Message-ID: <5184136.1075858866590.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2001 12:55:17 -0700 (PDT) From: laura.ewald@enron.com To: j..kean@enron.com Subject: India - details and assessment of attack at Coca-Cola plant Cc: john.brindle@enron.com, david.cromley@enron.com, john.presley@enron.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Bcc: john.brindle@enron.com, david.cromley@enron.com, john.presley@enron.com X-From: Ewald, Laura X-To: Kean, Steven J. X-cc: Brindle, John , Cromley, David , Presley, John X-bcc: X-Folder: \SKEAN (Non-Privileged)\Kean, Steven J.\Deleted Items X-Origin: Kean-S X-FileName: SKEAN (Non-Privileged).pst =09Details: =20 =09Early Sunday morning, a Marxist rebel group known as the "People's War G= roup" bombed a Coca-Cola plant near the town of Atmakuru in the southern In= dian state of Andhra Pradesh. The attackers left behind a note in the loca= l Telugu language saying the attack was in protest of the U.S. bombing of A= fghanistan and "US imperialism." The note also threatened further attacks = against other Western companies in Andhra Pradesh. In response to the atta= ck, local police are stepping up patrols in Hyderabad (the capital of Andhr= a Pradesh), and security was also beefed up around the city's technology pa= rk, which houses a number of US software firms. =09According to a statement from Coca-Cola, a dozen or so PWG members rode = up to the plant via jeep and motorcycle and locked the night security guard= s in a room before entering the factory and setting up steel cans filled wi= th explosives, which they detonated. Although the attack caused extensive = damage, there were no deaths or injuries. Several of the bombs apparently = malfunctioned and did not detonate - these were later defused by the police= bomb squad. =09Assessment: =20 =09The PWG are engaged in an armed conflict against the Ahdhra Pradesh gove= rnment to press for sweeping land reforms in favor of poor farmers. This i= s their first attack against a Western firm. To date, they have not operat= ed outside of Andhra Pradesh and thus most likely pose little threat to the= Enron facilities in Mumbai and Dabhol, both of which are located in Mahara= shtra. However, the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce issued a statement n= oting that it was concerned about the safety of US nationals and companies = operating in India. They noted, "American companies in India are a soft ta= rget for terrorists. The government must see this and step up security to = prevent any flight of capital." Business Controls has contacted the local = security firm providing guard services for our offices in Mumbai and asked = them to be vigilant - particularly at night - for signs of possible copycat= attackers. Business Controls is also in contact with management at the Da= bhol site regarding security matters. =09 =09