Contra Attacks in Nicaragua

Bosco Matamoros’ article (Editorial Pages, June 14), “Blame Sandinistas If Civilians Die in War,” is a transparent and futile attempt to control the political damage to the Reagan Administration’s policy of supporting the contras, which has resulted from the murder of Benjamin Linder, a U.S. citizen who was executed by the contras last April while he was helping to build a hydroelectric power plant in a poor rural area in Nicaragua.

Matamoros argues that the contras have been unfairly blamed for what he calls “alleged attacks” on civilians in Nicaragua, and labels as “Sandinista propaganda” the accusations that the contras have committed human rights violations. Unbelievably, he attempts to blame the Sandinistas for Linder’s murder.

If Matamoros believes that the contras have scrupulously respected human rights, and that reports of contra attacks on civilians are Sandinista propaganda, he should read the findings of respected human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Americas Watch.

If he thinks these findings are also propaganda, he should read the remarkably candid written testimony submitted to the World Court by one of his own brethren, Edgar Chamorro, a former director of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force (or FDN, the largest of the contra groups). According to his testimony, the FDN was instructed by the CIA to attack farms, agricultural cooperatives and other civilian targets inside Nicaragua, and it did what it was told to do.

Not only were many civilians killed by FDN troops in cold blood, but many others were also, in the words of Chamorro, “tortured, mutilated, raped, robbed or otherwise abused.” He concluded that “the atrocities I had heard about were not isolated incidents, but reflected a consistent pattern of behavior by our troops.”

Matamoros’ attempt to blame the Sandinistas for the murder of Benjamin Linder is reprehensible, but to be expected. The contras and their masters in the Reagan Adminstration are worried that Linder’s death may cause Congress to vote against Reagan’s request for another $105 million in contra aid. Many members of Congress apparently can live with their consciences knowing that the contras they have funded kill innocent Nicaraguan civilians, but far fewer can rationalize giving aid to men who murder U.S. citizens.

WILLIAM BOTHAMLEY

San Diego