Dear Editor

...That danger might have been averted it the ailing President Tito had been willing to do what Franco (his counterpart at the other end of the ideological spectrum) did in Spain before his demise, and what Milovan Djilas proposed recently in the New York Tunes namely, introduce reforms to gradually transform his regime into a genuine democracy, thus making it an integral part of tree Europe...

...If Menges was referring to the GRAPO (First of October Antifascist Group), it must be said, to avoid misunderstanding, that this organization acts all over Spain Its aim is to convert the country into a Communist state, and it has little support from the people Madnd Fernando Bellen PtREz Constantrne C Menges replies The good news in Fernando Bellen Perez letter is that the Movement for the Independence of the Canary Islands and other separatist-terrorist organizations seem to have passed from the scene in Spain However, experts disagree about whether the MPAIAC and the other regional terrorist organizations outside of the Basque area simply dormant or gone for good In this connection it is worth noting that the government of Colombia proudly stated last year that the Left-terrorist group M19 currently holding 14 ambassadors hostage in Bogota had been eliminated...

...GRAPO wiscoirecfly described as Lar-Left terrorist organization Though A has become much worker unfortunately its violence still pligues Spun The most salient aspect only article should be remembered LT \ the Basque icrionsi organi /alum, has received sigrilicant help from Comliiumsi sources and seeks to provoke \ Right wing coup in oidci to bung dovwi Spanish dcmociley...

...Belgrade's feud with Stalin, therefore, will not be a primary factor in determining Soviet action after Tito Yugoslavia is vulnerable to the violent manifestations of Moscow's conceptual hegeinonism as long as it maintains a commitment to the principles of Leninism-a potentially fatal predilection that offers theoretical grounds for the Soviet ideologues to "save" it And the danger of this happening will remain particularly high while Mikhail Suslov, the real chief-commissar behind the ailing Brezhnev, dominates the Politburo...

...New York City Laszlo T Kiss Spanish Terrorism I would like to clear up an inaccuracy in Constantine C Menges- article on the current political situation in Spain ("Behind the Basque Terrorism," NL, November 19, 1979), which has just come to my attention...

...Djilas Milovan Djilas, usually an extraordinarily perceptive analyst of the Soviet system, displays personal confusion in his article, "Confusions about Afghanistan" (NL, February 25) To Djilas, Soviet strategy and expansion into Afghanistan is the first step toward control of Near East oil and securing an outlet to the Indian Ocean-leading ultimately to the domination of Europe...

...Tito's Mistake 1 would like to add a few slightly differing thoughts to Mihajlo Mihajlov's very fine article, "Fear and Hope in Yugoslavia" (NL, February II) I believe Yugoslavia will almost certainly face the threat of a Soviet invasion some months after Tito's death...

...The orderly transformation of Yugoslavia into a viable democracy would not only have defused the crisis atmosphere that prevails among the country's deeply divided nationalities, it would also have provided them with a powerful impetus for-and lull stake in-defending their homeland preserving the independence of f heir elected government The stafus quo simply does not generate the cohesive force the hcterogcneous Yugoslavs need to withstand Soviet pressure or an all-out attack The present enemy, moreover is tar more formidable than the one laced during World War 11 The Partisans I ought some four to six German divisions then, now the Kremlin could attack with the bulk of its vast armies in Europe and continue the siege is long as necessaty...

...have rendered completely absurd the "Brezhnev doctrine" as an excuse for forcing Yugoslavia back into the Soviet orbit The Kremlin leaders invoke that doctrine, not as Stalin's heirs, but as the upholders of Lenin's notion that the global process of revolution is irreversible...

...If Afghanistan is a stepping-stone, why are the Soviets already hinting at withdrawal...

...Dear Editor Soviet Fears While reading Peter Kenez' "What Russia Is Reading about Afghanistan" (NL, February 11), I noted a great similarity between [he Soviet propaganda handed out to the public in 1939, when the Soviet Union invaded Finland, and the present propaganda concocted to explain the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan Then, as now, the Kremlin claimed it was necessary to send troops into a neighboring country for "reasons of security " While in 1939, the USSR was faced with the danger of Nazi attack, today the Kremlin fears the U S , China and the nato countries There is no doubt that the Soviet leaders, expecting an all-out invasion from the East, West and the Persian Gulf area, felt they had to secure Afghanistan as a buffer state Evidently, the USSR is preparing for a defensive war, just as it did in 1939 Fhnston, Calif L Palmer...

...Long-term Soviet designs on the Middle East and the West do not account for the thrust into Afghanistan Pomona, N Y Elliot A Cohen...

...Border psychosis explains their intentions Surely the Russians were concerned that unseating of the Communist-supported Hafizullah Amin government in Kabul, even if a remote possibility, would set a worrisome precedent Soviet conflict managers fear uncertainty...

...Before his time ran out, Tito should have recognized that he faced a critical choice Either he had to compromise with the democratic Djilas-Mihajlov faction, which would have safeguarded the essence of his Socialist ideals and assured the anti Fascist character of the emerging democracy, or he had to accept the responsibility for the total destruction of his ideological heritage...

...Menges speaks of a reduction in the fervor of the various terrorist organizations ostensibly fighting for the independence of the Basque provinces, Catalan Galicia, the Canary Islands, and Andalucia ' In fact, there are no nationalist-terrorist groups in Catalonia, Galicia or Andalucia And the one organization that was active in the Canary Islands, the MP AI AC (Movement for the Independence of the Canary Archipelago), virtually ceased operations when its leader, Antonio Cubillo, was publicly eliminated a year ago...

...Puhaps most important demotati/ation would The New Leader welcomes comment and criticism on an> of its features, but letters should not exceed 300 words...