Monica Somocurcio's letter (Collegian Jan. 24) makes several assertions about Panama which deserve comment. She maintains that Manuel Noriega enjoyed sizable support among the Panamanian people; yet there is much evidence to the contrary.

In June 1987 public discontent with Noriega and the corrupt policies of his government was made manifest in the form of strikes and demonstrations. One result of the months of demonstrations was the formation of the National Civic Crusade, a broad coalition of business, labor and community groups which called for Noriega to step down from power.

A public opinion poll taken the same year revealed that a full 75 percent of the Panamanian people were in favor of his leaving office.

Ms. Somocurcio seeks to portray the Dignity Battalions as humble bands of civic-minded campesinos whose sole aim was self-defense against the "Yanqui" aggressors. Such a benign view of this loathed paramilitary group necessarily ignores their brutal attacks on the opposition candidates and supporters during the election.

And, lest one comes to believe that such behavior was condoned by other Latin American countries, it is appropriate to recall that the Organization of American States issued a condemnation of election abuses, and approved a resolution aimed at transferring power by democratic means while respecting the sovereign rights of the Panamanian people.

If relative stability in the country is to prevail, what positive role could be assumed by a Noriega-appointed canal administrator? Given Noriega's increasingly bellicosity toward the United States and the Panamanian people's massive rejection of his legitimacy to rule, such an arrangement could clearly have led to more corruption and instability.

Not only was this not in the interest of the United States, it would have been more detrimental to the Panamanians themselves, for whom the canal has much more economic significance.

Calls for the immediate release of Noriega and his cohorts remind one vaguely of the quixotic tales of Cervantes, and are unlikely to garner much sympathy outside of places like the UN.

Although I do not share the views expressed in Ms. Somocurcio's letter, I endorsed her right to make those views known. And, as I am certain she appreciates, the same vilified U.S. troops would fight to the death to preserve that right.