The Washington based Intelsat cooperation gave a firm assurance to Sri Lanka's ambassador in Washington DC, Bernard Goonetileke, that it would take all possible steps to stop Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) from broadcasting its propaganda over their satellite.
During the last few days it became a great controversy that a Washington based communication company was beaming LTTE propaganda , while the State Department considers the group a foreign terrorist group.
The New York based www.tothecenter.com website published a lengthy article pointing out the fact.
In a statement the Intelsat Corporation said, " "Intelsat does not tolerate terrorists or others operating illegally on it satellites. Since we first learned of the LTTE's signal piracy, we have been actively pursuing a number of technical alternatives to halt the transmissions. We are clear in our resolve to ending this terrorist organization's unauthorized use of our satellite."
In a telephone interview Intelsat's General Counseller Phillip Spector told this correspondent that his corporation would do "Every possible thing to turnoff the LTTE (sponsored national Television of Tamil Eelam and Voice of the Tigers radio program) as soon as possible" from their satellite.
Phillip Spector maintained the position of the corporation that the LTTE was pirating an empty transpondence frequency of their Satellite 12 for the broadcasts of the terrorist organization.
He said it was actually stealing the spaces of the Satellite called it piracy. Asked , whether Al Queda, a terrorist organization could use the same satellite for the purpose of an attack against the United States Phillip Spector said, it was only a hypothetical situation. But when pressed for an answer Spector said it was technically possible.
Although our investigations direct us to a client of Intelsat, who has helped the LTTE to obtain the satellite space Phillip Spector denied that any one of their clients has re-sold their space to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Phillip Spector said , "No customer is authorized to sell their frequency," to anybody else and maintained it was an empty space the LTTE was using. Spector denied earlier published newspaper reports that Inelsat has done business with Hezbollah, another terrorist group, and insisted , "Not in my time."
While refusing to give a date for turning off the LTTE the Intelsat lawyer said "if you understand the satellite technology it is quite a complex task and it will be done as soon as possible."
The following is the press release issued by the Intelsat:
"Intelsat, the leading provider of global satellite communications, today issued a statement with regard to the unauthorized use of one of its satellites by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a Sri Lanka-based terrorist group. The US State Department lists the LTTE as a foreign terrorist organization.
"Intelsat officials, including its technical experts, met with Sri Lanka 's Ambassador to the United States , Bernard Goonetilleke, on 10 April to discuss the steps Intelsat is taking to address the unauthorized use of one of its satellites by the LTTE. During the meeting, Intelsat's General Counsel, Phillip Spector, said: "Intelsat does not tolerate terrorists or others operating illegally on it satellites. Since we first learned of the LTTE's signal piracy, we have been actively pursuing a number of technical alternatives to halt the transmissions. We are clear in our resolve to ending this terrorist organization's unauthorized use of our satellite."
"The Sri Lanka Embassy and Intelsat agree that these illegal transmissions by the LTTE are a violation of Sri Lankan and US laws. "Following the discussion, Ambassador Goonetilleke said: "I am satisfied that Intelsat is taking these unauthorized transmissions very seriously, and believe it would do all that it can to stop the terrorist transmissions. I am confident that Intelsat will continue to cooperate with Sri Lankan authorities in this matter."
About Intelsat
"Intelsat is the largest provider of fixed satellite services (FSS) worldwide and is the leading provider of these services to each of the media, network services and government customer sectors, enabling people and businesses everywhere constant access to information and entertainment. Intelsat offers customers a greater business potential by providing them access to unrivaled resources with ease of business and peace of mind. Our services are utilized by an extensive customer base, including some of the world's leading media and communications companies, multinational corporations, Internet service providers and government/military organizations. Real-time, constant communication with people anywhere in the world is closer, by far."
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