വിക്കിലീക്സ് : കൊക്കക്കോള, പെപ്സിക്കോള, പ്ലാച്ചിമട സമരങ്ങളും ഇടതുപക്ഷവും

AFTER CLOSING COKE, KERALA ACTIVISTS TARGET PEPSI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENNAI 000314

SUBJECT: AFTER CLOSING COKE, KERALA ACTIVISTS TARGET PEPSI

REFS:  (A) 06 CHENNAI 0109, (B) 05 CHENNAI 2087

Link: http://wikileaks.org/cable/2007/05/07CHENNAI314.html

¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On April 10, Pepsi won a four-year court battle  for survival in Kerala.  But the legal victory has spurred a battle  on another front:  a virulent media campaign directed against it.  A
similar campaign succeeded in locking out Coca Cola in 2004, despite  court verdicts in Coke's favor.  Pepsi's case is somewhat different. Unlike Coke, Pepsi's Kerala plant is located in an industrial park
which offers legal protection from hostile village councils. Nonetheless, activists opposed to multinational corporations are clamoring for government action to close down Pepsi, but the state
government is divided on the advisability of such a move. 

END SUMMARY.
 

COKE'S EXPERIENCE: CAUGHT ON THE WRONG SIDE OF POLITICS


¶2. (SBU) When Coke began production in Kerala in 2000, a leftist  coalition led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) governed the state.  A year later Kerala voted out the CPI(M) coalition and Congress took power.  Local resentment over a shortage of drinking water in the drought-prone villages around Coke's premises soon led to regular agitations against the company.  In April 2003, the panchayat (village council) of a nearby village ruled by the leftist Janata Dal party refused to renew Coke's license.  Despite the panchayat's ruling, Coke was able to continue operations for almost a year due to the support of the Congress-led state government and the Kerala High Court.  But, the Congress-led state government reversed itself in February 2004 and barred Coke from drawing groundwater, effectively ordering the plant to cease operations.  In April 2005, Coke obtained a High Court verdict in its favor, which permitted the use of up to 500,000 liters of water daily.

¶3. (SBU) In May 2006, the CPI(M) returned to power with Coke's fiercest opponent, V.S. Achuthanandan, as Chief Minister.  When an Indian nongovernmental organization alleged in August 2006 that Coke and Pepsi contained high levels of pesticides, Achuthananandan's government promptly banned the production and sale of both companies' products.  Though it was not actually producing in the state, Coke was forced to halt Kerala sales of product it was bringing in from neighboring Tamil Nadu.  The Kerala High Court, however, rescinded the government order in September 2006, allowing both companies to resume sales of their products in Kerala.

¶4. (SBU) "Technically, we can restart production because the panchayat has given us a conditional license following the April 2005 High Court order," said Coke's General Manager Vikas Kochar. But Kochar added that Coke has not restarted production and has no plans to do so because of the prevailing hostility of the local community.  

Appeals against the High Court order filed by the panchayat and the state government are pending in the Indian Supreme Court.  In addition, the state's Pollution Control Board repeatedly denied Coke environmental clearance on the grounds that the factory's effluent allegedly contains heavy metals.  Having given up hope of restarting production in the near future, Coke has shifted one of the three production lines out of the state and has either retired or redeployed almost the entire staff.  According to Kochar, Coke has also stopped the free supply of drinking water to the neighboring villages.

WITH COKE GONE PEPSI FINDS ITSELF IN THE CROSSHAIRS


¶5. (SBU) While Coke was bearing the brunt of leftist opposition, Pepsi managed to quietly continue doing business.  Unlike Coke, Pepsi's facility is located within an industrial park, which provides it protection against the jurisdiction of the local panchayat.  Undeterred by this legal impediment, the panchayat still canceled Pepsi's license in 2003.  After a four year legal battle, during which Pepsi operated under a stay of the cancellation, the Kerala High Court ruled in April 2007 that the panchayat had no right to cancel the license of a factory located in a notified industrial area under the terms of the Industrial Township Area Development Act of 1999.  (NOTE:  The Act was enacted with cases such as Pepsi's in mind:  to protect investors from cumbersome licensing procedures and hostile bureaucracy it exempted industrial parks from the purview of the panchayats.  END NOTE.)

