to both of you today to ask that you intervene so that all sides --
 including the federal government -- can step back from the heat of the moment
 and take a more reflective view of this situation. As an immediate concern, we
 ask that you direct the Department of Justice and the INS to rescind their written
 demand that Lazaro Gonzalez execute an agreement to return Elian immediately
 to INS custody should he not prevail in the appeal pending before the 11th U.S.
 Circuit Court of Appeals.

 ``Included with the written demand is the threat by INS to `move forward with the
 termination of Elian's parole' if Mr. Gonzalez does not comply with INS' demand
 by 9:00 a.m. Thursday. While INS has not yet announced how it intends to
 accomplish this, we assure you that no state resources will be used to assist the
 INS in any attempt to remove Elian.''

 VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE

 In a statement:

 ``Let's be clear: The real fault here lies with the oppressive regime of Fidel Castro.
 Elian should never have been put in the position of having to choose between
 freedom and his own father.''

 PRESIDENT CLINTON

 At a press conference:

 Question: . . . Mr. President, the mayor of Miami said today that he would
 withhold any assistance from the city, including police, if federal authorities
 decide to return Elian Gonzalez to Cuba, and that if there were any violence in the
 streets he would hold you and Attorney General Reno personally responsible for
 that. That seems to sound like an invitation for the community to block federal
 authorities and an assurance to them that the Miami Police will stand aside.

 Clinton: Well, I like the mayor very much, but I still believe in the rule of law here.
 We all have to, whatever the law is, whatever the decision is ultimately made, the
 rest of us ought to obey it.

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald