Guwahati, March 1 :    Guwahati, March 1:  In a major setback to the state government's efforts to promote Assam as a major tourist destination for footloose Europeans, three countries have warned their citizens not to tour the militancy-ravaged state. Though the state government insists that the law and order situation has returned to normal, not everyone is convinced. Governments of United Kingdom, France and Switzerland have advised tourists against visiting Assam, Manipur, Tripura and Nagaland. The 'warning' has been posted in the official websites of the departments handling foreign affairs of the three European Union countries. The website of the foreign and commonwealth office of United Kingdom says: '...we advise against all holiday and other non-essential travel to Manipur and Tripura as well as Assam (particularly in the run-up to elections in early 2001). While foreigners are not the targets of violence, attacks can be indiscriminate.' The official Swiss and French sites have also put up similar warnings. Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Mizoram, however, have been listed as 'generally safe.'' Marie Baran, Press attache at the Swiss embassy in New Delhi, told The Telegraph over telephone that Geneva's views were only 'recommendations' to travellers intending to visit the Northeast 'in view of the political unrest in the region. It has no legal basis, but then tourists visiting these areas do so at their own risk,' she added. Fabienne Couty, Press counsellor at the French embassy in New Delhi, said the recommendations are based on 'various sources like experience, contacts, newspaper reports, Indian administration and consultation among various European countries.' The 'negative projection' of Assam has come as a big blow to the state government's 'special drive to promote exotic natural tourism ... to the outside world' as mentioned in the AGP-led government's performance budget on tourism for the year 2000-2001. In the three-decade-long insurgency in Assam, only one foreigner has been killed by militants though he was not a tourist. In 1991, Russian engineer Sergei Gritchenko was abducted and killed by the Ulfa. Amar Bora, president of the All-Assam Tour Operators' Association, said the association, in a letter dated January 12, 2001, had informed Union tourism minister Ananth Kumar about a Japanese embassy security warning to all Assam-bound Japanese tourists. The association requested the minister to take necessary steps so stave off such 'alerts.'