¶6. (SBU) The unambiguous court verdict did not end the matter.  In fact, it has only served to rile Pepsi's critics.  Janata Dal Member of Parliament, M.P. Veerendrakumar, whose family runs one of Kerala's leading daily newspapers, is spearheading an anti-Pepsi media campaign.  Chief Minister Achuthanandan, whose district is in the area of Pepsi' plant, reacted to the court verdict by saying the panchayat's rights would be restored, and he reportedly indicated that the government would consider amending the Industrial Township Area Development Act.

¶7. (SBU) The architect of the Industrial Township Area Development Act told post that he believes that chances of amending the law are remote, although he added that one cannot be too sure given the CPI(M)'s "crazy leadership."  According to journalists, serious differences still persist between the Department of Industries and the Department of Local Administration (which governs the panchayats) on the issue.  They point out that the Advocate General's office received conflicting directions from these departments, one supporting the company and the other the panchayat. The journalists told post that the Department of Industries is aware that any attempt to restore the panchayat's right to cancel industrial licenses at will would undermine the attractiveness of its industrial parks and expose investors, particularly in the manufacturing sector, to the whims of local politicians.

¶8. (SBU) COMMENT: The judiciary seems to be Coke and Pepsi's only reliable ally in all of Kerala.  But Coke's experience shows that judicial verdicts alone are not sufficient to carry the day in Kerala's rough and tumble political environment.  Although Pepsi's location in an industrial park afforded it the support of the state's Department of Industries, the company still faces a threat to its ability to do business in Kerala.  Companies, particularly multinationals, setting up operations in Kerala will face the possibility of such problems until Kerala's governing class changes its mindset and focuses on the need to create more jobs within the state.  

END COMMENT.

HOPPER

വിക്കി ലീക്സ് : ആര്‍ലെന്‍ സ്പെക്റ്ററിന്റെ സന്ദര്‍ശനം - വി കെ ബാലി, മനോരമ എഡിറ്റോറിയല്‍ ബോര്‍ഡ്, അച്യുതാനന്ദന്‍ എന്നിവരുമായി കൂടിക്കാഴ്ച

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 CHENNAI 000054 SIPDIS

SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A

SUBJECT: CODEL SPECTER IN SOUTH INDIA: COMMUNISTS, COMPUTERS AND CULTURE

¶1. (U) Summary: During a December 17-22 visit to the south Indian states of Kerala and Karnataka, Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania) viewed first-hand India's high-tech and business boom, met with judicial officials and journalists, and experienced traditional culture and politics, the latter in a lively meeting with Kerala's communist Chief Minister. Meeting topics included the war in Iraq, the U.S.-India civil nuclear accord, the impact of out-sourcing on U.S. jobs, and judicial activism and reform. The south India destinations for Senator Specter and his small delegation were Kochi and Thiruvananathapuram, the commercial and political capitals of Kerala, and Bangalore, the main city of neighboring Karnataka. End summary.

Chief Minister Revisits the Cold War


¶2. (SBU) On December 21 in Thiruvananthapuram (which is also still known by its former name, Trivandrum), the capital of Kerala, Senator Specter, joined by Chennai Principal Officer Hopper, met with Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan (Communist Party of India-Marxist), the state's highest elected official. 

Senator Specter asked if the Chief Minister carries out Marxist doctrine in governing Kerala. Achuthanandan said that in Kerala, like in West Bengal and Tripura, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) rules in coalition with other leftist, like-minded, but not necessarily Marxist parties. He nevertheless is guided by the CPI-M election manifesto prepared for the early 2006 state election, and he characterized his government's policies as "left democratic." Achuthanandan said that this means abolishing a "feudal system" of land ownership in which some wealthy people owned 50,000 acres of land they did not use while poor farmers had to make do with a tenth of one acre. He said his government's land reform program operates under the principles of "land to the tiller" and debt forgiveness for poor farmers. Those willing to work on government-owned land pay nominal rent for 12 years and then receive full ownership. 

Achuthanandan said that one million farmers have now received land under this program and hundreds of thousands have been freed from bonded labor. He added that education and health care were also priorities for his government. He claimed that every child has access to 12 years of free education and that 50 percent of the seats in universities are reserved for students from socially and economically disadvantaged segments of society. He said health care is universal and free and is administered at the village level.

