fiJUULfnl BOARD OF DIRECTORS 'T* . New York, NY 10168-1289 •JAMES C. STRICKLER, M.D. Chairman, Executive Committee Tel: (212)551-3000 Fax:(212)551-3180 E-mail:[email protected] •REYNOLD LEVY May 28, 1999 President and Chief Executive Officer ROBERT P. DE VECCHI President Emeritus *PETER W. WEISS Treasurer Dear Mr. Secretary General: •GEORGE F. HRITZ Counsel •CHARLES STERNBERG Secretary As the largest implementing partner of the United Nations High •NANCY STARR Assistant Secretary Commissioner for Refugees and in many other respects, the International •MORTON ABRAMOWITZ Rescue Committee has long enjoyed a warm relationship with the United ERNESTO ALVAREZ F. WILLIAM BARNETT Nations. Given these strong ties, I would like to formally request the •ALAN BATKIN GEORGETTE BENNETT-TANENBAUM •GEORGE BIDDLE assistance of the Unitejd Nations in helping to notify authorities in the Federal •VERA BLINKEN W. MICHAEL BLUMENTHAL Republic of Yugoslavia of the IRC' s intention to airdrop food and other •BEVERLEE BRUCE NESTOR CARBONELL essential supplies to the displaced people of Kosovo. ROBERT M. GOTTEN JODIE EASTMAN KATHERINE G. FARLEY SANDRA FELDMAN I have taken the liberty of enclosing a copy of the IRC's formal notification THEODORE J. FORSTMANN •TOM GERETY hand-delivered this morning to Yugoslavia's Ambassador to the United HENRY GRUNWALD MORTON I. HAMBURG Nations, Mr. Vladislav Jovanovic. RICHARD HOLBROOKE •MARVIN JOSEPHSON ALTON KASTNER IRENA KIRXLAND The IRC believes that a communication from your representative in Belgrade HENRY A. KISSINGER THOMAS G. LABRECQUE TOM LANTOS supportive of this airdrop activity would materially advance our mutual THEODORE LI, M.D. ROBERT E. MARKS objective of assisting the maximum number of displaced people and helping to •LUCRETIA MARTIN ROMAN MARTINEZ IV ensure the safety of these flights. KATIMARTON JAY MAZUR W. ALLEN MOORE DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN I respectfully request your assistance as soon as possible and warmly thank ROBERT B. OAKLEY SARAH O'HAGAN you for your consideration. •LIONEL OLMER •CATHERINE O'NEILL CLAIBORNE PELL DAVID L. PHILLIPS erely, DAVID N. PINCUS •JOHN RICHARDSON JAY SCHULBERG ISADORE SCOTT JACK SHEQNKMAN •DOLORES C. SMITHIES. STEPHEN J. SOLARZ H. PETER STERN LOUIS W. SULLIVAN, M.D. Reynold Levy •LEE COPLEY THAW JOHN TRAIN President •GEORGIA TRAVERS WILLIAM J. vanden HEUVEL 'DANIEL WEINER. M.D. EDWIN J. WESELY His Excellency Kofi Annan JOSH S. WESTON ELE WTESEL Secretary General, United Nations •JONATHAN WTESNER GUY P. WYSER-PRATTE United Nations •Executive Committee SENIOR STAFF New York, NY 10017 SHEPPffi ABRAMOWITZ Vice President, Government Relations EDWARD P. BLIGH Enclosure Vice President, Communications KATHLEEN BURCH Vice President, Development ROBERT J.CAREY Vice President, Resettlement Afghanistan Albania Austria Azerbaijan Bosnia-Hercegovina Burundi Congo-Brazzaville Coted'Ivoire Croatia RICHARD LA ROCHE Democratic Republic of Congo Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Georgia Guinea Guinea-Bissau Hungary Italy Kenya Vice President, Chief Financial Officer Liberia Pakistan Rwanda Sierra Leone Somalia Spain Sudan Switzerland Tanzania Thailand Uganda United Kingdom LOUISE SHEA Vice President, Human Resources Atlanta Boston Charlottesville Dallas Los Angeles Miami New York City Phoenix Salt Lake City San Diego BARBARA SMITH San Francisco San Jose Seattle Washington, D.C. West New York, N.J. Vice President, Overseas Programs SUSSAN KHOZOUR] Contributions to the International Rescue Committee, Inc. are tax deductible. Director, International Development BOARD OF DIRECTORS 'JOHN C. WHITEHEAD INTERNATIONAL Chairman \ •LEO CHERNE Chairman Emeritus RESCUE •WINSTON LORD Vice Chairman UV ULLMANN COMMITTEE Vice Cliairman. International •JAMES C. STRICKLER. M.D. 122 East 42nd Street • New York. NY 10168-1289 Chairman, Executive Committee Tel: (212) 551-3000 Fax:(212)551-3180 E-mail:[email protected] •REYNOLD LEVY President and Chief Executive Officer May 28,1999 ROBERT P. DEVECCH1 President Emeritus •PETER W. WEISS Dear