‘If Peace Breaks Out’

Thank you for Susanne Jonas’ incisive column “Double Standards for Latin America,” (Op-Ed Page, Oct. 25). It’s time to dispel the myths and campaign of misinformation that the right-wing ideologues and their backers--the Reagan Administration--insistently perpetuate.

For us living here in America, the great enemy is communism. Just the word alone conjures up images of Satanic oppression and bleak, icy landscapes in Siberia. For the people of Central America, however, communism plays no role in the century of oppression and subjugation by U.S.-backed military regimes. The people of Central America need no communists to let them know they are hungry, underpaid and exploited. They know. They live the reality every day of their lives. They need no communist to whisper the truth in their ears. Tyranny, injustice, persecution and brutality are their daily companions.

I think it’s time to read behind the ploy of those who use fear and superstition in order to protect their own greedy self-interests. It’s also important to remember that the oppressed--whether oppressed by communism or oppressed by right-wing capitalists--do not stay oppressed forever.

JOSIE PASTORA

Los Angeles