Manila bars UN official

Manila bars UN official

MANILA (DPA): The Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs
(DFA) has barred a special envoy of United Nations Secretary-
General Kofi Annan from attending a workshop sponsored by a
leftist organization, organizers said on Friday.

According to the Ecumenical Commission on Displaced Families
and Communities (ECDFC), Francis Deng, Annan's representative,
was invited to attend a three-day workshop on internally
displaced persons held last month in Manila.

But the DFA did not issue Deng a clearance to visit the
Philippines as a UN official, said Ditas Go-Zurbano, executive
director of the commission.

Go-Zurbano said government representatives were also
discouraged from attending the workshop, which according to a DFA
memorandum would only "incite or agitate the public against the
government".