Loral Space and Communication Ltd. has notified at least one Yugoslavian Internet Service Provider (ISP) that it intends to sever the ISP's satellite link to the Internet in accordance with the United States' embargo against that country. But would Loral have been so quick if it weren't already on Congress' bad side over Chinese espionage?
Yugoslav ISP Beonet says it was notified on March 12 by Loral that the satellite link would be dropped.
Mack Jeffrey, senior director of public relations for Loral, an international satellite communications company, said the notification came in accordance with an executive order issued on April 30 by President Clinton, in which the terms of the embargo against Yugoslavia were detailed. The order prohibits the export to Yugoslavia "of any goods (including petroleum and petroleum products), software, technology (including technical data), or services."
According to Bane Andjelich of Beograd.com, there are five "tier one" ISPs serving Yugoslavia, two of which would be affected by a satellite shutdown. Andjelich, who lives in Canada but is in close contact with the Internet providers in Yugoslavia, says some other providers plug into the Internet via a fiber optic line which runs over land to the Netherlands.
But there may be more to Loral's sudden interest in a two-week-old directive. In a report released by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on May 7, Loral is one of the companies accused of allowing the Chinese government access to sensitive missile technology. The Washington Post quotes Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), chairman of the committee, as saying, "National security ... took a back seat to making a buck." Loral may be looking to win back some credibility by falling into step with U.S. interests on this one.
With NATO attacking television stations inside Yugoslavia, the Internet is one of the few ways people inside Yugoslavia can get information, particularly from sources independent of the Milosevic regime. As the folks at Beonet put it: "We somehow got used to air-raid sirens, bombings, and threats of invasion, but we don't know how we're going to survive without the Internet."
Beonet has set up a website with the latest information on the potential service cut: http://www.shutdown.beonet.yu/
Taken aback by the outpouring of protest over the issue, Jeffrey says the company is evaluating the situation in consultation with the U.S. Treasury Department. "We recognize that what we thought was a simple matter has more sides to it," Jeffrey said. "We want to do the right thing." He said the company will wait to hear back from the Treasury Department on whether the new regulation applies before taking action. 
