Intelsat stops LTTE beam to Europe, Asia

US: Intelsat has shut down a satellite transponder used illegally by the LTTE to broadcast propaganda radio and TV programmes.

The US based satellite company has terminated the unauthorised use of one of its satellites, Intelsat 12, by the LTTE for its TV and radio transmissions to Europe and Asia, confirmed the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Intelsat Ltd., Phillip Spector.

Intelsat has informed Rajika Jayatilake, Counsellor (Information) at the Sri Lanka Embassy in Washington DC, that Intelsat Ltd had, over the April 21/22 weekend, shut down the transponder which the LTTE had used for its transmissions.

The termination follows a meeting between Intelsat executives and Ambassador Bernard Goonetilleke two weeks ago. After the meeting, Spector said: “Intelsat does not tolerate terrorists or others operating illegally on its 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 organisation’s unauthorised use of our satellite.”

The LTTE is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation by the U.S.Spector said the position of the corporation was that the LTTE was pirating an empty transponder frequency of their Satellite 12 for the broadcasts. He said it was actually stealing the space of the satellite and called it piracy.

“The Sri Lanka Embassy and Intelsat agree that these illegal transmissions by the LTTE are a violation of Sri Lankan and US laws.”

Sri Lanka’s telecommunications authorities, in March 2007, had informed CEO of Intelsat Ltd., David McGlade, that the LTTE was using Intelsat 12 for its TV and radio transmissions to Europe and Asia.

McGlade had written back, saying that Intelsat Ltd., was taking “appropriate steps to prevent further theft of Intelsat’s satellite capacity” by the LTTE.

Thereafter, Sri Lanka made representations on this matter, at a diplomatic level, at the 31st Extraordinary Meeting of International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO) in Paris, France, held from March 20-23, 2007. Following this, in another communication to Sri Lanka telecommunications authorities, McGlade promised to do what they could to “halt the offending transmissions.”

The Sri Lanka Embassy in Washington DC intervened in the issue in April.

Since March 2005, the LTTE had been transmitting TV and radio programs through Europe Star 1 satellite owned by French satellite provider Alcatel. PanAmSat, a satellite operator headquartered in Wilton, Connecticut in the U.S., acquired Europe Star 1 satellite in July 2005.

In July 2006, Intelsat Ltd., acquired PanAmSat, following which Europe Star 1 satellite was renamed Intelsat 12. The programs that the LTTE had been transmitting through Europe Star 1, continued uninterrupted even after Intelsat Ltd acquired the satellite.

According to Embassy officials, the US Department of State and the Department of Justice had both been informed that a terrorist group designated by the U.S. as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), was using a satellite owned by a US based satellite company to transmit their TV and radio programs to Europe and Asia.