¶3. (SBU) Senator Specter also asked about the application of Marxist theory in the wider world where so many communist regimes have been discredited and have fallen. Achuthanandan responded that "the Soviet Union had been a huge success for 75 years but collapsed in the end because of wrong practices and the actions of the CIA." He said that even Russian President Putin, though not a communist, "is engaged in a struggle against the United States." Achuthanandan claimed that "despite U.S. efforts to encourage counter-revolutionaries" in China during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 and "despite 180 attempts by the CIA to kill Castro in Cuba," communism is flourishing in those countries as well as in North Korea and Vietnam.

¶4. (SBU) Achuthanandan then asked a number of rhetorical questions: "How many democratically elected leaders have been assassinated by the U.S. government?" "How can the United States justify attacking Iraq?" "Why does the U.S. not free Saddam Hussein after a farcical trial?" Achuthanandan also claimed, "Saddam in his entire life used a fraction of the weapons of mass destruction that the U.S. used in Vietnam." Senator Specter pointed out that Saddam had used WMD against Iranians and Iraqis alike, that U.S. intelligence, although later proved wrong, pointed to continuing stockpiles of WMD, and that Saddam had been proved in Iraqi courts to have tortured and murdered his own people and must now face Iraqi justice. Senator Specter added that a precipitous withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq would result in even more killing. The sometimes contentious discussion between the Senator and Chief Minister ended with the Chief Minister's backhanded comment: "We don't like Bush, but we are with the American people."

Technology and Culture in Thiruvananthapuram


¶5. (U) Senator Specter visited U.S. Technologies, a California-based information technology corporation with a large software development and customer support facility in Thiruvananthapuram's "Techno-Park." U.S. Technologies made a presentation highlighting the core values and features of the company, including its information technology consulting and development services to industry verticals such as healthcare, retail financial services, and manufacturing utilities and logistics. When the U.S. Technologies briefer proudly pointed out that Independence Healthcare in Philadelphia is one of the many U.S. companies supported from the Kerala office, Senator Specter asked about the number and location of employees who were doing CHENNAI 00000054 002 OF 003 that work before U.S. Technologies was engaged.

¶6. (U) The head of the Travancore royal family, who were the pre-Indian independence rulers of the area, Marthanda Varma Maharaja, along with his sister Lakshmi Bai and their immediate family members, received Senator Specter at the Kowdiar Palace and discussed the history and culture of Kerala. The erudition of the Kerala royal family was in rich display, as much as the religious and cultural heritage of the state, deeply impressing Senator Specter and the accompanying visitors. Senator Specter also visited the art gallery housing many of the painting of Raja Ravi Varma, a member of the royal family who was one of India's leading artists in oils.

Kochi: Press, Judges and Business People


¶7. (U) Earlier, in Kochi (which is also still known by its former name, Cochin), the economic and business hub of Kerala, Senator Specter met with the editorial board of the Malayala Manorama, the state's leading daily newspaper, including director and managing editor Philip Mathew. The questions put to Senator Specter focused on U.S.-Indian relations and India's standing in the world. Senator Specter said that because of India's position as the world's largest democracy and as a growing economic power, the country should be considered for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

He said that the U.S. should forge closer trade relations with India, and he saw cooperation in the area of nuclear energy as a boon to both nations. Senator Specter said that the U.S. government has not effectively communicated its policies to the world's Muslims, many of whom wrongly believe that the U.S. is against Islam.

¶8. (U) Another highlight of Senator Specter's Kochi visit was a meeting with Chief Justice V.K. Bali and four senior judges of the Kerala High Court. The judicial appointment system in India and the relations between the Indian judicial and legislative branches of government formed a good part of the discussions. "Do you legislate?" Senator Specter asked the judges, touching off discussions on the theme of judicial activism for which the Kerala High Court is especially reputed. "We fill the gaps (in the laws and the Constitution)," the judges replied, pointing to the powers vested in them to issue orders and writs for ensuring the fundamental rights of the citizens guaranteed in the Indian Constitution.

