ULFA 'land' joining electioneering

Kakopathar, Mar 30: It is the final frontier of the ULFA which the army has not been able to break for long.

Instead, two months ago, Kakopathar was a 'liberated' zone. They created history when a popular uprising against army atrocities forced army top brass to apologies publicly, pay compensation and punish the guilty when nine people were shot dead.

But today, barely 100 meters from the point where the shooting took place, there is a Congress election office, complete with flag and festoons where five youths, religiously look at the electoral rolls.

The unthinkable has happened. Electioneering has finally reached Kakopathar, which was earlier closed to all political parties. As impregnable base of ULFA with every household providing support--both emotional and logistical--this is an area where ULFA 'rule' is more apparent than the rule of THE law.

For weeks, no political party dared to step in and the Congress, which is representing the constituency, has been at the receiving end. But time has healed everything. When a team of reporters visited the area, electioneering was in full swing.

''Kakopathar will vote. They have been voting and will vote,'' said Prasanta Moran, a farmer.

This is a unique feature. Everybody supports ULFA here but everybody takes part in the voting.

The presence of ULFA is very much visible despite army presence.

In fact in Kakopathar, security forces and ULFA prefer coexistence rather than confrontation, as strength of both is the same.

Police officers confirmed the long-suspected apprehension that police try its best to avoid movement of ULFA. ''At this juncture when peace talks are at a crucial stage, it is even more dangerous crossing their path,'' said a police officer. Hiranya Barua(name changed), the local ULFA leader, however, stated that they did not believe in elections. ''This is a farce and we do not believe in them. But at the same time we are not asking the people to boycott the polls.'' This was why electioneering had picked up in Kakopathar which was unthinkable even a week back when even a visit by journalists was looked upon with suspicion by ULFA cadres.

UNI