Criticizing Cristiani

I admit to being one of the "hand-wringers" this article disparages. I was filled with dire predictions that when Cristiani was elected, land reforms would be canceled. They haven't been canceled, but they have been thwarted: 350,000 farmers are trying to get land but applications for loans have been delayed past planting time, assuring no harvest.My fears of military escalations were also confirmed. In June 1991, even as the peace negotiations were in progress, the military stepped up attacks, not on the guerrillas, but on rural communities; two hundred farmers were forcefully removed from the community of La Amulunga. The two encounters the writer had with President Cristiani were not conducive to in-depth discussions. May I suggest that he talk to someone besides Mr. Cristiani - perhaps one of the farmers - and that he read something besides the State Department's report on conditions in El Salvador - perhaps reports by nongovernmental human rights organizations. Amnesty International's annual report shows that during the civil war thousands of civilians were killed by government forces, including several in 1990. Yvette Zinaman, Rochester, N.Y.

Letters are welcome. Only a selection can be published, subject to condensation, and none acknowledged. Please address them to "Readers Write," One Norway St., Boston, MA 02115.