¶9. (U) Senator Specter had lively discussions with Kochi businessmen at two events -- a dinner hosted by the Kerala Indo-American Chamber of Commerce and a lunch hosted by the Cochin Chamber of Commerce. At both events, Senator Specter acknowledged the growing importance of India on the world stage and the fair claim for a greater role for India at the United Nations. He conceded that the U.S. involvement in Iraq was based on inaccurate intelligence but pointed out that now that the U.S. is there, it cannot withdraw precipitously, leaving the country in chaos. (compare this with the statements made during the in meeting with VS - suraj)

¶10. (U) Senator Specter toured the AD 1568 Mattancherry Synagogue guided by Samuel Hallegua, the leader of the small Jewish community in Kochi. He saw with great interest the scrolls of Jewish scriptures and the historic copper plates in which the privileges granted by the erstwhile Kochi kings to the Kerala Jewish community are recorded. The delegation also visited the "backwaters" area of Kerala, near Kochi, which is growing as a destination for international and domestic tourism, an important industry for Kerala's economy.

Bangalore: High-Tech City

¶11. (U) On December 20 in Bangalore, the capital of the state of Karnataka and the center of India's information technology industry, a visit to IBM India's facility provided an opportunity for Senator Specter to witness some of the company's worldwide operations directed from the Global Operations Center. Senator Specter asked IBM India executives about the number of jobs that have been moved from the U.S. to India, to which the executives replied that there has been no migration of jobs to India.

¶12. (U) A visit to General Electric's John F. Welch Technology Center (GE-JWTC) brought Senator Specter up close to some of the next generation technologies that the company plans to bring to the market. The qualifications of the scientists employed and the wages paid to them were the focus of the Senator's discussions with scientists present during his visit. GE-JWTC's next generation imaging systems with medical applications caught the Senator's interest as it enabled him to virtually enter the human brain.

¶13. (U) During a lunch meeting with Justice Mallimath, chairman of India's Judicial Review Committee, Senator Specter asked about the current state of the Indian criminal justice system and the measures CHENNAI 00000054 003 OF 003 taken to speed up the judicial process, a major aim of the Committee. Justice Mallimath outlined some of the recommendations made by his Committee and the government's effort to implement one of the key recommendations, a witness protection program.

¶14. (U) For his visit Senator Specter was accompanied by Mrs. Joan Specter, staffer Scott Boos, military escorts and Consulate General Chennai staff. This message was not cleared by the delegation. HOPPER

Wikileaks on CPIM Kerala Leaders :Released August 26, 2011

Link : http://wikileaks.org/cable/2008/08/08CHENNAI272.html
Released on 26 August 2011.


SUBJECT: WHAT WOULD LENIN DO? KERALA CPM SAYS "SEEK OUT FDI"

REF:  A) MUMBAI 360 B) CHENNAI 251 C) NEW DELHI 2012

¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Political Counselor and Consulate staff surveyed Kerala's political and economic scene in conversations with political and business leaders, journalists, and academics during an August 11 -12 visit to the South Indian state's capital, Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram).  In a major shift, senior leaders from the state's ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) pleaded for assistance in attracting U.S. private sector investment in Kerala.Interlocutors from across the spectrum agreed that the CPM and its allies could lose a substantial portion of the 19 of 20 parliamentary seats they currently hold in upcoming elections.  But the potential for Congress to pick up seats in Kerala may be blunted by successful CPM outreach to Muslim voters.  The CPM is already aggressively courting Muslims by trying to tap into anger at the Congress party over U.S.-India civil nuclear cooperation; Congress worries that a possible U.S. confrontation with Iran will put it further into trouble with this important constituency.  

End summary.

Kerala's CPM follows the West Bengal path
----------

¶2.  (SBU) In separate meetings, three Kerala CPM leaders emphasized
that the once-hostile leftist government is now eager to attract
foreign investment to the state.  CPM State Secretary Pinarayi
Vijayan opened the meeting, which was held in his office underneath
framed pictures of Stalin and Lenin, by telling Political Counselor
that "we need your assistance" in drawing U.S. investment to the
state.  Vijayan, who is a member of the CPM Politburo, added that
"we have no problems with American companies, no hesitations at
all."  He explained the change in the Kerala CPM's position on
investment by saying that "government does not have enough money to
adequately develop the state.  We need money from the private
sector."