Ambassador Jovanovic: Treasurer •GEORGE F.HRTTZ Counsel The International Rescue Committee (IRC) wishes to inform the Government of the Federal •CHARLES STERNBERG Secretary Republic of Yugoslavia of its intention to commence humanitarian airdrops inside Kosovo. •NANCY STARR The purpose of these airdrops will be to feed needy internally displaced civilians in the Assistant Secretary province. •MORTON ABRAMOWTTZ ERNESTO ALVAREZ F. WILLIAM BARMETT •/>' -XBATKIN The two planes used to drop the food will be Antanov-26s flown bv a Moldovan crew. The GtGKCE iIE i—A.Nhr. -1rt.i'ENBAUM •GEORGE BIDDLE planes will be white in color and have orange stripes on their fuselage and wings as identifying •VERABLINKEN W. MICHAEL BLUMENTHAL marks. The tails of the plane will be marked with the logo of the IRC as indicated at the top of •BEVERLEE BRUCE NESTOR CARBONELL this letter. Tail numbers are ER-AEK and ER-AFF. The times of subsequent flights will be ROBERT M. COTTEN JODIE EASTMAN communicated through the Yugoslav Mission to the United Nations in New York 24 hours KATHERINE G. FARLEY SANDRA FELDMAN prior to each flight. THEODORE J. FORSTMANN •TOMGERETY HENRY GRUNWALD The cargo will be inspected by Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS), a Swiss cargo MORTON I. HAMBURG RICHARD HOLBROOKE inspection firm frequently used by the UN World Food Program. SGS will inspect all cargo •MARVIN JOSEPHSON ALTON KASTNER prior to each flight in order to certify that it is exclusively humanitarian. We will invite a IRENA KIRKLAND HENRY A. KISSINGER representative of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Rome to also inspect the cargo. In addition, THOMAS G. LABRECQUE TOM LANTOS the media will be invited to film the loading of these flights. The rations will be dropped using THEODORE U. M.D. ROBERT E. MARKS a "flutter" technique in which the rations are separated from the pallet and each other when the •LUCRETIA MARTIN cargo is released into the air stream in flight. Once dispersed, the individual rations fall to the ROMAN MARTINEZ IV KATIMARTON ground. JAYMAZUR W. ALLEN MOORE DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN ROBERT B.OAKLEY The IRC has conducted humanitarian programs in Yugoslavia, Croatia, and Bosnia- SARAH O'HAGAN •LIONEL OLMER Herzegovina since 1991. Our history in the Balkans is one of providing humanitarian •CATHERINE O'NEILL CLAJBORNE PELL assistance based on need, without regard to political affiliation or ethnicity. We therefore trust DAVID L. PHILLIPS DAVID N. PINCUS that our efforts to feed needy civilians in Kosovo will go unimpeded and unharmed. •JOHN RICHARDSON JAY SCHULBERG ISADORE SCOTT •ely yours, JACK SHEINKMAN •DOLORES C. SMITHIES STEPHEN J. SOLARZ H. PETER STERN LOUIS W. SULLIVAN, M.D. •LEE COPLEY THAW JOHN TRAIN •GEORGIA TRAVERS . International Rescue Committee WILLIAM J. vanden HEUVEL •DANIEL WEINER, M.D. EDWINJ.WESELY' JOSH S. WESTON Mr. tla ELIE WIESEL •JONATHAN WESNER Head ofl GUY P. WYSER-PRATTE Mission.oftfee-Eederal Republic •Executive Committee SENIOR STAFF of Yugoslavia to the United Nations SHEPPE ABRAMOW7TZ 854 Fifth Avenue Vice President. Government Relations New York, NY 10021 EDWARD P. BLIGH Vice President, Communications KATHLEEN BURCH Vice Prt'sidcnt, Development ROBERT J.CAREY Vice President. Resettlement Afghanistan Albania Austria Azerbaijan Bosnia-Hercegovina Burundi Congo-Brazzaville Cote cTIvoire Croatia RlCHAltD LA ROCHE Democratic Republic of Congo Federal Republic; of Yugoslavia Georgia Guinea Guinea-Bissau Hungary Italy Kenya \'cf President, Chief Financial Officer Liberia Pakistan Rwandn Sierni Leone Somalia Spnin Sudan Switzerland Tanzania Iriaiiand Uganda United Kingdom LOUISE SHEA 1 Vice PfL'siJ-.-n,'. Human Resources ,".'.!.•.-:* n-^fon Charlotte ;viHe Dallas Los Angeles Miami New York Cu> Fhocni . S .!'. Lake Citv San Diego BARBARA SMITH San Franu-vco Sari Jose Scuttle Wushinv.nn. D.C. \VL-st New York. N.J. Vice f r?siden;. Overseas Provram.^ SUSSAN KHOZOUR1 Contributions to the Interaaiional Rescue Committee, Inc. are tu.\ deductible. m>•>'.•:!