Nicaragua’s Election

The Times’ editorial “Rebels Without a Cause” (March 1) is the most embarrassing editorial that I have ever read. Who is the threat to democracy in Nicaragua, the Contras or the Sandinista military and secret police?

Who has fought for democracy for the last 10 years more actively and more seriously, the Contras or the Sandinistas?

For those who have short memories it was the Contra battlefield victories in the battle for Rama Road, Oct. 14, 1987, and the battle for the Las Minas area, Dec. 19, 1987 (incidentally where over 10,000 Contras were inside Nicaragua involved in the battle), that drove the Sandinistas to the negotiating tables in 1988 and brought a negotiated settlement in 1989.

It is most ironic that the Sandinista leadership, on the advice of many U.S. congressional leaders, took the advice that they thought would lead to the complete demise of the Contras, only to have the reverse results--possibly the demise of the Sandinistas.

Let’s be serious. The election clearly showed that about 40% of the electorate supports the Sandinistas. The Sandinistas are a strong political force in Nicaragua and used to be a part of the democratic process. The Contras and their supporters are also a political force inside Nicaragua and when they return home and their clandestine support is open to the public, maybe the Contras will form a separate party.

TV news reports have shown Sandinista soldiers leaving their posts and returning to their homes or farms. They think the war is over. It should be evident that this will be the fate of many Contras. Democracy has won--the war is over. Let them go home too.

My concern is not 10,000 unpaid, poorly armed and demoralized Contras. I am concerned with the 80,000-man Sandinista Army, and the 20,000-man secret police, and particularly the 20,000 to 30,000 party militants who may not accept the vote for democracy.

H.T. HAYDEN

Oceanside