¶3.  (SBU) Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac (CPM), echoed the
sentiments expressed by Vijayan, with whom Isaac is close.  Isaac
said "rapid industrialization is desirable but the government budget
is unable to support the required investment."  "We have to tap into
the private sector," he added while noting that "we'll use public
private partnerships" for infrastructure development.  As the
meeting closed, Isaac pulled Consulate Political/Economic officer
aside and requested that we urge U.S. companies to visit him to
discuss investing in Kerala.  Education Minister M.A. Baby (CPM),
also a close associate of Vijayan, agreed that Kerala needs foreign
direct investment (FDI) and made a spirited effort to convince
Political Counselor that Leninist economic principles permit FDI.

¶4.  (SBU) Sources outside of the CPM confirmed the shift in the
Kerala CPM's mindset towards private sector investment.  A
journalist said "change in the Kerala CPM is happening, but Baby and
Isaac have to make the changes through the backdoor; otherwise they
will be called 'neoliberals' or 'Gorbachev-ists' by the hardliners."
 Executives from US Technologies, an American IT company with a
major presence in Trivandrum, told Political Counselor that after
the CPM came to power in 2006 the Chief Minister met first with the
information technology sector to assure them that they would
continue to receive the support of the government.  The executives
added that they have since received "phenomenal support" from the
CPM government.  The 84-year old Chief Minister, V.S.
Achuthandandan, a hard-line ideologue, declined to meet with the
Political Counselor.  He claimed that he was in the middle of a
series of ayurvedic treatments, using the same reasoning to skip out
of a concurrent state-level party conclave that challenged his
policy approach.

Welcoming private investment, with some caveats
----------

¶5.  (SBU) The CPM leaders, however, made clear that their new
interest in FDI has its limits.  Vijayan and Isaac said that the
government would welcome investment in the service sector --
especially information technology, biotechnology, and tourism -- but
the state's commitment to protecting its environment makes it less
amenable to manufacturing.  Isaac said that Kerala will establish
more Special Economic Zones (SEZs), but the state will insist on
unionization in the SEZs.  He added that the state will "act to
protect its traditional farmers."  Education Minister Baby said that
although Kerala welcomes exchanges with U.S. universities the CPM
remains "ideologically opposed" to FDI in higher education.
Responding to Political Counselor's question about the long-running
dispute that has shut down Coca Cola's Kerala bottling plant,
Vijayan argued that the troubles experienced by Coca Cola should not
dissuade other U.S. companies from investing in Kerala.  "The Coca
Cola issue was not about American companies," he said, "but a local
problem, an environmental issue."  Vijayan went on to say that Coca
Cola got caught up when anti-Western New Delhi-based NGOs took up
the case.


CHENNAI 00000272  002 OF 003


Congress will gain seats, but how many?
----------

¶6. (SBU) There was a consensus that the CPM and its partners in
Kerala's Left Democratic Front (LDF) alliance would be hard-pressed
to replicate their 2004 performance when they won 19 of the state's
20 seats in the Lok Sabha (the Lower House of India's Parliament).
Finance Minister Isaac responded to Political Counselor's question
about the CPM's prospects in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections by
saying "we have nowhere to go but down."  Isaac said that recent
infighting within the CPM has upset voters, but "we are getting our
act together" and he expects the CPM to hold onto 12 or 13 of the
seats.  Journalist contacts agreed with Isaac's assessment, saying
Congress and its allies are likely to win 8 seats (leaving the CPM
and its LDF allies with 12 seats).  Congress Opposition Leader Oomen
Chandy and Kerala Congress President Ramesh Chennithala were more
optimistic about their prospects:  both said they expect to win 12-
15 seats.

