Season of despair for ULFA kin

JORHAT, April 13: Rongali Bihu marks a joyous beginning to the Assamese New Year. But for the Gogoi family from Tingkhong in Upper Assam's Dibrugarh district, this season of joy has turned into one of despair. Unlike in the past two years, the Asom Gana Parishad-led government's decision not to offer "safe passage" to ULFA militants this Rongali Bihu has been a major disappointment for the Gogois, who had been hoping to see their 27-year-old son Abhay during the festival. Abhay joined the ULFA just before the last Assembly elections in 1996. His native village of Tingkhong has long been an ULFA stronghold. Says Geeta Devi, Abhay's 51-year-old mother, "Meeting our son was next to impossible till the government offered safe passage to ULFA activists as a goodwill gesture on Rongali Bihu a couple of years back. But there is no chance of seeing him this year as the offer has not been renewed. Our Bihu is over even before it has begun." Geeta Devi, who completed her high school studies in the early Sixties despite being from a remote village, says the government did not make a fresh safe-passage offer due to the Assembly polls. "I am convinced Dispur would have made such an offer had there been no elections. This is politics. I do not know what else our leaders will do in the name of politics," she adds. The last time Abhay came home, his family was "more or less successful" in convincing him about the futility of violence. But he sought time to take a decision. "As he will not be home for the Bihu, there is no way of knowing what he has decided. The government's decision not to make a fresh safe-passage offer will undoubtedly influence his next move," says Geeta Devi. The Gogois are not the only ones who are disappointed. Families of hundreds of ULFA militants feel the same way about the government's decision. "He came on Bihu last year and said he was willing to come overground. But I have not heard from him since. I expected to hear some good news this time, but there is no hope now," says Mamoni Bora, whose son is one of the most wanted ULFA militants from Upper Assam. Bora is a resident of Lahing, a village in Jorhat. Sources in Dispur said the government decided against offering safe passage to militants in view of reports that the ULFA might disrupt the elections. With less than a month to go for the polls, no government would have taken the risk of giving rebels an opportunity to move about freely, they said. An official who requested anonymity said the AGP-led government's decision was perhaps the right one. "Despite the government trying to break the ice, the ULFA has remained indifferent. Earlier offers of safe passage did not result in any positive development. One cannot be guided by the heart at all times," he said. Names of some persons have been changed.