India appeals to Assam rebels not to spoil games
Source: Reuters
DISPUR, India, Jan 4 (Reuters) - The Indian government appealed to a powerful rebel group on Thursday to withdraw its threat to disrupt national games in restive Assam state next month and insisted the event would take place on schedule. The separatist United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), which is fighting for independence of the tea-and -oil rich state in India's remote northeast, accuses New Delhi of plundering its resources and doing little to develop the region. "The 33rd National Games will be held on schedule and I am satisfied with the security arrangements," home (interior) secretary V.K. Duggal told reporters after security officials. The games, which are held every two or three years, feature all major sports and are taken to various cities to encourage them to build stadiums of international standards. However, postponements mainly due to slow pace of work are normal. The last games were held in 2002 and the upcoming games are due to start on Feb. 9. "But I would like to appeal to ULFA to withdraw its call for a boycott," Duggal added from Dispur, the state capital. Thousands of state and federal police will be deployed to protect the games from possible rebel attack. ULFA warned late last year that it could use force to disrupt the games, saying the event was a ploy by New Delhi to reinforce its claim that Assam was an integral part of India. It called upon sportsmen and women not to participate in the 10-day event. The games were initially scheduled for October 2005, but were delayed due to ULFA threats to contractors and suppliers involved in constructing new stadiums, officials say. Officials said more than 12,000 athletes and officials from India's 29 states would gather for the games, which would be held in Dispur and its outskirts. Assam, the most populated of the eight northeastern states, has been wracked by separatist violence since 1979 in which more than 20,000 people have been killed.
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