CPM to use civ-nuke to sway Muslims; all eyes on Iran
----------

¶7.  (SBU) Referring to Kerala's strong anti-American streak,
Opposition Leader Chandy glumly said "we are the victims" of the
United Progressive Alliance's victory in the July 22 trust vote (ref
C).  He said the CPM is already tapping into local anger --
especially among Kerala's substantial Muslim population -- over
Congress's pursuit of U.S.-India civil nuclear cooperation.  The
journalists agreed that the distrust of closer ties with the U.S.
will figure prominently in the upcoming elections:  "Iraq and
Afghanistan are still potent issues in Kerala.  The CPM will use the
vote on the deal to get Muslim support."  Our interlocutors all
raised the subject of U.S. intentions towards Iran and the
possibility of U.S. confrontation with Tehran.  Congress President
Chennithala urged the United States to "find a peaceful way" to
address Iran's nuclear program, adding that U.S. military action
against Iran would further complicate his party's electoral
prospects.

Migration to Gulf States:  Terrorist Finance and Trafficking
----------

¶8.  (U) Academics with the Center for Development Studies (CDS)
described Kerala's history of extensive external migration.  They
explained that 1.8 million Keralites live abroad and another 900,000
in other states in India; the combined figure of 2.7 million
accounts for almost 10% of the state's population.  These 2.7
million Keralite migrants, in turn, support 9 million people left
behind in Kerala (almost one third of the state's population) by
sending back remittances that amount to 20% of the state's GDP.  CDS
scholars said that unmarried women constitute an increasing share of
migration.  A large number of these unmarried female migrants take
"a huge risk" by going to work as domestic laborers.  When Political
Counselor asked whether many of these women are victims of
trafficking in persons, a CDS scholar who focuses on gender issues
said "a small segment" of the population fall victim to trafficking.
 She emphasized that while the vast majority of the female domestic
workers are not trafficked, they still face serious sexual
harassment from their employers.

¶9.  (SBU) Finance Minister Isaac raised the subject of the informal
money transfer system known as "hawala," saying that it is
"impossible" to stop the movement of funds from the Gulf states to
Kerala.  Isaac told Political Counselor that money from the Gulf is
"definitely funding Indian terrorist groups," including the Students
Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and the group that claimed
responsibility for the recent bombings in Bangalore and Ahmedabad,
the Indian Mujahideen (ref A and B).  Isaac said it is likely that
Keralites help get the money to the Indian terror groups, but that
the funds come from "wealthy Gulf Arabs."  (Note:  In an August 11
presentation on terrorist finance Arabinda Acharya, an academic from
the Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said
much the same in a discussion of the use of hawala by Gulf Arabs to
fund Indian terrorist groups.  Acharya said wealthy Gulf Arabs,
especially Saudis, have their Kerala migrant employees send money to
Indian terrorist groups through hawala channels.  Acharya "firmly
believes" that funding for attacks in Bangalore and Hyderabad came
through this method.  End note.)

Comment:  CPM reformists confident;
Civ-Nuke will help left retain seats
----------

¶10.  (SBU) Comment:  The Kerala CPM, which is generally understood
to be more dogmatic than its West Bengal counterpart, is clearly
undergoing a major economic policy shift.  The openness with which
Vijayan, Isaac, and Baby expressed their desire for U.S. investment
to American diplomats was startling and demonstrated confidence that
their reformist faction has the upper hand over the more dogmatic
wing of the Kerala CPM led by Chief Minister Achuthanandan.  By

CHENNAI 00000272  003 OF 003


encouraging private investment, especially overseas and American
investment, Vijayan is leading the Kerala CPM is towards the
pragmatism exemplified by the West Bengal CPM.  The volte-face
reflects a growing concern that the state is being left out of the
Indian growth story, especially when compared to its neighbors, the
shining stars of South India.

¶11.  (SBU) Comment continued:  The Kerala CPM and its allies are in
the difficult position of defending the 19 of 20 parliamentary seats
from Kerala they won in 2004, which is exacerbated by the fissures
within the normally disciplined CPM.  But the peculiar political
geography of Kerala is in the leftists' favor.  The CPM will be able
to tap into the state's long-running anti-Americanism by bludgeoning
its Congress rivals about U.S.-India civil nuclear cooperation.
Moreover, with Muslims making up almost a quarter of the state's
population, the CPM can drum support by playing to this
constituency's anger at U.S. policy in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Iran.
These factors will likely keep the CPM's losses in the range of 7-8
seats rather than the 12-15 that the Congress's leaders dream of
capturing.  End comment.

KAPLAN