New Delhi: With just four days to go for the 33rd Guwahati National Games, the United Liberation Front of Asom on Monday withdrew its call for a boycott of the Games.
The banned militant outfit had earlier threatened to disrupt the Games, saying the Games should be called Assam Games instead of National Games. The Assam Olympic Association and the state government had earlier appealed to the militant outfit to reconsider its boycott and create a conducive atmosphere for sport in the greater interest of the state.
However, violence continued in the state with suspected Ulfa militants triggering blasts in the heart of the capital city in an attempt to create conditions of fear in the state. Suspected Ulfa militants had also planted RDX right next to the main venue of the Games last week.
In a press release, Arabinda Rajkhowa, the self-styled chairman of the banned outfit, said they have withdrawn the boycott call in response to a call given by a few prominent sportspersons of yesteryears from the state.
"Sportspersons like Bhogeswar Barua, Taibun Nissa, Monalisha Barua and Babul Barua are pride of Assam and they are in no way associated with the 'colonial' Indian rulers. Hence, we have responded to their appeal and that of the sports-loving Assamese people," the outfit said.
The press release, however, made it clear that it will not allow "any all-India-level event to be organised in the state until a political solution is found to the Assam-India conflict."
Although the Asom government had been publicly saying that the Games would be held on time, a second channel had been opened through the Assam Olympic Association, via the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), to save the Games.
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