Elian Reunited With Father

* Sometimes there is a price to pay for the “rule of law.” The federal action Saturday morning to retrieve Elian Gonzalez was necessary. It is comparable to sending in federal troops to open up public schools that were closed to blacks in the ‘50s and ‘60s. The return of a son, who was being held by relatives in defiance of legal authority, to his father is such an action. The attorney general is to be commended.

Those who think otherwise are at best misguided. A 6-year-old cannot give legal consent. In a civilized society the only valid consent for children can come from parents. This was denied until the necessary action by the Justice Department.

MIKE MILLER

Los Angeles

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Now the U.S. Justice Department becomes an agent working for a communist government. I never thought I would see the day. My head hangs in shame. Sorry, freedom fighters, don’t look toward the U.S. anymore. Our goose is cooked as well as yours.

SCOTT MANSFIELD

San Gabriel

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I’m sickened! Armed federal agents battering down a door at 5 a.m. and grabbing a screaming little boy is reminiscent of Nazi Germany! Oh well, as long as Clinton and Castro are happy, I guess one frightened little boy doesn’t matter. Too bad!

PATRICIA NASH

Redondo Beach

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The Times reports (April 19) that Elian will not be returning to his hometown to live with his father. Instead, a boarding school in Havana is being remodeled to house him. The state-run complex will contain a replica of his former schoolroom, and will also house his “extended family and several of his classmates.” The “psychologists” said that this will provide a necessary “transition period” for the boy.

As the Miami exile community knows, however, the real purpose will be to indoctrinate Elian. He will become an official state icon trotted out publicly to praise Fidel Castro and denounce America.

JAMES HYDE FORBES

Palos Verdes Estates

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Mike Downey has it exactly right (April 19). Those Miami Cubans have no interest at all in the boy’s real welfare. They are self-serving and wrong. I am amazed that the people in this country who are so adamant about the importance of “family” can turn right around and demand that a father not be allowed to raise his son where and how he sees fit. I think it is high time to stop being intimidated by the expatriates from Cuba in Miami.

WILLIAM ELDRIDGE

Santa Ana

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Elian’s great-uncle is playing revolutionary dictator with the freedoms he enjoys in America. If he had a son kidnapped to Cuba, he would have been the first to demand we send in the Marines.

WAYNE C. IRWIN

Northridge