Repression

You had five readers (Letters, Feb. 7) who objected to Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams’ thoughts on repression in Nicaragua. Some remarked that Americans accepted aid from an autocratic France during our Revolution, that we abridged freedom during our Civil War, that we suffer today from government censorship, and that our liberties would be curtailed if we were under threat of invasion. Thus, they forgive repression in Nicaragua.

If there is repression elsewhere in the world now or in the past, that should not make it excusable in Nicaragua. And though it is true that repression in South Africa and the Soviet Union or in Chile and Cuba may be justified by the tyrants of those countries with past or present examples from anywhere else in the world, it is they alone who should be held responsible.

There is a wholesome way in which those countries--and Nicaragua--can reduce the threats they perceive to themselves. They can reduce repression and set better examples among the nations. Our faults should not be claimed by them. And it should not be that we tolerate repression anywhere--or make excuses for it.

DENNIS WEHRMANN

Hollywood