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Appendix E Letter from the Delegation to President Siad Barre The following letter was sent to President Siad Barre by the members of the delegation to Somalia on the last day of their visit, November 1, 1987. No answer had been received by the time this report was completed. 59
61 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 2101 CONSTITUTION AVENUE WASHINGTON, D.C. 20418 NOVEMBER 1, 1987 President Moharaed Siad Barre President of the Republic Somali Democratic Republic Your Excellency: We are a group of four U.S. citizens representing the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine. We have been guests in your country for one week. We came on a mission of inquiry of the Committees on Human Rights of the two institutions. The Committees have received reliable reports of the imprisonment of Somali colleagues in science, medicine, and engineering. We came to obtain accurate information from both the government authorities and these prisoners about the circumstances and conditions of their imprisonment. We regret that, although we were able to speak with government authorities, we were not able to meet with the prisoners and must therefore rely on second-hand information for our report. We had also hoped to see you, your excellency, during our visit, and regret that it was not possible for you to receive us. Nevertheless, we want to convey to you the concerns of the international community of scientists. Based on the information available to us, it appears that the persons listed below are prisoners of conscience who have been held in custody for more than five years.
62 We ask you to show clemency for these men. We make this request on humanitarian grounds and for the international community of scientists and scholars. We hope that you will heed this appeal and grant their release. It is the view of the scientific community that these colleagues deserve the opportunity to resume their good works in science, engineering, medicine, and education. This opportunity, moreover, will be of great benefit to your country. The following persons are the object of our appeal: Aden Yusuf Aboker Osman Abshir Abdelleh Mohamed Barus [Barud] Ali Mohamed H. Mohamoud Omer Hashi Farah Hussein Osman Abdi Megag Aden Warsama Said Mohamed Aden Sheikh Mohamoud Sheikh Hassan Tani Abdi Ismail Younis [Yunis] Abdillahi Ali Yusuf We are, of course, concerned about the human rights of all individuals around the world, but the members of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine specifically seek protection of human rights for their colleagues because of our unique competence and responsibility in these specific areas. We appreciate having received permission to come to your country and have enjoyed the opportunity for fruitful exchanges of ideas with our professional colleagues and students at the Somali National University. We regret that we were not able to personally convey to you our concerns and our requests for clemency.
63 We would appreciate your informing the President of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Frank Press, of any acts of clemency concerning the individuals mentioned above. We would want to include such action in the published report of our visit. Yours sincerely, For the Committees on Human Rights of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine [signatures] Francisco J. Ayala Carol Corillon M. Alfred Haynes Lawrence Klein
