ULFA wives deny pressure to withdraw fast

Guwahati, Apr 30 (UNI) The 'missing' ULFA leaders' wives today denied coming under any pressure from the government to call off their strike.

Incidentally, they had withdrawn their 36-day-long hunger strike on April 25.

Talking to reporters here, the six women said, ''The state has assured us of looking into our demands and promised to pressurise the Centre to disclose whatever information they may have. Hence, we had called off the strike.'' The women, however, said that they would embark on further agitation if the government failed to keep its assurances.

They said, ''We will go for extensive agitation if our demands are not met with.'' ''We will await the High Court judgement and also keep a tab on the assurances of the chief minister,'' they added.

Reacting to speculations behind their decision to withdraw the strike, they said, ''These are false interpretations. There was no third party involved.'' On ULFA 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa's statement that 'the state government was luring the striking women with false assurances', the women clarified that it was their own decision.

The wives of six ULFA leaders had launched a fast-unto-death from March 21, demanding the whereabouts of their husbands who were missing since 'Operation All Clear' by the Royal Bhutanese Army on its soil in December, 2003.

They had withdrawn their strike on April 25, following a written assurance from the chief minister that the state government would do everything in its capacity to trace their spouses and also take the responsibility of their children.

The six women were Malini Engtipi, Anima Devi, Kabita Chakraborty, Meneka Chetri, Podumi Temungpi and Shymoli Gogoi. Their spouses, Ashanta Baghphukan, Bening Rabha, Nilu Chakraborty, Naba Changmai, Robin Neog and Godinda Baishya, had remained untraced since Operation All Clear.

UNI