Afghanistan

Mark Fineman quoted Afghanistan President Najibullah as saying his regime would give life to the people (Part A, May 3-4). May I ask, as of when? He recently killed 300 and wounded 700 in Assadabad with Soviet Scud missiles. He presently detains more than 1,000 political prisoners. As the U.S. State Department is aware, Najibullah has jailed a number of Afghans who were former employees of the U.S. embassy in Kabul.

I and my extended family are part of 6 million Afghans who fled his atrocities. We do not intend to return unless Najibullah is out of power. We do not believe him to be a “born-again democrat.”

The Soviet hidden agenda has kept him in power in Kabul; unless there is a superpower agreement or if the U.S. reverses its current policy of diminished aid to the Afghan resistance, there will be no solution. We want peace and freedom and democratization like the rest of the world. The Afghans will elect their own leader when they are free to do so. We will not accept a leader appointed by the Soviet Union or Pakistan. It will be a cardinal sin and morally indefensible if the U.S. Congress cuts off aid to the resistance.

Everyone is war tired, but let us not allow Najibullah to blackmail us into accepting his terms.

SHAIR ALI MIKINYAR

Garden Grove