ULFA to cooperate if tournament's name is changed

ULFA is willing to cooperate if the name of the 33rd National Games was changed to 'Asom Sports Festival'.

Shifting from its stand of boycotting the National Games, scheduled to be hosted by Assam in February, ULFA has said it would cooperate if the name of the event was changed.

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The proscribed outfit in the latest edition of its mouthpiece 'Swadhinata' said it would cooperate if the name of the 33rd National Games was changed to 'Asom Sports Festival'.

"ULFA has never opposed any sporting event in the state which is organised by the Asian Games Association or Olympic Association.

"But we oppose holding of the National Games of India in Asom and urge the intellectuals of the state, All Assam Students Union (AASU) and the Asom Yuva Chhatra Parishad to reconsider their criticism (of ULFA for opposing the national games)," it said.

On the peace process, the outfit reiterated that sovereignty should be core issue for talks and criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Minister of State for Home S Raghupati for making contradictory statements in this regard.